Chansol Lim Mr. Dalbey Honors Eng 11 Period 8 November 7, 2012 TSL Essay In the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, there are three major sinners: Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth. Each character commits a different sin. Hester commits adultery with Dimmesdale while Chillingworth, her husband, is absent; Dimmesdale commits the sin of adultery, and compounds it by deceiving others to hide his sin, and Chillingworth plans a hate filled revenge on Dimmesdale. Despite the fact that all three of them commit sins, people from the puritan based society, as described by Hawthorne, regarded Hester as the most sinful person and treated her with disdain. Although the puritan society depicted in The Scarlet Letter
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.
In the novel, both Hester and Pearl were shunned by the community because of Hester's adultery. Hester was publicly humiliated at the start of the book, when she was forced to walk though town with an infant Pearl after being released from prison. She was also forced to wear a large scarlet A on her chest. The A is said to be a badge of shame. This shows how Hawthorne displayed Puritan tolerance for
Tom was not a good husband or a good cheater. Finally, Tom shows how he is a hypocrite. He is a very by hypocritical person towards the end of the story. He shows this by being a church lover. He betrays the devil and
English 2A 1/22/13 Period 1 Who is the worst sinner? In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a common theme is the committing of sin. The novel speaks about the confessing of sin towards yourself and your community. What do you feel could of happened if Chillingworth had never married Hester? Suppose Hester never met Dimmesdale?
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.
In Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the Puritanical code of justice circulates pain as a ‘machine of punishment, cursing those who break the law as well as those who uphold it; Hawthorne characterizes this in the conflict between the so-called law upholders and the ‘sinners’. In the book, the first to experience the pain of the code of justice is Hester; her sin against the code dooms her to be judged by her peers by her scarlet letter:” Throughout them all ,giving up her individuality ,she would become the general symbol at which the preacher and moralist might point, and in which they might vivify and embody their images of woman’s fragility and sinful passion.”(73)Hester’s sin ultimately condemns her to live a life as
Nathaniel Hawthorne evaluates the concept of sin greatly in The Scarlet Letter–– the sin committed as well as the effects that sin has and the events that are caused by it.The sin of adultery is what condemned Hester Prynne “for the remainder of her natural life, to wear a mark of shame upon her bosom” (46), and therefore live a life filled with ignominy, in the 17th century Puritan community of Boston. Her fellow sinner, Reverend Dimmesdale, had but another sin in his heart–– concealment. As Hester wears her sin on her chest, in the form of a “fantastically embroidered” scarlet letter A, Dimmesdale locks his sin within the confines of his soul. Meanwhile, Roger Chillingworth, Hester’s husband, sins with his wrath–– by seeking revenge against Dimmesdale. The psychological
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.
The author Nathaniel Hawthorne explores this possibility in his literary works. In his short story “Young Goodman Brown,” a man forever gives up his faith after his sinful dealings with the Devil. He hides his wrongdoing and beings to see evil and deviltry in all humans; he becomes an actor, losing his genuine, honest self and becoming untrusting towards all. The results of his sin are paralleled in Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter; the Puritan minister Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale commits the sin of adultery, yet continues to live his life in a position of revered holiness. 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.