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The Role Of Guilt In The Crucible

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The Guilt & Situations The feeling of guilt is when a person feels responsible for the outcomes of their actions negatively. It is a strong emotion that affects everyone differently. Guilt even plays a role in a lot of stories like The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The Scarlet Letter is set during the Puritan epoch. It is about a Reverend called Dimmesdale that commits adultery and impregnated the woman. Hester, the other adulter, was forced to wear a scarlet letter A as a punishment for committing adultery. However, Dimmesdale’s identity remains a secret, until he confessed at the end of the book and died. Likewise, The Crucible is also set during the Puritan epoch. The play is about a farmer, John …show more content…

They both have committed sins of adultery. To begin, Dimmesdale had an affair Hester and the result was a child.. They were not sure what to do when people questioned Hester who the other adulter was. One day, Dimmesdale and Hester met up in the woods and Hester questioned Dimmesdale if he was okay. He replied, “ What else could I look for, being what I am, and leading such a life of mine… Hester, I am most miserable” (Hawthorne 166). It is very noticeable that Dimmesdale is sorrowful for what he had done. Dimmesdale knew that he, a part of church, could not be known for such a horrible sin. He is doing so terrible that he is physically weakening. The shame is ruining his life and actually, he even died after he finally confessed his sin. Along with Dimmesdale being afflicted by guilt is John Proctor. John Proctor had an affair with Abigail, but it was not really important until he needed to help his wife. After John confessed his affair with Abigail, he said, “On the last night of my joy, some eight months past” (Miller 220). After the affair he felt terrible and guilty. He enjoyed it for a while; but once it was over, he was done. He could no longer betray his wife in such a nasty way. He knew that what he did was wrong and it bothered him enough to confess. He confessed figuring that it would help his wife’s situation. Honestly, that is the least he could do for her. Especially, considering that his affair made his wife …show more content…

Dimmesdale is not married. In addition,m Hester’s husband was known to be possibly dead at the bottom of the ocean. His affair with Hester was an act of the moment. Dimmesdale also still supported Hester after the affair, unlike John Proctor. At the Governor's hall, Hester tried to convince the governor to let her keep her child. Dimmesdale found the Governor’s reasoning to take away their child unamiable. He took Hester’s side and said, “ God gave her the child” (Hawthorne 101) Dimmesdale stood up for her because he did not mant their child to be taken away from Hester. He trusted her. The child might had been what kept them together but no matter what, he defended her and their relationship never truly lost it’s connection. On the contrary, John Proctor was in a different situation in his relationships. First of all, John Proctor was a married man to Elizabeth Proctor. Their relationship was dull and Elizabeth could tell John was getting bored. He ended up having an affair with Abigail. However, John started feeling ashamed of himself. He tried to cut Abigail out of the relationship. John and Abigail were arguing, when he said, “But I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach you again. Wipe it out of mind. We never touched Abby” (Miller 177). Their affair remained a secret for a long time. John Proctor neglected her and put a stop to their relationship John regretted his actions and

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