Essay On The Impact Of Sin In The Scarlet Letter

This ridicule has a trickle down effect on Hester as she too is banished from her own community for committing adultery. The comparison between Hester and Hawthorne defines the external struggle for the reader to fully understand the effect of opinions from society on them Although reluctant to allow Hester to leave prison, the members of the town suggest that her punishment be to wear a scarlet red letter A on her bosom, thereby allowing all to know of her crime. The scarlet letter “ was red-hot with infernal fire, ” (Hawthorne 81) and defined the state she was currently in, that being eternal hell. Though she was forced to marry an older man at a young age, her rebellion to have an affair is not seen as an internal struggle that she overcame; rather, it is merely seen as a woman who sinned, a woman who shall therefore endure the punishment for the sin, rather than a woman who was never given a say in what she wanted with her life. Time and again, Hester Prynne is seen defying society by allowing herself to stand out from societal norm just as the roses “with its delicate gems, which might be imagined to offer their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner“ (Hawthorne) did. Instead, she returns to the community and is observed aiding those in need, all with seven year old Pearl by her side.

After Hester Prynne leaves prison, she is still treated like a criminal in the streets. She is surrounded by people, but at the same time she is alone, “she perchance underwent an agony from every footstep of those that thronged to see her, as if her heart has been flung in the street for them all to spurn and trample upon” (2.17). She has to serve many months in prison, stand on the scaffold for three hours under public scrutiny, and attach a scarlet letter, "A" on her chest every day as long as she remained in the town of Boston. The letter "A" was to identify Hester Prynne as an adulteress and as an immoral human being.

In The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne is more than a literary figure in a classic novel, she is known by some people to be one of the earliest American Hero’s. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Hester commits adultery and has a child that she must care for all alone. She is forced to wear a powerful, attention grabbing “Scarlet A” on her chest while she must try to make a living to support her and her child, Pearl. Even though she must face all the harsh judgment and stares she does not allow her sin to stop her from living a successful life. She looks past the Letter as a symbol of sin and turns it into a sign of approval. Hester

In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne is shunned for adultery. Her punishment set forth by the Puritan church is to stand on a scaffold so everyone can publicly shame her. Additionally, she must always wear a letter “A” on her chest, identifying her as a

Shakespeare once said, “If it be a sin to covet honor, I am the most offending soul.” In the 1850 novel, The Scarlet Letter, a young woman named Hester Prynne was just that. Nathaniel Hawthorne tells a story of a young woman named Hester, who commits adultery, and how she struggles to raise a daughter, and keep her lover from judgement. In the Puritan society, honorable sin was not a possibility. Throughout the book, characters deal with consequences for their actions that change their views on how they should deal with problems. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingsworth, the main characters, all have consequences for their sins. In the book sin changes the characters’ personalities, choices, and actions.

Nathaniel Hawthorne's bold novel, The Scarlet Letter, revolves around sin and punishment.  The main characters of the novel sharply contrast each other in the way they react to the sin that has been committed

A woman, Hester Prynne, who does not ignore her mistake, and Arthur Dimmesdale who does. Nathaniel Hawthorne wants the reader to learn that running away from your problems always has repercussions, and often leads to others. At the beginning of the story Hester Prynne gets punished for her sin, adultery. The punishment is to stand for three hours on the scaffold and wear the Scarlet Letter for the rest of her life.

They come to see that the scarlet letter symbolizes, “power to do, and power to sympathize, - that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength,” (149). Instead of becoming an outcast or an angry rebel, Hester chooses to make something positive from her shame, ignoring the expectations of society . By showing her big heart and strong ability to care for people Hester is able to actually change her society. By the end of the book, Hester has learned through the public shame of wearing the scarlet letter that everyone is sinful but that most people are too scared to accept it, as she does.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter is about sin. Its heroine, Hester, and the town minister, Arthur Dimmesdale, both bear the weight of adultery on their backs. Hester’s sin is discovered, and she is forced to wear a scarlet A on her chest. Dimmesdale’s sin remains hidden, and it eats away at him for years. Ultimately, Hester finds comfort in the public nature of her sin.

Throughout The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the effects of sin are visibly different amongst the three characters Hester, Chillingworth, and Dimmesdale. Hawthorne reveals that sin can change a person positively, by making small changes that have positive results, or sin can slowly destroy a person and in the end take over their body. Although the sin affects each one differently, we learn that the characters have a choice on how they respond to sin. After all, the novel shows that the power of one's own freedom is directly paralleled to the idea that one also has the power to choose their own response to sin. Hester, whose sin of adultery, "'would become the general symbol at which the preacher and moralist might point...'"

Sin is any action that harms our relationship with God and pulls us away from God. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne, Roger Chillingworth, and Arthur Dimmesdale all commit different acts of sin, but also atone for their sins in their own way. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, author Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays the theme of sin through the three characters actions throughout the book. Hester Prynne committed adultery with her lover, Arthur Dimmesdale. While being married to Roger Chillingworth, she had an affair with Arthur Dimmesdale and, as a result, she gave birth to her daughter, Pearl.

Through out the course of history, those who were considered sinners were often out casted from the society. This is much the case with Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. After a public trial, Hester is considered a sinner due to her birthing of a so called “devil child”. Hester is convicted to the life long bearing of a scarlet letter on her chest. The Scarlet Letter that Hester Prynne wears symbolizes the change in perception of sin through out the novel. Due to the revelations of the governor Winthrop and the reverend Dimmesdale, the way sin is perceived changes from one of shame to the idea that every one is a sinner in their own right.

A person can not truly hide sin. It will be revealed and they will have to deal with it. If they do not confess, it will overcome them. It will also affect others. Many people attempt to hide their sins, so that others will not view them differently. However, sin will inevitably come to light.

To sin is to go against the beliefs of God. The Scarlet Letter is a historical fiction romance novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, which takes place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In this novel, Hester Prynne, a Puritan woman, commits the worst sin of all, adultery. Though the father is not named in the book yet, it is undeniably true that through his silence, emotional reactions, and kindness towards Hester it is quite obvious. The father of Hester Prynne’s child is Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale.

Sin is a serious subject. A sin is a moral tarnish so serious it makes one unclean and unworthy in the eyes of God. It can be anything from pride, wrath, sloth, envy, greed, gluttony, or, in Hester’s case, lust. Sin can cast one far from both their community and from God, which can make it seem incredibly difficult to come back from. In order to find redemption, one must make amends with both oneself and with God, as well as accepting hardships to come.