The boy was “certainly tweaked at an angle” and thus is expected to be violent. This further removes his sense of belonging with the remainder of his community. Similarly, the character of Cecilia from The Virgin Suicides suffers mental issues thus disallowing an understanding of the remaining sister’s characters to be made. “Do we seem as crazy as everyone thinks? … Cecilia was weird but we’re not.” The subject “we” enhances the community’s perception of the sisters as a whole.
In the novel The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, author shows a young woman being punished for her sin of infidelity. While the whole towns continues to insult her and tease her, Hester does nothing but be haughty and strong for herself. It was the only way she can truly overcome her current situation. She was not going to let a town of walking hypocrites choose her faith. People deserve a second chance and need to be forgiven because no one has a survival guide to be a
Such helpfulness was found in her -so much power to do and power to sympathize – that many people refused to interpret the scarlet ‘A’ by its original signification. They said that it meant ‘Able’” (Hawthorne 158). The reason why the “A” changes meanings is because the guilt is displayed on Hester for everyone to see. This allows Hester to ignore the negative connotations of the “A” which eventually changes its meaning. Furthermore, Hester knows that the sin she commits was wrong, but she chooses to feel no guilt for her actions.
Dimmesdale loses himself in this falsehood, forgetting who he truly is, and assumes two distinct identities: one while in the public eye and another while in privacy. Yet Nathaniel Hawthorne does not paint an entirely miserable portrait of humans. The Scarlet Letter features the character Hester Prynne, a woman who also sins. But unlike Goodman Brown and Mr. Dimmesdale, her sin is discovered by her community. Resultantly, she becomes an outcast from society, and this allows her to think for herself and remain an individual, avoiding the dreadful trap of hypocrisy and lies that emerge from hidden sin.
Whether Dimmesdale decided to reveal his deep dark hidden secret or not, merely has no significance. As Puritan Society stated, women were more prone to be sinners; the envisioned picture of me was already painted as the corrupter. Is that moral? Would God find this acceptable because the Puritan Society apparently does. If Dimmesdale had came forth, it might have saved him from the mental and physical deterioration but would the Puritan Society had honestly punished him the way I had been?
In The Scarlet Letter, Hester’s alienation is presented through the harsh treatment she receives before she is even introduced in the novel. Through Hawthorne’s shifting narrative perspective in Chapter 3, readers are given an indication of the dislike felt towards Hester for her sin. Hawthorne presents readers with the perspective of the women in society to reveal the amount of hatred and subsequent isolation that Hester will experience once she is released from prison. Furthermore, the constant use of negative descriptions such as “malefactress” and “naughty baggage” (Chapter 2) by the women of Boston society provide further evidence to show the Hester’s exclusion from the Puritan community as she
This would make some readers feel pity for Mayella as she is lamenting due to horrific flashbacks she may encounter, others may think that this is a cover up as she knows what she is doing is wrong, and she is trying to get the judge and the jury to side with her. This technique is used by Lee to make the ruler think and engage the readers. This view shared with Jem: “she’s got enough sense to get the judge sorry for her, but she might just be just – oh, I don’t know”. Here Harper Lee shows the mental controversy of the characters as that the trial has brought on
Repentance, is not merely feeling sorry for sin. A person may feel truly remorseful for their critical spirit, greed, or anger. As important as it is to feel the weight of our sin, these emotions are not repentance. In fact, if we accept tears as repentance, then we can actually obstruct the person from doing the really hard work of change. Reverend Dimmesdale tried really hard to change in order to feel penitent while Hester didn't try and make a change even after she was publically punished.
For example, the antagonist, Abigail Williams, continuously lied about other people’s lifestyles and practices to benefit herself and help herself attain what she wanted. Her lies, as well as several other young girls who followed her example, lead to hysteria in the community, and unjust, unreasonable convictions that lead to many individual’s imprisonment and death. The girls participating and telling such dogma, gave them a sense of empowerment, which was uncommon for women and children in their society. On the other end of the spectrum, John Proctor, the protagonist, saw the girl’s behavior as fallacious and refused to partake and accept such ludicrous antics. After confessing honestly to committing adultery against his wife, and refusing to testify against Abigail ultimately lead to his down fall.
After being caught and having been forced to wear a scarlet “A” representing her act of adultery, Hester tries to continue on with life along with her daughter, while being shunned by the townspeople of Boston, Massachusetts. During this time, Pearl had a big impact on Hester. Pearl was used as a physical representation and reminder of Hester’s sin, while also being a metaphorical mirror to the sins, but ultimately being the source of Hester’s strength. One of the main reasons for Pearl’s use in the novel was for Hester and the readers to remember Hester’s sin when looking at Pearl. In the story, the narrator expressed during the time that Hester and Pearl were walking to Governor Bellingham, that the red and gold colored clothing that Pearl was wearing, which Hester had made, was undoubtedly a significant reminder of Hester’s scarlet letter.