Scarlet Letter Evil Vs Evil Essay
A Life Undone with a Letter
The plot of the Scarlet Letter is based on sin and faults of the characters in this book. Due to the mistakes of Hester and Dimmesdale a child was created and the child violated the law against infidelity. However, the real evil came from Roger Chillingworth, who was altered by his desire for revenge. The Puritans believed that sinning is the nature of mankind. While others felt that mankind has good intents but those intentions can be corrupted by evil. In this novel three different symbols are used to represent evil: The letter ‘A’, The Scaffold and The Black Man. The only thing worse than committing sin is failing to admit to it.
Even though evil is the nature of mankind there are different tiers of evil. In the Scarlet Letter, some characters choose to fight it while others decided to give in to the evil. In the law of the Puritans adultery is one of the worst crimes possible. On the other hand, characters such as Roger Chillingworth decided to give in to the evil. The Puritans believe that the Black Man was an evil spirit separate from common life. We know that this is not true through Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and Ms. Hibbins because Hester's Scarlet Letter was left by the black man The Puritans use the black man as a symbol of all evil. While Hester calls Roger The Black man because she thinks he caused all the
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First, Hester is required to wear it in public always for committing adultery. Dimmesdale also gives himself the mark because of his own self-guilt. Second The ‘A’ seems almost unavoidable for Dimmesdale. The Scaffold represents major turning points in the Scarlet Letter. When the Scaffold is mentioned Hester was guilty of her evil. Dimmesdale stands on the Scaffold at night crying because if his own sin when the letter ‘A’ appears in the sky. Dimmesdale reveals himself as the other sinner because he cannot live with his guilt any
Figurative Language In The Scarlet Letter
1210 Words | 5 PagesWhile Dimmesdale and Hester are discussing how guilt and sin have affected them differently, Dimmesdale states, “‘Happy are you hester that wear the scarlet letter openly upon your bosom! Mine burns in secret!’” p 131. Dimmesdale compares the way Hester deals with her sin to the way he deals with his. Hester has be open about her sin to the point at which she reveals it on her bosom as the scarlet letter, whereas Dimmesdale keeps it in secret as the guilt boils up inside him.
Dimmesdale In The Scarlet Letter
1227 Words | 5 PagesHester 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
Scarlet Letter Sinful Quotes
1842 Words | 8 PagesAvenging and vengeful is the man who is wronged! This statement could be applied to several characters throughout the novel The Scarlet Letter, written by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. Sinful acts are inflicted upon many of the minute cast of characters, which impose a riveting journey for the reader to endure. Even more so are the reactions these prominent characters have toward their anguish and adversities as they heave themselves into the depths of solitariness, self-inflicted agony, and woe. Among these richly intriguing personalities is the town’s sinful stain, Hester Prynne, who has committed adultery; the demon-child, Pearl, who was a product to her mother’s adultery; the unholy clergyman, Arthur Dimmesdale, the other adulterer; and the implacable Doctor, Roger Chillingworth.
How Does Chillingworth Commit The Greatest Sin
396 Words | 2 PagesIn the novel The Scarlet Letter sinning is greater or equal to any crime today. In the small Puritan town many people sin, but Roger Chillingworth commits the greatest sin. He is the husband of Hester Prynne and a physician in Boston, Massachusetts. He is a man who is not only lost to the devil but a fraud. He puts his good skill to bad deeds.
Essay On The Scaffold In The Scarlet Letter
1344 Words | 6 PagesIn the first few chapters, the scaffold serves as the exposition of the novel to introduce Hester’s “walk of shame” and Dimmesdale’s absence from the very same fate. During the first scene, Hester is “dragged out into the sunshine” and displayed to “the crowd of spectators” (38). Hester likely feels dreadful as she is like a circus animal viewed upon by people uncaring about her physical well being and only worried about the entertainment. She is “dragged” into the sunlight; hence, she is being forcibly extracted from her one hiding place, the dark jail, and exposed so that everyone can see her guilt. By likening
Suffering In The Scarlet Letter And Dimmesdale
823 Words | 4 PagesThere is a chance that if Dimmesdale confessed his sin when Hester was on the scaffold he might’ve not have suffered so badly. Dimmesdale was also physically tortured by Chillingworth, “... appearance of an immense letter-- the letter A-- marked out in lines of dull red light” (Hawthorne 107). Dimmesdale agrees that he should have confessed sooner because he says, “‘... behold me here, the one sinner of the world! At last!- at last!-- I stand upon the spot where, seven years since, I should have stood; here, with this women…’”(Hawthorne 174). Chillingworth tortured Dimmesdale when he was living with him as his doctor.
