Comparing Sin In The Scarlet Letter And The Crucible By Arthur Miller

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play which contains a multitude of complex characters . In the play, the characters’ motivations and inner processes are explored. Because of the historical setting, the characters live in a society of judgement and extreme religious devotion. This is a factor that places any of the characters’ choices and morals in a public balance to be judged by others. Abigail Williams is the main character of the play and acts with an utter selfishness and obsession.

John Proctor, a well-respected farmer, has to make many difficult decisions that affect himself, his family, and the community of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The tragedy of Salem trials begins with John Proctor. He is a middle aged man, a farmer, a husband, and a father who also committed a truculent sin. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible demonstrates the effects of hidden sin on John Proctor's character, on his family, and on his community.

Niccolo Machiavelli once said, “If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.” The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, are set in the seventeenth century puritan New England. Adherence to puritan values is paramount, yet both protagonists commit grievous sins around which the plot revolves. The fall from grace, the subsequent consequences and the transformation of all the characters is uniform across both books. The metamorphosis of the protagonists is similar yet so distinct that it seems that Hawthorne and Miller are trying to convey the same message in different dialects of the same language. Vengeance is the recurrent theme in both the books and

In Arthur Miller's’ The Crucible, jealousy and mistrust are the most dominant emotions Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor shares for one another. Their jealousy and mistrust are rooted in their desire for John Proctor's love, which inevitably leads to the compromise of their Puritan morals of their society. At the beginning of the play, Betty Parris confirms Abigail Williams true motivation to kill Elizabeth Proctor. “You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor” (Miller 19). Abigail’s eagerness to kill Goody Proctor has displayed the depth of her desire for Proctor. She is willing to go to greater extents, such as murder to get rid of Goody Proctor and have John all to herself. This is the hidden

The authors conveyed this through bringing attention to specific details and the decisions of the characters in their writing. Three lessons that were included in both the play and the novel were the overcoming of the stereotypes and bias of characters in The Scarlet Letter, the corruption of not only the ones who govern, but also susceptible to even the common citizens in The Crucible, and the perspective of faith and morality of the characters in the story who determine good versus evil through irony. Both works convey many lessons that can be interpreted in many different ways but are still universal and timeless. The lessons can also be applied to many situations in

The movie version of The Crucible brings to light new information that demystifies a formerly vague storyline, and is more effective in getting across its meaning than the book. The scene in which Abigail visits Proctor in prison adds context to the plot that one cannot gather directly from the book, explains the motivation behind Abigail's actions in the play, and is very well acted. It also provides a clearer depiction of Proctor’s loyalty and devotion to his wife, Elizabeth. The character development that takes place in this scene gives the viewer a more in-depth understanding of Abigail’s manipulative tendencies and of John Proctor’s sense of obligation towards his wife than is derived from the book.

Guilt is emotional torture that transforms one's psychological operation. In the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, before the Salem witch trials emerge, John Proctor cheats on his wife Elizabeth Proctor, with young Abigail. Causing him to live with an eternal shame that generates dispute. Proctor’s endeavour is to elude from his wrongdoing, but he cannot because of the disgrace he feels himself to be when around Elizabeth. Miller shows that John Proctor's emotional and behavioral conflict rises from his guilt. Proctor’s guilt is present when he, attempts to pay for his sins by giving his wife materialistic objects, hesitates to obey his wife's suggestion to accuse Abigail of false bewitchment, and breaks out in anger for not wanting to be judged any longer.

Leading a life of regret is a challenging existence for any man for guilt weighs heavily on the soul. John Proctor, the protagonist in Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible, is burdened by an immoral act, a torrid affair, which has cost him his name and integrity. Forgiveness comes at a great price, one that he must come to terms with. John Proctor undergoes a transformation from a man battling internal strife to a man who rediscovers his personal integrity.

When members of society do not conform, they are often treated differently. Those who are rebels, those who break the rules and do not fit into the status quo, become outcasts to society. These castaways are often avoided, ignored, and disrespected by societal figures. Modern society is easily said to have multiple different expectations for its affiliates, in relation to physical ideals, emotional processes, and intelligence levels. Societies’ essential goals for human life are everywhere; magazines, television, radio, the internet, and even on everyday streets. The pressure to be ‘perfect’ is strong, however very difficult to attain. However, most people, if not all, do strive to be successful in meeting these qualities of perfection, whether

In the “Scarlet Letter,” Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays hypocrisy of the Puritan society, where the protagonist Hester Prynne face many consequences of her actions and the how she tries to redeem herself to the society. During the seventeenth puritans believe that it is their mission to punish the ones who do not follow God’s word and it is their job to stop those from sinning. Therefore, the hypercritical puritan society punishes Hester harshly for committing adultery, but in Hester’s mind, she believes that what she did was not a sin but acts of love for her man. Eventually, she redeems herself by turning her crime into an advantage to help those in need, yet the Puritan society still view her as a “naughty bagger.” (Hawthorne 78)

The definition of integrity in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is a firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values. A character with integrity is willing to sacrifice anything of sentimental or physical value, even their life or reputation, to defend the moral system they govern themselves by. It takes someone of strong character to possess integrity, because the temptation to give in is every so often immensely appealing. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne is a character of such integrity, because she upholds her promise with Chillingworth and refuses to flee from the punishment of the scarlet letter “A”. (Hawthorne 55) On the other hand, Dimmesdale was a man of low integrity, because he would not confess the truth about

The history of humanity is essentially a long string of ups and downs, rights and wrongs, Golden Ages and Great Depressions. While it may seem to the average person like humanity has made great strides, many historians believe that within the last 3,400 years, humans have only been at peace for 268 of them. The time left over, which is 3,132 years, are times of war, including World War I and II, the American Revolution, Hundred Years War, even the Fall of the Roman Empire; this time also includes many sins, wrongdoings, and accusations of the innocent. The concept of sin has been the inspiration for many works of literature. One great writer who took inspiration from those scenarios is Arthur Miller. The Salem Witch Trials inspired his Broadway

The Scarlet Letter written by author Nathaniel Hawthorne is an American novel based on sin and the act of Adultery. This novel is based on the early days of the Massachusetts colony and shows how differently crimes are approached then from now. Hester Prynne commits the unfaithful crime of Adultery and not only does she have to serve for her punishment, but her daughter serves for it as well. Pearl, the symbol of an act of forbidden love and passion has to live with being the reminder of her mother 's misconduct for her entire life. Growing up in a small town with her reputation, it is hard for Pearl to have any kind of normality in her life. Pearl is unlike the other children in many ways, she is an outcast and does not have a friendly relationship

The Scarlet Letter, a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850, functions as an evaluation of Puritan ideas, customs, and culture during the 17th century. Through this evaluation, we can get a good idea of what core values and beliefs the Puritans possessed, as well as the actions they take in cases of adversity brought about by “sinners”. Some Puritan virtues created stark divisions between groups of people, some of which led to discrimination under certain circumstances. One of the most prominent of these is the treatment and standards of men and women, a concept that surfaced during some of the major points in The Scarlet Letter. The divisions that were created by Puritan standards of men and women played a great role in shaping the plot of The Scarlet Letter, determining the fate of many of the characters. In this essay, we will focus on the effects this ideology had on the treatment of Hester and Dimmesdale, and the effects it had on Dimmesdale after he confessed to committing adultery.