ipl-logo

Dimmesdale's Response To Scarlet Letter

493 Words2 Pages

What may a red "A" on your bosom mean? Well for Hester Prynne, it was a punishment that she had and only her had to pay. After having a baby, Pearl, with a man that was not her husband, she was charged with adultery. She carried the punishment to her grave, but not until seven years after Pearl had been born did the father speak out. After confessing her sin, she was asked who the father was, but she did not want to give that up. Even after everything, she carried the guilt and the sin with her. Dimmesdale was given the job to convince her through the appeal to ethos and pathos, but he had another for wanting her confession. It all started with his position, which was made to appeal to pathos. Even though Dimmesdale was already an authority figure in Salem, he was perched on a balcony overlooking his audience. This is very important because it is said that the higher up you are on a platform, the more important you look; just like God. …show more content…

As stated in the passage "tempered with respect towards the youthful clergyman whom he addressed". As he speaks, he says that’s despite the man coming down from somewhere high up, it will all be better. Dimmesdale is speaking about himself. He is the father of little Pearl. Through out the speech he speaks to Prynne with double meaning; he is begging her without anyone else

Show More
Related

  • How The Reverend Dimmesdale Handled This Passage

    781 Words  | 4 Pages

    Dimmesdale should have come clean right at the start but he instead he covered it up and this opens a door for people to use it against you if they find out. This happens in to Dimmesdale when Chillingworth who at the time was Hester’s ex-husband and Dimmesdale’s doctor, he finds out that his suspicions were right about Dimmesdale being the person that was involved in the affair with Hester when he finds the letter A written on his chest. This opens a door for

    Read More

  • Examples Of Foreshadowing In The Scarlet Letter

    488 Words  | 2 Pages

    First, Dimmesdale’s sin getting revealed was foreshadowed and it sounded as if it had to be revealed in a certain way. While Dimmesdale was with Hester and Pearl on the scaffold, Pearl asked if he would stand with them the next day. To this he said, “Nay, not so, my little Pearl, not so my child. I shall, indeed, stand with thy mother and thee one other day, but not to-morrow” (Hawthorne 99). If Dimmesdale was not worried about what the public would think once he revealed his sin, then he would have just stood their the next day and revealed it then.

    Read More

  • How Old Is Dimmesdale In Scarlet Letter

    573 Words  | 3 Pages

    For seven years, Dimmesdale pretends he is innocent of adultery and gets praises for his faux act. Dimmesdale even says so himself that he feels extremely guilty and would rather share his crime than to keep it in secret. He obviously does not prefer sharing his crime with the public because he waits seven long years to do so. He was too obsessed with what others think and gossip about him.

    Read More

  • How Is Dimmsdale Presented In The Scarlet Letter

    741 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dimsdale is reluctant to admit his sin because he has the mentality that he can never lose respect from the public however in order to gain redemption for his sins he has to sacrifice his reputation. Dimsdale is one of the main characters in Nathaniel Hawthorn’s “The Scarlet Letter” he is the minister of the puritan community in Boston and everyone in the community looks up to him. Dimsdale is the puritan minister of Boston who has a high reputation who is considered to be an important member of the community. Sin is intolerable within the puritan community and that is why Dimsdale is so conflicted when it comes to confessing his sin since he is a person that everyone looks up to.

    Read More

  • Dimmesdale In The Scarlet Letter

    1227 Words  | 5 Pages

    Dimmesdale’s True Colors Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, also the father of Hester’s child, showed prominent parts of his character throughout the story. The first trait the reader becomes aware of is Dimmesdale’s cowardice. He has no intentions of revealing his sin to the public, due to how highly he is seen in the community’s eyes. Remorse, or guilt, is another term that can be associated with Dimmesdale, growing increasingly more prominent as the novel goes on. Cowardice, a lacking of bravery when facing danger, was a trait that Dimmesdale carried.

    Read More

  • Arthur Dimmesdale's Guilt Quotes

    1158 Words  | 5 Pages

    Mentally, his guilt strains his mind, which causes his physical deterioration, and the weakening of his body. As Dimmesdale finally admits his sin to the townspeople, his guilt is lifted, and he is able to release himself from his captivity. Though he deteriorated both mind and body from his guilt, by telling the townspeople of his sin, it was as if “a spell was broken” (238). He no longer needed to force himself to hide his sin, which was what was hurting him. By finally dealing with his sin in a similar way to Hester, Dimmesdale was able to free himself of his self-imposed captivity and

    Read More

  • The Guilt Of Dimmesdale In Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter'

    319 Words  | 2 Pages

    Erin Joel Mrs. Janosy English 2H P 5 22 October 2015 Quote Explication Dimmesdale is trying to overcome a conflict within his own soul, defying his own religion, and choosing to do wrong by keeping his sin to himself. In a theocracy type community like Dimmesdale's, God is known as the supreme civil ruler, and a crime would be known as a sin. On the other hand, Hester’s sin was made known to the public, receiving the public shame and ridicule she deserved. During the duration of time when the public knew Dimmesdale was hiding his sin, “the agony with which this public tortured him” (Hawthorne 119).

