His moral and social prestige and contrasting roles as a reverend minister and adulterer give him a rare chance to play a rarely seen type of character. Dimmesdale’s moral ambiguity comes from his lack of courage to be the right person and to do the right thing. Dimmesdale is devastated, from a character standpoint, by his role in impregnation and thus adultery with Hester Prynne. He is terribly afraid of the public finding out about his role in all of this in fear that, in learn that their beloved minister has fallen into sin, they too will fall and never see the gates of Heaven. In a grand demonstration of his cowardice he says, "Be not silent from any mistaken pity and tenderness for him; for, believe me, Hester, though he were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart through life.
False assumptions and lack of proof have led to horrific death of the innocent. The craving for revenge has always been a strong motive. In the short story “Cask of Amontillado” Edgar Allan Poe exposes the reader to the dark emotions of revenge through his use of diction, imagery, and plot in the story. Edgar Allan Poe used diction to present the reader with a broader view of revenge and clues on why Montresor wanted his revenge against Fortunato. Poe uses a grand choice of diction throughout the entire story, but there are some main points that need to be observed with a closer perspective to perhaps reveal and understand a deeper meaning.
In my opinion, dramatic irony was added because Creon is slightly arrogant character. I predicted that he would be disappointed in him and that he will get what he deserves for being so evil to the people of his country. Another example is when Creon finds out that Antigone disobeyed his law. King Creon got so angry when the Choragus said, “I have been wondering, King: can it be that the gods have done this” (1077). The Choragus provides
His fickle favor toward his servants, and not to mention his family, proves his inconsistency and instability. Although appointed by the gods, his reign has exposed the abused and misused privilege of representing the gods in his earthly position. King Creon’s irrational edict stated that any man who dares to bury Polyneices would suffer death by stoning. Is it a mere human’s prerogative to determine another man’s eternal fate? Because Antigone had nothing left to live for, while knowing the sentence of stoning, Antigone defied King Creon’s edict in order to fulfill her duty.
Arthur Dimmesdale committed the greater sin because he was a man of faith. He was not true to his sacred vows. He committed an adultary which is considered to be the worst sin because it is against one of the ten commandments. He told the people of lord to be true and faithful to their religion when he was not himself. He did not tell the people about his sin like Hester Prynne's was told.
John didn’t want to be named a liar, he admitted to committing adultery, and the last thing he wanted was his name nailed on the church’s wall because he signed a lie. John Proctor sacrificed his soul because he knew he couldn’t have another name. “Because it is my name. Because I cannot have another in my life, because I lie and sign my name to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of those that hang!
They feared to live in such sinful society, because they believed that God predestined people to salvation and others were damned for the rest of time. Those believes explain why the Puritans tried to live according to the bible, and why they feared the Lord to some extent. To get away from the perverted European society, the Puritans migrated to the Northeast to create society completely devoted to serve the lord. They were driven by the fear that God was discontent, and that he would bring hell upon
God drove him off, / outlawed him…" (Beowulf, 1261 - 1264). To Grendel, Heorot is the representation of the world of men that he hates. Being an outcast of society, Grendel cannot participate in the festivities of Heorot and is tormented by the good timing that occurs within its walls. The envy that Grendel feels towards the Danes is what drives him to the point of revenge. In the article, “Symbolic Kinship and Secret Identity” Baird is quoted as stating, “deprivation, ‘motivates the hostility of the monster against the race of men, he is driven to destroy what he cannot share.’” (Acosta, 49) Grendel gets his revenge by the death and destruction of the men who represent what he can’t have: success, joy, glory, and favor in the eyes of God.
He says the reason for this distinction, could most likely be due to sin. The words Paine uses to suggest the distinction between King and Subject is unnatural include: misery, evil, insult, unwise, unjust, degradation, ridicule, and injustice. In Paine's opinion, the problem with hereditary succession is that as power is passed down it is given to the person only based on the fact that they are the next generation "royalty." Since intelligence and leadership equalities are not take into consideration, people could be ruled by a fool, someone not fit for their country.
Harding says this to himself mocking the voice of a god who finds joy in the pain and sorrow of others. This also says a lot about his view of religion, Harding sees gods as malevolent beings that will “profit” off of his loss. He has little respect for whatever god he is addressing because the word “god isn’t capitalized anywhere in the poem. Harding blames his problems on the malevolence of the gods by saying “Then would I bear it, clench myself, and die,/Steeled any the sense of ire unmerited;/ Half-erased in that a Powerfuller than I/Had willed and meted me the tears I shed.” (Hardy ll. 5-9).