What Does Chillingworth Symbolize In The Scarlet Letter
1010 Words | 5 PagesIn the book The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses multiple characters as symbols. With an influx of evidence, Hawthorne proves that Roger Chillingworth is a symbol of evil. Roger Chillingworth first appears in chapter three of the book. He is Hester’s estranged husband from England. He fits into the story as a medical professional that has just traveled to the town.
Who Is Dimmesdale's Suffering In The Scarlet Letter
522 Words | 3 PagesDimmesdale and Hester suffers because of the sin they did. Dimmesdale feels guilt even though he never confesses that he is the farther. He would go to the scaffold at night and stand there screaming trying to get the people to come outside to see him but it was just all in his head when she would stand on the scaffold during the day with the red A on her chest she felt guilt even though she would not tell anyone who the farther is and for having an affair while her husband was missing for years. For example, Dimmesdale does not want to confess about his sin because he does not want to face the consequences. This is illustrated when Dimmesdale says, “then and there before the judgment-seat, thy mother and thou, and I must stand together” (Dimmesdale 139).
Scarlet Letter Good Vs Evil
1029 Words | 5 PagesIn chapter 3 , “The Recognition”,Dimmesdale pleads Hester to tell who the partner in the sin was but she refuses. “She will not speak!” murmurs Mr. Dimmesdale, who was leaning over the balcony, with his hand upon his heart …” This quote shows how Dimmesdale is accusing Hester of not admitting who sinned with her when he did not. The placement of Dimmesdale 's hand over his heart later on is revealed that he has a his own letter carved in his chest.
What Is The Secrecy In The Scarlet Letter
725 Words | 3 PagesThe Scarlet Letter begins in 1642 Boston, Massachusetts with the Puritan society punishing Hester Prynne for her sins against God. The puritans believe that any crime is a crime or a sin against God and the Puritan leaders take this very seriously. Hester committed adultery with an unknown man. She was living out her punishment peacefully with her child Pearl until Roger Chillingworth appears back in town. No one knows that Chillingworth is Hester 's husband except for Hester.
Light And Darkness In The Scarlet Letter
728 Words | 3 PagesThe darkest character in The Scarlet Letter is Chillingworth. At the start of the book, Chillingworth knows who his wife had an affair with and tortures him through the book, Chillingworth exclaims “He will be mine!” (4). Another dark thing, how Chillingworth is described as “he would have had no need to ask how Satan comports himself, when a precious human soul is lost to Heaven” (10). Reading when a precious soul is lost to heaven, it gives chills.
Analysis Of Hester Prynne In The Scarlet Letter
896 Words | 4 PagesThe Scarlet Letter was Hester’s forced punishment and is a reminder to the whole community of Hester’s sin of adultery. As Hester’s character grows in strength she realizes that “if truth were everywhere to be shown, a scarlet letter would blaze forth on many a bosom” (59). Hester expresses how everyone sins and if everyone was punished the way she was, many people would have to wear a letter of their own. The punishment of wearing the “A” gave Hester the freedom of not having to hide her sins from others. However, the people with hidden sins have to protect their reputation which causes a lack of freedom.
Dimmesdale's Responsibility For Sin In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne
878 Words | 4 PagesThe book “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a complex novel that has underlying themes of sin and the responsibility for sin. The novel takes place in a Puritanical society, but two people, Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, fornicate with each other, even though Hester is married to someone else. Only Hester is punished, so Dimmesdale keeps his guilt inside, not revealing it to anyone. Hester’s husband, Chillingworth, then proceeds to ruin Hester’s partner in crime, corrupting his soul and being the ultimate cause for his death. Hester, on the other hand, leads a relatively happy life after she had repented for her sin.
Essay On Evil In The Scarlet Letter
719 Words | 3 PagesHis novel The Scarlet Letter expresses this very idea by exposing the follies of mankind and the potentially detrimental effects of sin through Hester Prynne, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth
Theme Of Adultery In The Scarlet Letter
813 Words | 4 PagesAdultery, Able, Angel. The Scarlet Letter is about a woman who can take a symbol that means one thing and changes it to mean the complete opposite. In this novel a woman named Hester Prynne had committed a sin of adultery and is forced to wear the letter “A” on her chest in remembrance of her sin. The story takes place in the mid 17th century in a Puritan town of Boston. The rest of the story is based upon trying to find out who the father of Hester 's baby is.
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