This downfall started the path of him becoming a tragic hero. The fact that he knows what he did and that he realizes his mistakes is what makes him a tragic hero. He also confessed to his wife, and the court about Abigail, and how he had committed adultery with her. This was the major action that made him become a tragic hero. Atticus is the main character in To Kill a Mockingbird.
The initial wrong committed in The Scarlet Letter was adultery, a sin very easily condemned by the Puritans in the mid 1600’s. It is agreeable that Hester should not have cheated on her husband. Even though, he had been missing for two years and was thought dead, it was still a crime and against their religious beliefs. Hester and Dimmesdale’s sin was a sin based off of pure love for each other. Why else would a preacher long to be with a married woman?
Throughout the story we see John’s character, and the way other people see him. In the beginning of the story it does not seem like John is a good person. It seems this way because we learn that Proctor had an affair with Abigail Williams. Abigail Williams is one of the girls that were accusing people of witch craft. Even though he had the affair, we see John tell Abigail that he had made a mistake.
(83) John Proctor and a select group of the persecuted people from Salem were against the teachings of the church, thus leading to them being persecuted by Rev. Parris and the church. The Church of Salem and more specifically Rev. Parris were disliked by the community, because of the strict rules and judgment of the church on the individuals of the community. The Crucible, by Author Miller conveys the message of fear and paranoia of witchcraft in the town of Salem, Massachusetts.
Punishment or just reward When we die are we really punished or do we get what we deserved? If during life we held nothing dear and just went with the crowd would it really be a punishment to be blown back and forth even if that is what we did during life? For those that committed adultery in life or betrayed their country in Hell they would be doing just what they did in life. Francesca and Paulo committed adultery in their life. When Dante saw them in the circle of lust he said, “I would like, with all my heart, to speak to those two there who move together and seem to be so light upon the winds.” The two lovers are but shades of who they were in life, to be blown around to wherever the wind takes them.
He is almost completely shunned from the town because he is trying to help a black man accused of rape. Mayella had told Tom, “I said come here, nigger, and bust up this chiffarobe for me, I gotta nickel for you.” (p.241) She had tricked him to coming over to her. Then that’s about the time when she accuses him of rape. He had felt sorry for her, which is why he was falsely accused in the first place. Courthouse segregation was one of the biggest bits of racism I found in this book.
Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter focuses on the choices of paths Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth, the three main characters, whose decisions ultimately decide their fates in the conclusion of the book. The beginning of the book opens with Hester receiving her punishment for adultery. She is publicly displayed holding her baby for her punishment, yet she does not reveal who the father of the baby is. As she is displayed, she is asked by Dimmesdale, the minister and the father of the baby, whether she wants to reveal the other perpetrator to the crowd, but Hester refuses. Momentarily afterwards, Chillingworth, Hester’s husband, is seen in the crowd, and introduced.
In this region of the world women are unjustly punished in comparison to men. If a woman becomes pregnant after being raped, she could be stoned or caned to death. All that is needed for this stoning or caning to happen is a testimony of one male witness. While if a man commits adultery, there needs to be four male witnesses to the incident before the man can be punished. Also if a woman is considered to dishonor her family, they may beat or even kill her, and not be in any fear of being punished.
On the contrary, imprisoned in the Puritan way of thinking, the scarlet letter leads Arthur Dimmesdale to his fall. He is indeed gnawed by guilt and secrecy. *** The scarlet letter symbolises the Puritan’s stance on adultery and is considered as a deadly sin. The scarlet letter is referred to in almost every page. One has the impression that the letter represents the Puritan’s message that is drilled to the population in order to anchor it in their mind.
Actually sex is an impulsive desire which cannot be tamed while marriages try to confine these desires only to the married partner. Thus this restriction on the fundamental instinct of human beings creates a lot of sexual frustration in them. This often puts a spouse in a state of depression. A research carried out by Buss and Shackelford of the University of Texas at Austin revealed that around sixty percent men and fifty percent women are involved in some kind of affair during their marriage (193-221). As a result, the problem of spousal infidelity arises which is one of the major causes of divorce all around world.