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Scarlet Letter Outline

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Scarlet Letter Outline As William Shakespeare once wrote, "Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall" (Shakespeare). Throughout our lives, we face many instances where we sin or are in the presence of a morally wrong action. These situations have a weighty effect on us, and ultimately transform our own actions, beliefs, and overall lives. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, all three main characters live a life defined by sin—both their own, and the sin of others around them. This sin plays a pivotal role in their lives and provides a platform for their own personal transformation. This conversion is especially prevalent in the life of Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale faces a large transformation due to his sin, from a pure …show more content…

His affair with Hester Prynne left her publicly humiliated, yet he did not face any backlash, as his identity was hidden. This became an issue for Dimmesdale, whose guilt became so intense that Chillingworth even stated, "look again at Hester 's scarlet letter...with all its mysterious horror, it is but the shadow of what [Dimmesdale] bears on his own breast...even this...is no more than the type of what has seared his innermost heart" (Hawthorne 305). Dimmesdale 's inner guilt manifested into intense self-hatred and he reverted back to a broken, guilt-ridden state in which he remained for seven years in an increasingly harmful pattern of self torture. This pain that he felt was immensely greater than that of Hester, who after being publicly shamed, could move on and surpass her individual guilt. As Hester grew stronger and became a more upstanding member of the community, Dimmesdale broke down, his spirit becoming, "so shattered and subdued that it could hardly hold itself erect" (236). It wasn 't until seven years had gone by that Dimmesdale finally overcame his guilt and relinquished himself to the mercy of the townspeople. His only true relief came during his discussion with Hester about running away, when, "the decision once made...his spirit rose, as it were, with a bound, and attained a nearer

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