Comparing Sin In Scarlet Letter And The Minister's Black Veil By Nathaniel Hawthorne

In D.H. Lawrence’s critical analysis, On the Scarlet Letter, Lawrence examines Hester Prynne and the sin of adultery that she commits. Instead of discussing what the actual consequences were, he talks about his feelings of adultery and how horrible a person she is for committing it. Lawrence uses sarcastic allusions to historical/biblical events, choppy, short syntax, and harsh diction to analyze Hester Prynne. Lawrence frequently alludes to biblical events and another novel with similar situations throughout his analysis. These allusions show how Hester compares to the people who go through the same thing she does, showing how horrible she is when compared to others.

The novel focuses directly around this sin. Through writing The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne revealed his opinions of the nature of sin and the effects sin has on the sinner and those around them. Hawthorne thought that one needs to guard themselves against sin and that sin can have both negative and positive effects on the sinner. Hawthorne portrayed his feelings on sin through the eyes of the village. He used the prison to show what sin is and how to guard against it.

In both stories, these characters both struggle with their own sin, and attempt to make others realize sin that is inside of them. When Mr. Hooper wears his black veil, he becomes, “a man of awful power over souls that were in agony for sin” (Hawthorne 20). Mr. Hooper’s black veil makes him appear as a man who has committed an awful sin. This makes other people feel like they have a connection to him, and can go so far as to recognize their own sin. Similarly, Roderick Elliston attempts to make people view the sin within themselves.

1. In the epic poetry, The Inferno of Dante translation by Robert Pinsky (1320), Dante Alighieri implies that the sinners in Hell deserve the punishment that they get because of the bad decision(s) that they committed on the mortal world. Alighieri supports this claim by emphasizing how the sins of the sinners in the ninth circle were so bad that their punishment is well-deserved and that can be applied to all of the sinners throughout Dante’s journey. The author purposely emphasizes the sinner’s sins of betrayal in order to show that their decisions were so detrimental and overall so bad that a punishment did not seem like a choice but rather a necessity.

The “A’” significance and manifestation all pertain to sin. The Scarlet Letter is a Book written by Nathaniel Hawthorne that shows the true meaning of sin and guilt through another person's life in puritan society. Hester Prynne a lonely women departed from her ugly husband in england,commits infidelity or adultery with local preacher Dimmsdale and has a daughter out of the sin that was committed. To punish Hester she was forced to where a Large “A’” on her breast,to let everyone know what she has done. The Letter “A’” has different meaning to different people throughout the book.

On his journey, he meets people and listens to their stories and how they received their punishments. Dante shows the punishment of the sinners by use of analogy and antithesis. This is shown in canto five through lush between a couple, in canto thirteen through violence against oneself, and in canto twenty- three through fraudulence between hypocrites. Dante shows the punishment of the sinners by use of antithesis in canto five through lust between a couple. First, Dante meets the lustful.

The Scarlet Letter Symbolism Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote the book The Scarlet Letter that took place in the puritan age in the 1800´s, he´s a anti-transcentist who believes deep down humans are messed up and mostly dark and sin, sickness, and evil beings. Hester Prynne, the mother of Pearl and the protagonists of this story, and is forced to wear the scarlet letter ¨A¨ on the dresses for the rest of her life because she committed adultery with Minister Dimmesdale. Hester went through pain, and humility feeling guilty for committing such a sin. Minister Dimmesdale the other sinner who had sex with Hester and kept it to himself keeping the secret from the town, led him to a deadly guilt residing in him and father of Pearl called the ¨Demon child and the…... ¨, In his novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the symbolism of the Scarlet Letter, Dimmesdale, and Hester to contribute to the overall theme of guilt.

The three levels in this parable of understanding the symbolism are to first understand what the author is objectifying the most in the parable. And in this case, it is a black piece of clothing that is covering his face. When an author keeps on repeating the same thing over and over again, it has to symbolize something. Secondly, the black veil got in the way of people. Such as, his soon to be wife.

The theme of the parable is demonstrated through the veil and through Mr. Hooper's actions. Thus the parable of the black veil is the story of betrayal, of a man of God turned antichrist. This cannot be denied for in, the resolution of the plot Hawthorne affirms the dedication of his hero to the old covenant of God , the covenant of irresolution, spiritual cowardice, of glory veiled (Stein, 392).

Mr. Hooper keeps the veil on to demonstrate that the black veil is the item that keeps their secrets hidden. He wears the veil as a representation of not only his secret sins, but also to represent the darkness that humanity has committed. " He had changed himself into something awful, only by hiding his face"(Hawthorne 2). He did make him look utterly different just by wearing a black veil, but it is to show that he is trying to redeem himself from his secret sin and not only that but also make himself carry the sins that humanity has created as well. This also proves the American Romanticism characteristics found in the story.

In essence, Edwards had a powerful impact on his puritan audience of his puritan audience by his use of a cautionary tone, a clear imagery and complex figurative language. Edwards wanted to impact his audience by appealing to their fears, pity and vanity. Edward describes the tone, imagery, and figurative language in the passage to use an awesome metaphor to get his point across the audience. Edward view was also to get sinners to hell, who does not

God has a right to be angry at the human world. Humans make mistakes left and right, but we don’t sin in purpose. God forgives us for our sins, but the Author of “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” said something different. Jonathan Edwards told many that even the smallest sin, even a sin that can easily be set right, deserves the same punishment as killing someone.

Nathaniel Hawthorne describes the Puritan society of the 17th century in the novel The Scarlet Letter. He creates a story about a woman named Hester who is bound by sin to a scarlet letter “A”, for adultery. He uses symbolism to contribute to the overall theme of sin. Some symbols used include: the scarlet letter itself, a meteor, and the black blossom.

Hypocrisy is defined as the practice of claiming to have moral standards of beliefs to which one’s own behavior does not conform. Multiple characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter clearly fit this definition. The characters of the novel are forced into hypocrisy to satisfy the expectations of society and to avoid their fear of living the rest of their lives with ignominy. The characters are often times hypocritical without realizing they are.