The Effects Of Guilt And Sin In Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

Throughout much of O’Connor’s works, there is this idea that a character needs redemption, as Dorothy Walters suggests in her book, Flannery O’Connor. Walters also states when these characters are enlightened, it is often “through catastrophe.” In O’Connor’s “Good Country People,” this salvation through violence occurs for Joy. Through the evaluation of Joy’s downfalls in character and her misinterpretation of Manley Pointer, Joy has a horrific experience that will forever change her perspective and reform her overconfidence. Before Joy/Hulga even meets Manley Pointer, readers understand that she has a lack of experience in the real world. Joy’s mother, Mrs. Hopewell, states that it is hard to think of her daughter as an adult, and that Joy’s prosthetic leg has kept her from experiencing “any normal good times” that people her age have experienced (O’Connor 3).

13, pg 107) She had gained respect for having raised her child as a well behaved young girl, and having provided for the both of them with an honest living as a seamstress, all the while being cut off from the rest of society. Hester was allowed to assimilate back into the community. John proctor was only given one chance to save himself and his wife, and that chance forced him to fall out of God’s good graces by lying. John Proctor fancied death over the guilt of being a sinner, and was content with knowing that his refusal to confess to witchcraft would preserve the good that he believed was still in him. Elizabeth Proctor - “He have his goodness now.

Being around the minister and seeing his black veil, even during happy times, made them upset. In a way, the townspeople were right about the black veil being because of secret sin. It was a symbol of their secret sins and how terrible they can be. It was a symbol of the sin people carried in their hearts. The symbolism of the black veil probably has many different interpretations, but nonetheless it still traces back to someone’s secret sins; whether it is the sins of the townspeople or of Hooper,

It does not define who she is. The differences between Dimmesdale and Hester can be seen throughout the book, The Scarlet Letter. For instance, Hester accepts her sin and punishment and works past it. On the other hand, Dimmesdale, feels more and more guilty and eventually dies because of it. Dimmesdale suffered more internally and Hester suffered more socially.

One action, a split second decision can undo all good deeds in a person 's life. This often occurs in novels such as The Crucible by Arthur Miller or The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne where characters make a life altering decision that causes them pain in the end. These character traits are used so often it becomes something of a stereotype, similar to the characters’ personalities in these iconic novels. The authors use cliches to express the idea that kind hearted people can become sinners despite their goodness. Through all of the symbolism in the story, Hawthorne clears up any confusion by saying that good people, like all others, commit sins.

Guilt and isolation are outcomes of sins committed by people such as Hester and Dimmesdale in the novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. When somebody has committed a sin that they instantly regret, the first feeling they experience is guilt. They have this constant reminder in their minds that they have done something terrible and can not undo their action. This memory could remain in someone's mind for a while and can slowly deteriorate their lives making it miserable like Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale suffers the consequences differently than any other person has in the Puritan community.

Elizabeth exclaims to the court that John is innocent and a good man of god who would never do such a thing. This is an example of Elizabeth giving up her moral of being honest in order to have the ability to keep something she loves dearly, her husband. She proves that she is a good wife by lying for her husband’s life even after he has committed

Thus, Nora and Edna betray their obligation and duties as mothers. This coincides with a common critique of feminist theory: the justification of irrational acts through victimization mentality. As expressed by conservative author, Belinda Brown, “Victimhood gives us great moral superiority and entitles us to unquestioning sympathy while exempting us from examining any single one of our actions. A victim is utterly devoid of responsibility or blame.” Edna and Nora are able to justify their acts by claiming to be victims of the patriarchy. By doing so, they void themselves of taking responsibility for their actions, thus allowing them to leave their children without any feelings of guilt or remorse.

She says, “Dad was perfect,” even though the quote provides information that he is flawed by being an alcoholic. Rex Walls made Jeannette’s life scary and eventful, but she continued to love him and keep him on a pedestal. Jeannette 's mother, on the other hand, came across more negatively according to my classmates and I. While there are some extreme situations in the book that are absolutely horrible for a child to experience, many of the situations with her mom were the worst. Sure she was starving and that was bad, but it was the mother who was mentioned more, not the fact that Jeannette was hungry.

In this essay I will explore these examples to determine whether this thesis is true. From the moment she conceived Pearl, Hester confessed that she had commited adultery. At frst, the townspeople looked down on Hester as just a living reminder of sin. Nevertheless, once Hester began doing charity work, “Hester bestowed all her superfluous means in charity, on wretches less miserable than herself, and who not unfrequently insulted the hand that fed them”(87.) The people began to notice her more as the person she is, rather than what the scarlet “A” defined her as “The letter was the symbol of her calling.

Although she felt as if she was being isolated by living on the outskirts of town, " there was a more real life for Hester here in New England than that unknown region...here had been her sin; here her sorrow; and here yet was to be her penitence..." (179). Here Hawthorne proves that Hester remained in the community because she felt as if it was the place where she should still serve consequences for her sin. As the quote says, her entire struggle with sin, sorrow, and shame have all been established in the the Puritan society. After facing humiliating experiences she is convinced she would be unable to start over somewhere new. As a result, Hester 's shame and sorrow led her to becoming more of an outcast to the Puritan

“She never lets a chance escape her to point out the shortcomings of other tribal groups to the greater glory of our own …” (page 172) In this quote, Scout is talking about how Aunt Alexandra doesn’t ever let a chance to nag people about how pure her family is and how impure their families are. This, however, is just her facade so she could hide her true self. In the following quote, it will show how Aunt Alexandra really is and this is after Atticus tells her, Scout, Calpurnia, and Miss Maudie that Tom died trying to escape jail. “I thought Aunt Alexandra was crying, but when she took her hands away from her face, she was not. She looked weary.

Her sins have led her to “partly… [have a] lack of demonstration in her manners” (150). Hester had realized that those who were rude to her in her time in need have no need for Hester’s kindness, which eliminates almost the entire village but a few. Pearl had started suffering with Hester from the beginning, the both dealing with the unjustness the Puritans liked to throw at them. Thanks to this, Hester has grown the protective side of her to keep Pearl safe and is often left in wonder by her child’s impish actions. She is now a mother by

The Grandmother in "A good Man is Hard to Find seems to only care about herself. She constantly portrays herself as a saint and points out that nobody can measure to her standards. Then, when threatened she would stoop down to the level of calling her family 's murderer a good person in able to survive. This shows how shallow the grandmother 's character is Flannery O 'Connor 's work of

Cora, a neighbor of the family, comments on Jewels love for his mother. She believes that Jewel is very selfish and he has never loved Addie. Cora claims, “when the only sin she ever committed was being partial to Jewel that never loved her and was its own punishment”(168). She claims that Jewel never loved Addi and that was Addie 's punishment because he was a sin Addi had committed and he didnt love her back in return. In everyone else’s perspective he doesn 't love Addie but in his own perspective he does love her and that 's why our own perspective is the most accurate because people judge you based on their own opinion and Jewel was making decisions that others aren 't able to