In The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible Nathaniel Hawthorne and Arthur Miller use a great number of rhetorical strategies in order to argue that a person's conscience should take precedence over their religion. A rhetorical strategy that is used quite often by the two authors is pathos, in which they tapped into the reader's emotions to convince them of this idea. In The Scarlet Letter the character Dimmesdale is the one with the heavy conscience due to the fact that he is Pearl’s biological father. He does not admit to this sin because he is in an eminent position by being a minister of the community.
In order to reveal Dimmesdale's sorrowful nature. Hawthorne describes the different actions the poor minister takes in order to attempt to atone for his sins such as “[fasting]” and his use of a “bloody scourge” he genuinely believed that this would help to purify himself of his sins and to relieve the burden that he was forced to bear upon his shoulders, however his attempts to atone ultimately lead to even more torment. Hawthorne discloses this by describing Dimmesdale’s visions of the “herd of diabolic shapes, that grinned and mocked at the pale minister” this further reveals the utter anguish that he is going through another example of this is the vision of his mother “turning her face away as she passed by” the emotional
Within the “Scarlet Letter”, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Dimsdale to show how hiding a sin can destroy a person's life . Dimmesdale's character developed dramatically through the 7 year time period. His character traits such as religion pruty, respect ,changes ,and tragic hero transforms throughout the story . Primarily, Dimmesdale’s religion is a main component in his life .He is a minister which automatically grants him to heaven. The fear he has with god keeps him a well grounded person.
Following his brief sense of freedom, Dimmesdale also feels that “the air was too fresh and chill to be long breathed” and he then “withdrew again within the limits of what their church defined as orthodox” (Hawthorne 102). The inner conflict within Dimmesdale as to what he truly believes in acts as a valuable example towards the muffling of one’s emotions, for Dimmesdale is indecisive as he ties himself to being a dedicated minister above even his own thinking. This see-saw of loyalty exposes that Dimmesdale also lives something akin to a double life, growing more and more withdrawn as the days go on without receiving either proper punishment for his affair or a clear sense of security that he truly belongs in the church. He has created an inimical attitude towards himself out of shame and confusion, deeply rooted in his mind and
Oftentimes, an event that seems and feels negligible can have an immense impact on a person’s psyche and physical actions. A passage from chapter 20 of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne presents this phenomenon through Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. The passage shows Dimmesdale’s change from a weak, broken man to one with boundless energy as well as his change of view on life through symbolism. The change in Dimmesdale is seen immediately after he exits the forest, for he is described as having “unaccustomed physical energy” (Hawthorne, 188).
Penance vs. Penitence In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne writes of the hypocrisy of the Puritans in the 1600’s. He expresses the hardships of Hester Prynne and her adulterous lover, Authur Dimmesdale, who is also the town’s preacher. Because Reverend Dimmesdale is a very noble preacher, he has to persist with the guilt of his sin and continue to preach how one should live a holy and pure lifestyle.
Aiden Christianson Pugmire/Maack 11th Grade ELA 1/10/2023 Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter” is a novel talking about the puritan lifestyle, and how seriously they took their society. This story delves into themes of “hypocrisy” and “sin”, the biggest offender being Arthur Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale is the biggest hypocrite in this story, he committed adultery alongside Hester, but he stayed anonymous, keeping his job as the Puritan minister. He kept preaching about Puritan beliefs even though he himself was a sinner.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale commits a mortal sin by having an affair with a married woman, Hester Prynne. As a man of the cloth in Puritan society, Dimmesdale is expected to be the embodiment of the town’s values. He becomes captive to a self-imposed guilt that manifests from affair and his fear that he won’t meet the town’s high expectations of him. In an attempt to mitigate this guilt, Dimmesdale acts “piously” and accepts Chillingworth’s torture, causing him to suffer privately, unlike Hester who repented in the eyes of the townspeople. When Dimmesdale finally reveals his sin to the townspeople, he is able to free himself from his guilt.
Although many people have fatal flaws in The Scarlet Letter, Dimmesdale’s flaw negatively impacts the community the most. During the scaffold scene, Dimmesdale commanded that “‘Heaven hath granted thee an open ignominy, that thereby thou mayest work out an open triumph over the evil within thee and the sorrow without. Take heed how thou deniest to him—who, perchance, hath not the courage to grasp it for himself—the bitter, but wholesome, cup that is now presented to thy lips!’” (Hawthorne 63). Dimmesdale said that the sinner receives triumph over evil if they confess.
When we keep secrets we also keep guilt and guilt will destroy us from the inside. In the book of scarlet letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and how one woman who committed adultery with a character named dimmesdale who is the town revered. Dimmesdale kept secrets to maintaining his reputation but actions the guilt eats him from the inside. Dimmesdale the town revered for the puritan religion. He commits adultery with Hester and has a child, but instead of facing his sin he keeps inside for no one to know.
In the short story “The Minister’s Black Veil” and the novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the stories of two men who keep their sins secret and are hurt deeply. In The Scarlet Letter, Reverend Dimmesdale does not reveal his sin to the community and experiences far more pain than Hester, whose sin is revealed. Years after the original sin, Hester has healed and is accepted by the community, while Dimmesdale still feels guilty, as can be seen when he mounts the scaffold. Dimmesdale’s experience is similar to that of Reverend Hooper, who covers his face after a secret sin and is eschewed by the community. When we refuse to admit our faults, we will feel guilty
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.
Dimmesdale is a hypocritical reverend that does not confess his sin, and Chillingworth who is the knowledgeable physician, does not treat his patient. As a result of his actions, the Clergyman’s health rapidly declined until the end where he was brought to the scaffold to ,“die this death of triumphant ignominy before the people!”(Hawthorne 383). This may seem like a strange story now but when studied and compared to the writing era it originated from, all aspects of Romanticism fit. Each main character in the story has their own unique personality full of conflicting thoughts and complex emotions. Every time Dimmesdale clenched his chest in pain or wallowed in self-pity, he did not feel only one thing, but felt several.
However, when Dimmesdale reveals his scarlet letter, he is then referred to by “his bright wings over the people" and "shed[ing] down a shower of golden truths upon them." (170). Hawthorne's comparison of Dimmesdale to an angel conveys the hypocrisy of puritan moral values, revealing how their strict punishments against Hester differ towards a high positioned minister. Puritans assumptions
A Reader’s Ambivalence of Roger Chillingworth A successful novel is able to make readers feel a certain way about characters: a liking or disliking, a desire to succeed or not succeed, and anything in between. After seizing the reader’s feelings, the author has the potential to change them over the course of the book. There is also the feeling of ambivalence, which is, “the state of having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone.” In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, some readers assign this emotion to Roger Chillingworth. Roger Chillingworth is a character that readers feel ambivalent about, which is cultivated by Hawthorne to further the plot and develop characters.
