Sin And The Chance Of Redemption In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

He knows what is right and wrong but one example has been haunting him in his life. Now in a Puritan society, sin had to have been confessed publicly and they must bear their shame. This however goes against what the Word actually says and this is what created Arthur Dimmesdale as a character. He most likely has already repented to God but his guilt will not leave until he confesses it to his congregation and it leads him to other “ways” of repentance. Being reminded of his guilt 24/7 causes his his health to deteriorate to the point of death, possibly alluding to the fact that the wages of sin are death.

Dimsdale’s death played largely on the fact that he knew he was guilty. As well as watching Hester being punished

He found his true self that eventually led to him confessing his sin. In the Puritan way of life, confessing a sin creates high-risk because the repercussions could consist of harsh punishment. Therefore, it took a lot for Hester and Dimmesdale to confess their sin of adultery. The sin they committed produced serious turmoil for them, but they both figured out how to deal with it.

Dimmesdale knew that his choice to step back and allow Hester to bear all the punishment was not morally just, and that choice forever ate at him until he revealed his true self. As the guilt grew stronger, he grew sicker and weaker. He was so afraid to ruin his reputation that he would rather suffer in silence. Hawthorne states, “…all the dread of public exposure, that had so long been the anguish of his life, had returned upon him; and he was already trembling at the conjunction in which- with a strange joy, nevertheless-he now found himself. ”(140).

Both Dimmesdale and Hester commited the same sin of adultery, resulting in Pearl. However, because Hester confessed the sin early on, she had the rest of her life to try and change the purpose of her scarlet A to mean something more than just sin. Which she succeeds in, the people refused to interpret the scarlet letter for sin and instead for “Able.” Soon after, the people had almost forgotten what the original meaning of the scarlet letter was. On the contrary Dimmesdale doesn’t confess his sin and lives a terrible life of self-harming and guilt.

Hester shares the physiological stress of the sinful act of adultery in her chest. The fact that she did not reveal the partner, says she wants to save someone else's dignity and reputation than herself. The Scarlet Letter is embraced by Hester, but signifies the shame and malignant reputation that is to come. After being in prison for

This constant reminder of sin negatively impacts the one wearing the object because it causes other characters to judge and act evil towards them. Derek Maus discusses Hawthorne's use of symbolism throughout his work and claims that Hawthorne values the use of symbolism because it allows for him to deliver a message in a non traditional way (Maus 43). Hawthorne uses symbolism in his works because it allows for him to display the negative effects of guilt in sin in a way that will cause readers to become more engaged. Symbolism shows the negative effects of guilt and sin in both The Scarlet Letter and “The Minister’s Black Veil” because in both stories the main character faces hardship simply because of an object they wear that has no other meaning than to represent sin. Although these items were only symbols, the characters wearing them faced harsh judgement because of what they

The reader is especially made aware of Dimmesdale's mental state in the eleventh chapter, “His inward trouble drove him to practices more in accordance with the old, corrupted faith of Rome, than with the better light of the church in which he had been born and bred” [150]. This suggests that he is racked with immense guilt and shame at the falsehood he is living and suggests that he is physically abusing himself as a result of this guilt. This directly contradicts Chillingworth's mental state of fury and vengeance that he falls deeper into as the story progresses. These two characters also hold striking incongruities as to what drives them onward as the account

Eventually she reveals the character that is more evil than her. “‘Be it sin or no,’ said Hester Prynne bitterly, as she still gazed after him, ‘I hate the man’... ’Yes, I hate him!’ repeated Hester, more bitterly than before. ‘He betrayed me!

Sin in The Scarlet Letter “Proclaim the truth and do not be silent through fear.” Saint Catherine of Siena once said. Silence through fear is something that Nathaniel Hawthorne explores in his works, especially the scarlet letter where he shows the contrast of keeping a sin inside, and wearing your sin on your sleeve, “proclaim the truth.” Coping with sin is something that all humans must do because of our inherent flaws; in Hawthorne’s stories he shows through several characters, the ways to cope with sin. “Young Goodman Brown”, another one of Hawthorne's more famous works also explores sin.

Lois Lowry gets most of the ideas for the giver from her life. When her sister died she wondered if it would be better if people couldn’t love at all because then we would not feel pain after the love ends. This is how Lowry got the idea that the people in the community cannot love. When Lowry saw the news report about the mass murder she didn’t really care because it wasn’t anywhere near her. In the giver when people are released the person that releases them doesn’t feel any remorse for what they have done.

She always follows what her mother wants her to do and never follows what she wants to do. Instead, she does things others tell her to do, until she decides to retaliate against her friend, Hilly. She finally had the courage to go against the segregation because she believed it to be incorrect, unjust, so she spoke up about it. She retaliated by purposely encouraging people to drop off their toilets in Hilly’s yard in the newsletter, because she disagreed on how Hilly viewed African Americans and treated them. Miss Skeeter learned to be her own self and do the things that she wanted to.

Hawthorne described three things in The Scarlet Letter. Sin, guilt, and redemption. Hawthorne uses people to symbolize them. Hester Prynne was one. Hawthorne allows the reader to get a better understanding by using biblical references.

Hidden vs Expressed Sin Destroyed from the outside in or suffering for years on end; neither represents a favorable consequence, but one can lead to a rebirth. Consequences of sin can vary, because hidden sin and exposed sin express themselves in different ways. Hidden sin can eat away at a person, while expressed sin rehabilitates a lost soul. In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, two main characters, Dimmesdale and Hester, demonstrate their own dealings with sin. The two had committed adultery, but only Hester’s sin revealed itself to the community.

The Role Faces Play in Society Throughout human nature, people do not tell strangers as many details about themselves as they would a family member. Nathaniel Hawthorne examines these faces throughout the novel The Scarlet Letter. People that wear two faces will cause immense guilt for themself and negative consequences to others. Hawthorne conveys through Dimmesdale that the effects of having two masks leads to immense guilt.