Essay on Guilt In The Scarlet Letter And The Crucible

Thesis: Betrayal leads to feeling of guilt which forces the person in search of redemption either directly or through indirect actions and gestures.

Without an honorable reputation a person is not worthy of respect from others in their society. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, the struggle to shake off the past is an underlying theme throughout the novel. Characters in this novel go through their lives struggling with trying to cope with the guilt and shame associated with actions that lost them their honorable reputation. Particularly, Hawthorne shows the lasting effect that sin and guilt has on two of the main characters in the book: Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale.

Mr. Dimmesdale’s conscience constantly brought his negative aspects to mind, and caused him to spiral into self hatred and misery. The overwhelming presence of guilt for his offense caused Mr. Dimmesdale unbearable suffering and general unhappiness in knowing that he had not only wronged God, but Hester and the entire community as well.

My personal experience with guilt was the time when I cheated off a math quiz in elementary school. Eyes glaring across the table of the smartest girl in class, I started scribbling answers on the test. Catching her glance made me look away and not make it too noticeable. Realizing my deed and its effects encouraged me to look away from her test and pour out my own knowledge and effort. This relates to Gary Soto’s experience of stealing the pie while I nearly cheated on a math test. In contrast, my consciousness made me realize my evil ponderings and to control my nerves on not knowing the material.

Baumeister et al. (1994) describes guilt as an individual's unpleasant emotional state associated with possible objections to his or her actions, inaction, circumstances, or intentions. Baumeister et al. (1994) thought that Guilt could be understood in a relationship contexts as

Hester Prynne. Hester is shamed publicly for her sin of adultery, for which she bears the mark of

What is guilt? Guilt is defined as "the fact or state of having done wrong or committed and offense." (Definition, 5) In Fifth business Guilt is considered to be a theme placed within the pages of the Novel, Fifth Business. It is shown through main events taking place, as well as being shown through the main characters of the story. For many guilt can be a powerful emotion, leaving people to question the fact on why they are feeling "Guilty". It can be considered as the "price we pay" (letting go of guilt, 4) after doing something in the wrong. "Guilt can also be considered psychological relating back to a previous childhood event or actions".(4) For most guilt is a feeling/ emotion that is completely unavoidable.

While standing on the platform, Hester recognizes a man in the crowd who is accompanied by an Indian. This man inquires about her and why she is there. This is where we learn that she has committed adultery (the scarlet letter “A” is for adultery).

Dimmesdale has a largely different approach to dealing with his sin. Arthur Dimmesdale handles his terrible guilt by concealing it to himself. To overcome it he would whip himself, and take long walks into the forest. Dimmesdale’s act of concealing his guilt shows that he is not brave enough to tell all and there for he must live fearfully and cowardly. This guilt he has chose to endure is much worse than any shame he would have felt had he just confessed his sin of adultery with Hester. Since he was a moral leader in his town he felt an obligation to keep it a secret but like in many cases where guilt is concealed, the sinner eventually reasons enough to confess. Dimmesdale does the same and confesses his sin to the townspeople. “He longed to speak out from his own pulpit, at the full height of his voice, and tell his people who he was.”

            Dimmesdale's instantaneous response to the sin is to lie.  He stands before Hester and the rest of the town and proceeds to give a moving speech about how it would be in her and the father's best interest for her to reveal the father's name (67).  Though he never actually says that he is not the other parent, he implies it by talking of the father in third person (67).  Such as, "If thou feelest it to be for thy soul's peace, and that thy earthly punishment will thereby be made more effectual to salvation, I

He started beating himself and stops eating from feeling guilty about not confessing his sin . Hester feels guilty at first then overcome her guilty by not showing it. This is illustrated when the narrator says, “Man had marked this woman sin by a scarlet letter which had such a potent and disastrous efficacy that no human sympathy could reach her, save it were sinful like herself” (Hawthorne 81). Hester gets through her sin. When the narrator says, “The scarlet letter burned on Hester Prynne’s bosom. Govern Bellingham wanted dimmesdale rather than Ravened Wilson to make Hester confess about her responsibility (Milliman1:16). Here was another ruin, the responsibility of which came partly name to her” (Hawthorne159).No matter what Hester did she still had a responsibility to do instead of hiding her guilt .As a final point Hester has experience death upon guilt because of her sin. The was shown when Hester says, “Once in my life I met the Black Man” said her mother,“ This scarlet letter is marked!”(Hawthorne168). The Black Man is like the devil in the scarlet letter that only lives in the forest.

     Moreover, continual guilt may affect someone physiologically. Someone feeling guilty may suffer from: languidness, imagined illness, real illness, headaches, stomach disorders, and vague pains. Guilt can also cause cardiovascular strain which reduces relational intimacy and a startle response which creates feelings of alienation. It may even be a detriment to work performance because it can cause hyperarousal. A person may also feel chronically fatigued. Without apparent cause, one may experience physical aches and pain.

Paradoxically refusing to submit to the magnitude of blame while desperately searching for the instant gratification of grace, an offender rends into the ultimate weapon of guilt: isolation. In response, isolation creates a one-sided mirror in close relationships. This indicates that ultimately, guilt impairs all rationale, yet simultaneously gives liquid courage to progress on the path towards redemption.

In the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, many individuals living in colonial America are taken through life's challenges suffering from sin, guilt and, seven cold years of revenge. The author bases the story’s plot behind each character's problems and connects all of them by making the characters lives synced. Many themes can be pulled out of this novel that seem to strengthen the book's plot in many ways. “Hawthorne makes revenge and guilt main themes in the Scarlet Letter because he wants to expose the flaws of the so called perfect societies. ”(TheScarletLetterFanPageonWeebly.com/Analysis-of-Themes)

In “The Scarlet Letter,” Hawthorne presents the consequences of sin as an important aspect in the lives of Hester Prynne, Roger Chillingsworth, and Arthur Dimmesdale. The sin committed, adultery, between Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale had resulted in the birth of their innocent little girl, Pearl. This sin ruined the three main characters’ lives completely in different ways. With the sin committed, there were different ways the characters reacted to it: embracing the sin, concealing the sin, and becoming obsessed and consumed with it. With each reaction to the sin there were also different actions of redemption.