The Crucible and The Scarlet Letter share many themes that are still present in today’s society, such as the use of public humiliation as a punishment. Because of their sins, both John Proctor and Hester Prynne were alienated and punished by their peers and town leaders. The public humiliation that they faced helped shape the characters in the eyes of the reader and affected the way that they behaved and acted. The most obvious theme contained in both texts is sin. In The Scarlet Letter, the sin that has been committed is adultery where Hester Prynne and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale conceive an illegitimate child, a daughter named Pearl.
The Puritans view this letter as a symbol of the adultery. The letter also put Hester through torture: "Of an impulse and passionate nature. She had fortified herself to encounter the stings and venomous stabs of public contumely wreaking itself in every variety of insult but there was a quality so much more terrible in the solemn mood of popular mind, that she longed rather to behold all those rigid countenances contorted with scornful merriment and herself the object"(54). This implies that Hester's sin of bearing a child without the presence of a husband will always be remembered. In the middle of the novel is a transition period where the letter "A" is viewed differently than before.
Josh Kirkpatrick The Puritan Way: Oppressive Laws Followed to the Tee. Why? Hester Prynne is the epitome of what citizens of The Scarlet Letter’s Puritan society wanted to avoid by following laws, even if they are oppressive and restricting of free will. Rather than being sentenced to death she was sentenced to a dead life; she lost everything except for her personal values and Pearl (which was a curse in itself). Puritan society came down hard on lawbreakers and held to strict traditions set on the interpretations of the bible by the Magistrates.
One of the Puritan ladies in the crowd suggests that Hestor has “brought shame upon us all, and ought to die. Is there no law for it? Truly there is, both in scripture and statute book.” The Puritans wish further torture on Hestor, even though they themselves too have committed similar crimes. But in looking for a reason to bring more harm to Hestor, they break a commandment worse than Hestor’s; using the Lord’s name in vain. Just for their own satisfaction they look to manipulate the writings of their
Because she lived in such a God driven and puritan town, the judicial system of the settlement had decided for her to acknowledge her sin by embroidering a vibrant scarlet letter “A” onto her dress to symbolize adultery. She was often ostracized from the rest of the town since she was forced to wear the crimson “A” everywhere she went. As well as the letter to remind her of the wrong she had done, the affair had left her with a fatherless daughter named Pearl. Later in the novel we discover the father is the Reverend of the town, the admirable Arthur Dimmesdale. Through pain, remorse and agony the novel reveals that it is better to tell a harmless lie then to confess a hurtful truth.
Proctor tried to protect his wife from this and Hester tried to protect Dimsdale’s name; unfortunately they were both punished for it. John and Hester still have their differences. One difference was how they were punished for their sin. Proctor was condemned to death for his sin and Hester was put on a public scaffold for her sin. Also Hester’s name was known thru the town to have committed adultery.
Crucible in the Modern Day World The world is full of those who think their ways are better than others. These people condemn those who don’t have their same beliefs. Prejudice views and judgments cause the world to erupt in wars and conflicts that sometimes are not easy to overcome. The Crucible still speaks to audiences because of prejudice and false judgment everywhere. In the Crucible, Parris tells Tituba she must confess: “You will confess or I will take you out and whip you to your death, Tituba!” (1233).
The idea of blood in other works and novels typically evokes the idea of slaughter and massacre. However, in this play the blood symbolizes the guilt that will forever stain the palms of Macbeth and his wife. The simple act of murder that was once looked at as indifferent led to a devastating past. Macbeth expresses his guilt when he remarks, “And with thy bloody and invisible hand/ Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond/ Which keeps me pale” (3.3.48-50). Macbeth is scared by the blood of Duncan.
Expository Essay In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the magistrates of the Boston colony penalize Hester Prynne by forcing her to wear a letter A on her breast, intending to isolate her from society and call attention to her sin. I feel that the letter did exactly what they anticipated. First of all, the letter did isolate her. It made Hester an outcast in almost every aspect and life for her was difficult. Second, she was looked down upon, and known to everyone as a sinner and nothing more.
4. Paradox: p. 20 “whip her to make her scream, whip her to make her hush” He uses this device to show how futile a slave who had wronged his master was. The master could go on whipping forever and the slave had no control over it. 5. Metaphor: p.20 “it was the blood stained gate, the entrance to the hell of slavery, that I was about to pass.” He uses this to show how much the whipping of his aunt traumatized him, and to show how horrible slavery was.