They established a community based on the Bible. They believed that God punished the whole community for the sins of it's people. This is why they did not tolerate sin. Therefore, sinners were publicly humiliated, shamed, and shunned. In the novel, both Hester and Pearl were shunned by the community because of Hester's adultery.
Hawthorne uses characterization to victimize the minister and point out the flaws of the wife. He shows us that, “The color rose in her cheeks as she imitated the nature of the rumors that were already abroad in the village.” The color in her cheeks shows that she is ashamed of her lover for making them the talk of the town by being so honest about his sin. This shame plays on the puritan value of conformity. This theme is again shown when she is trying to understand why her husband is dealing with his sin in such an abstract way; she decides that is must be the cause of “mental disease”. We are shown countless times that he is the same person that was once admired in the village; it is only the people’s perception of him through the veil that has changed.
In the Crucible, Abigail is tormented by the fact that she had been caught out having an affair with John Proctor. This creates conflict between John’s wife Elizabeth and Abigail. Abigail is devastated that she cannot be with John and lashes out in fury and creates chaos in the heart of the town with her false accusations within Salem. Abigail’s uncontrollable acts rise which result in the hanging of many people, ultimately destroying the love of her life. She was blinded by her own problems in life that she couldn’t see her ways, although to John, Abigail was transparent.
The Crucible The theme jealousy can destroy lives is shown through the actions of Abigail Williams affects Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor and herself. “This can’t work anymore, I love someone else.” Hearing these words can affect many people’s lives, causing them to hurt others around them.” “The Crucible” was written in 1953 by Arthur Miller. The play is about the witch trials that took place in Salem Massachusetts; where many innocent people were accused of witchcraft. Abigail’s actions sent Elizabeth to jail, but also cause John his freedom and life. At the end of act four Proctor refuses to give his name to the court, he clearly stated that he had already gave himself in and told them that he was a man of the devil and that they couldn’t take his name, because that’s the only thing he had left.
Powerless to do anything, Abigail resented Elizabeth for that and her jealousy grew. After the dancing in the forest incident, realizing how people listened and believed in her stories, she abuses that power. She manipulated the entire town and even her friends. She tells lies about them, accusing them of witch craft. She took revenge on Elizabeth and accuses her of being a witch.
Chillingsworth seemed like a victim but he was a sinner himself as well. Chillingsworth tortured and mistreated the minister out of anger and revenge. He also lied to everyone about who he was and where he came from. Lying, hiding and putting Dimmesdale through torture is just as bad as the sin Hester committed. Reverend Dimmesdale of course was a sinner too.
He says that Jim “was most ruined for a servant, because he got stuck up on account of having seen the devil and been rode by witches” (Twain 6). Huck got his habits of prejudice and rebellion from his pap, who despises people who are well-educated. Huck was taken away by pap because he hated how Huck decided to get an education, believing that it was an attempt to get away from him. But after suffering through pap’s abuse, Huck decided to fake his death and flee to Jackson’s Island, where he finds Jim who ran away from being sold. Huck and Jim decided to travel together in a raft to Cairo; however, they get into arguments with each other.
From Shame to Strength: The Scarlet Letter’s Various Meanings Can one’s own sin make them a stronger person? In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne commits adultery with Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, while being married to Roger Chillingworth, and is forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” as punishment. The “A” causes the public to shun Hester because of her sin, while Dimmesdale remains an icon. The scarlet letter that Hester wears is supposed to represent adultery so the town recognizes her sin and affiliates her with shame. Throughout the novel, the Scarlet letter bequeaths new meanings.
Hawthorne even emphasizes this obsession by describing Chillingworth’s transformation into an embodiment of evil. Hawthorne writes: “At first his expression had been calm, meditative, scholar-like. Now, there was something ugly and evil in his face” (116). To prove to himself that Dimmesdale is indeed the one who committed adultery with his young wife, Chillingworth questions the minister. One day, Chillingworth shows a “dark flabby leaf” from graveyard to Dimmesdale; he explains that the leaf is grown out of the heart of person who dies with hideous sin, and this leaf is “sprang up out of a varied heart,
Thus, all of the mistakes he made from the beginning and not seeing each one he was making, it leads him into death. Macbeth is a man blinded by his ambitions. Every step he took made people be suspicious of him and not want him as a king, for the way he was. He was unaware of death getting close to him. Due to this he payed the consequences by his head being slaughtered.