One moral consequence of sin is guilt. In Dimmesdale's case his sin was a great one. He had committed adultery with a married women, Hester. Hester received her punishment, but Dimmesdale goes unpunished, causing him to be ridden with guilt. Guilt was the culprit of all of Dimmesdale’s suffering. Guilt lead Dimmesdale to whip himself, starve himself, and possibly carve the scarlet letter into himself. His health depletes rapidly after Hester is publically shamed but he is allowed to continue his normal daily life. This creates unrest in Dimmesdale, he feels that he also deserves a punishment. Therefore, one night, Dimmesdale in his state of omnipresent guilt, goes to the scaffold, the one that Hester was publicly shamed on. While traveling
In this book, Hawthorne details an elaborate story showing the consequences of confessing sins in contrast to concealing it. A sin weighing down on you and destroying you from the inside out is a moral consequence and, the only remedy is confessing the sin. This notion can be seen in the difference between Hester and Dimmesdale with how they handled the scarlet letter and the effects of that. Hester had worn her scarlet letter out for the public to see from the very beginning. She the subject of a lot of the town’s scrutiny.
Dimmesdale became lost within his identity due to the self-inflicted shame and guilt, and he finally came to the conclusion that he would be healthier if he came forward and revealed himself. Although the congregation was displeased, and he received all of their judgmental stares at once, he finally felt at peace. He realized that the punishment wasn’t nearly as bad as his own demons that were relentless. Shortly after his confession, he died. He knew he couldn’t die without clearing his conscience.
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.
Luke Chilton Mrs. Hogg AP English 3 January 2017 Module Eight Lesson Three Mastery Assignment: The Scarlet Letter Chapter 9-12 In the novel, Mr. Chillingworth suggests that it would be a good idea for Chillingworth and Dimmesdale to lodge in the same house. When the Reverend Dimmesdale tells his congregation the he is the worst of all sinners, the congregation becomes fussy and very upset over the fact that he has been a liar and a hypocrite.
However, Dimmesdale’s strong conscience will not rest while his sin goes unpunished, leaving him with a burning desire for both penalty and disclosure. It is illustrated that Dimmesdale’s conscience is plagued after his sin, and this distress intensifies once he learns of Hester’s new place in society, as a matronly figure. Dimmesdale’s hiding of sin and internalization of guilt damages his conscience and tears apart his
Despite committing adultery,Hester and Dimmesdale are saved. From the second chapter to the end of the book, Hester has been making up for her sins and dealing with the consequences of her actions. Even though dimmesdale did not confess until the enfo the book, he still suffered the consequences of his sin. Dimmesdale is saved because he confesses his sin to the whole town even though it was seven years late. “At last--- at last I stand upon the spot where, seven years since, I should have stood, here, with this women….”
The Puritan belief and lifestyle plays a major role in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter. The story takes place in Puritan New England, and opens with a scene presenting to the audience that a young woman named Hester Prynne has committed adultery. Wearing her punishment proudly, a scarlet letter “A” on her breast, Hester continues to live in New England where she raises her daughter and creates an embroidering business for herself. All the while, in the heart of the town, Hester’s lover and the child’s father, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale silently suffers and is ultimately overcome with guilt from his secret sin until the point of death.
Hester and Dimmesdale have both committed adultery, but Hester accepts and embraces what has happened. Alternatively, for Dimmesdale, enduring seven long years of guilt and sin are required to get him to finally reveal the truth. Taking so many years to do so shows how
John Proctor’s act of tearing up the confession is an act to regain his lost honor and integrity. Throughout the text John Proctor makes various statements about his name and how it shall not be tarnished. Proctor then tells about how he and Abigail had an affair, which tarnishes his name. That then brings forth his drive for initiative. John Proctor takes his opportunity when it comes upon him instantly and puts on a grade “A” act.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter takes place in the Massachusetts Bay colony during the 17th century. The story revolves around a young woman, named Hester Prynne, who is forced by her community to bestow a scarlet “A” on her chest for the rest of her life in order to remind her of the adulterous sin and crime she has committed. As her punishment, in the form of public humiliation, Hester is constrained to stand upon a scaffold in the town square while holding her illegitimate baby, Pearl. In the midst of the townspeople, she recognizes a familiar face; her long, lost husband who had been presumed dead at sea.
Imagine living in a place where one small sin could define who you are for the rest of your life. That is what happened in The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850. The novel is set in a seventeenth-century Puritan community in Boston, Massachusetts. A young woman by the name of Hester Prynne commits a small act of adultery and is shamed for the rest of her life, by wearing a scarlet letter “A” on her breast. The book is centered around the theme of justice and judgement.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a novel that focuses on sin in the Puritan society. Hawthorne revolves the theme around the four main characters Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth., and Pearl. Hester Prynne is forced to wear the scarlet letter ‘A’ after committing adultery against her husband Roger Chillingworth, with the minister Arthur Dimmesdale. As a result an odd child is born.
The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, focuses on the life of Hester Prynne—the unlucky soul who is caught committing adultery and forced to live a life of shame and ignominy. The scaffold is not only the start of her predicament, but it is also the end of the once seemingly perfect Reverend Dimmesdale’s own guilt. The scaffold is the setting of a scene three times throughout the novel: the beginning, middle, and end. For such a lifeless object, it is difficult to recognize its significance in the novel; however, the scaffold is used by Hawthorne to portray the changing relationship between the characters, specifically Hester, Dimmesdale, and Pearl.
The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, was published in 1850. It focuses on the life of the main protagonist, Hester Prynne, living in a Puritan community. Both Yamin Wang and Maria Stromberg offer insight into The Scarlet Letter and analyze multiple aspects of the story.. Both Wang and Stromberg claim that there is an underlying ideology hidden in the texts of the book. Wang approaches the story from a feminist approach and states that Hester represents the feminism in the Puritan community, and she analyzes the Puritan’s outlook on women in their society.