He explains that adults are inevitably phonies, and, what’s worse, they can’t see their own phoniness. Phoniness, for Holden, stands as an emblem of everything that’s wrong in the world around him and provides an excuse for him to withdraw into his cynical isolation, a defense mechanism to help him deal with his loneliness. Holden expends much of his energy searching for phoniness in others, yet at the same time, while he is a self-admitted compulsive liar, he never acknowledges his own phoniness. This is not only ironic, but hypocritical, since phoniness is what Holden claims to detest more than anything else in the world. Holden is further hypocritical because while decrying the abhorrent nature of adulthood, he spends much of his energy trying to behave like an adult, as evidenced by his actions such as hiring a prostitute, spending money
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.
Hypocrisy, the Ungodly Sin Above all others The question of sin is a reoccurring theme in “The Scarlet letter”, where various sins, from Hestor’s adultery, to Dimmesdale’s cowardice, or Chillingworth’s revenge are put on display to be judged by the Puritan society, and also by the reader. In his novel, Hawthorne uses these smaller sins to display a deeper sin; the sin of Puritan hypocrisy. From the beginning of the book Hawthorne ridicules the Puritan society. As one of the first buildings in their new town, the Puritans build a prison. For a culture that is based strictly on the bible that teaches forgiveness, strangely the Puritans are quick to punish, and Hestor also becomes a victim of this.
Trust is a very important element in being a social person. Being trustworthy and loyal is extremely honorable in human character but at times the truth is too hard to swallow. In the novel The Scarlet Letter, by classic American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne, the contrast of truth and lies is a reoccurring idea throughout the novel. Hester Prynne is a young puritan woman of God who had committed adultery while her husband left Boston, Massachusetts to travel to Europe. 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.
We couldn’t keep a fire like that going, not if we tried.”(William Golding p.52) And since he doesn’t have a good relationship with others, they are always mean to him. However Jack commented back “ A fat lot, you tried.. You just sat.” Clearly just cause of his weight , everyone doesn’t want to have any relationship with him. Hence, even though Simon gets bullied, his relationship with others it better then Piggy’s, cause the boys just consider him, as a fat, lazy potty mouth just there. Nevertheless, Piggy and Simon are nothing alike in appearance. Piggy is obviously chubby, fat, wears glasses.
Hawthorne uses the imaginative and symbolic form of the romance to veil the impression of the serious themes in his novel. The young woman Hester Prynne is the main character in The Scarlet Letter. She is accused of adultery, and because she does not confess who the father of her illegitimate child is, she gets sentenced to wearing a scarlet letter on her breast as a sign and reminder for her and the Puritan community she lives in. Expelled from the community, she lives on the edge of the village as an outcast and has to find her own way. Other important characters in the novel are Hester´s daughter Pearl, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth.
Within Arthur’s coward self lies his guilt, and openly, lies Hester’s guilt. Arthur Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne commit an immense sin that causes different feelings to erupt throughout the novel, with guilt being the most rising. When it comes to secrecy and guilt, for Hester, it is undeniable.
Though he is more a man of God than Parris, he is not without his faults, and his faults will prove fatal. Hale carries a number of large books when he enters Salem, giving the impression that he is prepared for what he will encounter. The only thing that he was prepared to do was add more glory to his name. The fits of the girls, led by Abigail Williams, allowed Hale to easily be beguiled and manipulated, using his authority to ensure that all who the girls felt had wronged them would be punished. Hale’s senses return to him all but too late as the trials condemn those who are clearly innocent to a Satanist’s death.
Double standards resonate deeply in “The Scarlet Letter.” Nathaniel Hawthorne uses specific characters to represent many different evils in society. One of these evils, hypocrisy, exists as one of the most important themes in the novel. At very specific and timely points in the book Hawthorne and the Narrator are able to portray fraudulence as the root of why the world seems to fall apart for Dimmesdale. Because of his hypocritical tendencies, Dimmesdale pains the people closest to him; including himself. Even though Pearl was willing to have a relationship with her father, Dimmesdale's heart was not strong enough to fully reveal himself to his own daughter until much too late.
The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, writes about the psychological effects of hidden sin and guilt. In this novel he writes about three characters who display hidden guilt and numerous sins. A young beautiful woman, Hester, committed the sin of adultery. From that sin, she bore a child with Arthur Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale as the Reverend of the Puritan society broke his sacred promise with the Lord and church.