Hardships In The Scarlet Letter

These themes can be seen throughout the story as Mr. Hooper, the main character as a Reverend, punishes himself over a sin that is never revealed. He punishes himself to the utmost ability by blocking himself from the rest of the world, which in turn causes him to lose his social status and soon become a dark and mysterious man. Although society often frowns upon unexplained or uncommon beliefs, one should still be bound to them even if there are those who greatly oppose it, like Reverend Hooper had done in “The Minister’s Black Veil”. Even though Mr. Hooper is in a healthy relationship with his wife, he says, “Know, then this veil is a type and a symbol, and I am bound to wear it ever, both in light and darkness, in solitude and before the gaze of multitudes, and as with strangers, so with my familiar friends.

Hawthorne says, “about this period, however, the health of Mr. Dimmesdale had evidently began to fail … his form grew emaciated; his voice … had a certain melancholy prophecy of decay in it; he was often observed … to put his hand over his heart, with a flush and then a paleness, indicative of pain” (Hawthorne

These same men who act like they were religious enough because of tithing and yet are guilty of injustice. Barclay (1975) also stated in his book that these Pharisees have forgotten mercy by having a hard, arrogant and cruel demeanor. They could take oaths and pledges and promises with the deliberate intention of evading them, forgetting fidelity. In short many of them have been obsessing on matters that does not have much value and

When we do not do the will of God we tend to lose focus which makes us miserable. It happens a lot to me when I sin, I feel miserable so do not worry if you fall into sin as long as it makes you miserable the Holy Spirit is always there to uplift us and we will eventually conquer sin as Jesus did but we also have to practice self-control in order to

After being thrown in jail proctor finally realized that he was a terrible person and he even admits it. While talking to elizabeth he says “ I cannot mount the gibbet like a saint. It is a fraud. I am not that man.” (Miller 136)

Arthur Dimmesdale was a character with plenteous authority and a vast following from the puritan people which admired him, but he lost all of the power. The sin he committed mentally and physically exhausted himself which consequently lead him body to death. Dimmesdale receives brutal punishment because Nathaniel Hawthorne wanted to use him to teach a moral lesson that sin doesn’t have to be the event that defines how to live a life. Although Dimmesdale fails to move past his sin, Hawthorne presents the reader with an offering that would have free Dimmesdale of his crime to show redemption was still possible. Dimmesdale could not move past the emotional chain of events that were a result of sin, and therefore, he could not live a life of happiness as he did before his crime.

This was one of the pink ribbons that his wife Faith had been wearing in her hair. Goodman Brown was furious and believe that his wife was gone. He began yelling, “There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come, devil; for to thee is this world given.” (para 51)

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne explores recurring themes of suffering surrounding the main characters, Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale. Hester and Dimmesdale both commit adultery with each other, and, as a result of this, both experience gruesome and occasionally unbearable forms of suffering. Though they undergo different forms of pain, both of their experiences are highly reliant on how the Puritan society treats them. Hester 's pain stems from the shame and estrangement she receives from the community, while Dimmesdale’s is due to the reverence with which the community regards him. Although, in spite of the fact that both Hester and Dimmesdale receive harsh penalty for their sin, by the end of the book, Hawthorne shows how their suffering is, in fact, the key to their salvation.

Pick a Punishment In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale are plagued by “The Grass is Greener” Syndrome. Hester must bear her shame publicly while Dimmesdale is stricken silent of his misdoings. Because Hester is forced into penance for her adultery, she is afforded the opportunity to eventually work through her shortcomings and the emotions associated with her shame and guilt. Dimmesdale has not had such a luxury and becomes the sufferer of much anguish while thinking that his anguish would disappear if only he could confess.

Reverend Dimmesdale suffers a greater punishment than Hester by experiencing recurring guilt, physical harm, and Chillingworth’s obsessive need to achieve revenge. As a devout Puritan minister, Dimmesdale preaches against sin. Yet, Dimmesdale contradicts his preaching and has an affair with Hester, a married woman. The novel begins with Hester standing on a scaffold for public shaming.

Eliezer has not only lost faith in god but he has begun to feel hatred towards him for letting innocent men and women be slaughtered and burned. Elie now feels strong hatred towards god for not protecting the Jews. Elie’s view of god changed for the worse. He was very religious and close to god in many ways. He slowly began to lose faith and hope in god.

Often in the sermons pastors persuade their audience to behave in a spiritual or more fashion. Such is the case in Jonathan Edwards “Sinners in the hands of an Angry God” where he sends sinners to hell, who do not repent. Edwards wanted to impact his audience by appealing to their fears, pity and vanity. Edwards had a powerful impact on his puritan audience because of his use of a cautionary tone, clear imagery and complex figurative language.

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).

In Young Goodman Brown, a young man falls to sin. Due to the Calvinist beliefs Goodman Brown held, he presumed that his justification would exempt him from the evils of sin. His conviction reflected the sin of presumption, and his presumption caused him to lose his conviction. As a result, he enacted in the unpardonable sin.

Reverend Parris is the minister of Salem. He is very proud because of his position though he scares of losing it. He is Betty’s father and Abigail’s uncle. In the book, the author indicates him as “there is very little good in himself”. Perris is a wormy, paranoid, unreliable and an ignoble character.