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Redemption In The Scarlett Letter

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Bruce Lee once stated that “ Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.” Lee understands that if people want something, they must first ask for it. That’s easier said than done. The problem is that many people are too prideful to admit that they made a mistake and to beg the pardon of another. Those who wish for redemption must overcome the pride obstacle and humble themselves. Afterall, the first step to redemption is always seeking forgiveness, from yourself and from others. In the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses a sinful protagonist and a harsh Puritan setting to illustrate that everyone has the power to be redeemed.

Hester’s sins teach readers that no one is too far gone to be redeemed. She commits adultery …show more content…

Everyone can be forgiven for their mistakes, despite the views of those surrounding them. The Puritans believe in harsh penalties for committing sins because God’s punishment would be worse than any earthly trial. When Hester Prynne gets caught committing adultery and premarital sex, her punishment is extremely severe. She is thrown in prison, forced to wear a large letter A on her chest for the rest of her life, forced to raise her daughter Pearl and is publically humiliated upon a scaffold. Despite this lifelong punishment, many of the townspeople feel that Hester got off too easy; as the written punishment for adultery is death. When Hester Prynne is upon the scaffold, a spectator criticizes Hester’s punishment by saying “ At the very least they should have put the brand of a hot iron on her forehead”(Hawthorne 49). The townspeople’s belief causes them to do everything possible to make her regret her mistake. The angry villagers gossip about her and exile her from the society. They even go as far as to try to execute Pearl. Since it is sometimes difficult for one to be forgiven for certain sins in today’s society, it seems almost impossible to be redeemed in the eyes of the rigid Puritans. However, Hester manages to completely change the town’s perspective of her thus demonstrating that with a little extra work, everyone has the

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