    Read More

  • Who Is Dimmesdale Punish Sinners In The Scarlet Letter

    1000 Words  | 4 Pages

    dimsdale was praised because people could sympathize with the sermons he gave about committing sins and people were always willing to listen to his advice because of the role he played as the head of the church. People in salem admired dimmesdale lot this admiration created respect for dimmesdale within the community.when people in the community talked to dimmesdale they addressed him in a praising manner. “good master Dimmesdale “said he “the

    Read More

  • Arthur Dimmesdale Quotes

    1718 Words  | 7 Pages

    Dimmesdale’s suffering from his guilt will lead to his mental instability. His madness derives from his inability to let free of his burden of sin. Later on, the townspeople become aware of his decline in health when his preachings become more solemn and quiet due to his lack of strength. The people believed that his suffering and sickness was a trial sent from God to prove his worth.

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Letter Dimmesdale's Transformation

    523 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dimmesdale starts living with Chillingworth so the doctor can keep the feeble minister ‘healthy’; the doctor, reversely, tries to make Dimmesdale feel conflicted about his morals which leads to Dimmesdale obsessively whipping himself “...on his own shoulders” and“... fast[ing]...in order to purify [his] body… rigorously...until his knees trembled beneath him[self]...” (132). He is enveloped in his sin, and cannot escape it unless he tells the truth. In fact, Dimmesdale could not stop thinking about his sin which “...continued to give Mr. Dimmesdale a real existence [which] was the anguish in his inmost soul” (133).

    Read More

  • Dimmesdale And Chillingworth's Secrets In Scarlet Letter

    361 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dimmesdale and Chillingworth both have secrets that make them look and act differently, their secrets affect their character and how they do their job. Dimmesdale is the father of Pearl but he doesn 't want to face the same humiliation as Hester did for his sins. Because of his secret he self punishes and fasts, he also preaches better than he did before although his health is failing. Chillingworth’s secret is that he was the husband of Hester while he was away, before she cheated on him. Chillingworth gets uglier and uglier driven by the need to get revenge on Pearl’s father.

    Read More

  • Arthur Dimmesdale's Moral Development In Scarlet Letter

    978 Words  | 4 Pages

    In 1964, Lawrence Kohlberg, a psychologist introduced the idea that humans evolved through different stages of morality. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne male characters exemplify a moral development as the story unfolds. In particular, Arthur Dimmesdale’s morality differs from the beginning of the novel to the ending of the novel. His morality undergoes continuity and change by constantly changing from selfishness, social order, and social contract. Dimmesdale undergoes the morality maintaining the social order and being considerate of others to eventually being selfish and only thinks about himself.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Dimmesdale And Chillingworth A Sinner

    480 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dimmesdale sinned with Hester Prynne by committing adultery. Although this was terrible and looked down upon, his crime was self inflicting and done out of passion. After Hester was punished for the crime, Dimmesdale was overwhelmed with guilt and sadness. This showed that Dimmesdale was a good person

    Read More

  • Hester And Dimmesdale In The Scarlet Letter

    743 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Dimmesdale not confessing and facing a punishment in the eyes of the church as well as the townspeople, causing him to take to his own means, while Hester is able to face a punishment. Dimmesdale does what he believes is right for his punishment by doing acts that damaged his mind and body. Dimmesdale, in creating his own punishment, holds vigils that last all night, fasted to the point that he barely ate anything at all, beat himself, and lost the will to live. Dimmesdale's sin stays with him throughout the book, and the readers see his mind and body deteriorate through his mysterious sickness, while the readers see Hester become a closed off outcast trying to repent. The townspeople in the book see DImmesdale's sickness, and how devoted he is to his faith and begin to believe that he is holy, and an angel sent to sent to save them, while Hester has repented and become able, as well as an

    Read More

  • The Hidden Sin In The Scarlet Letter

    686 Words  | 3 Pages

    As the moving of story, the “side effect” of the hidden sin has reveal. Dimmesdale become more sick and powerless. As the end of the story, Dimmesdale concede the sin and died as the winner of the fight with hidden sin. Dimmesdale as a combination of saint and sinner, his sin is not committed adultery, but it is that he cannot face the sin and admit it. He wanted to be all perfect in the eyes of the masses, but destroyed his perfectly in the eyes of God.

    Read More

More about Dimmesdale's Response To Scarlet Letter

Open Document