Guilt in the Scarlet Letter and the Crucible Essay

However, this cannot be said for all victims of guilt as the author makes sure to heed the consequences of

Throughout history humans have committed atrocious acts, some of which are unspeakable. However no matter the severity of the act, we are all capable of feeling guilt. Whether it be the genocide of an entire city, or simply eating the last cookie in the jar. The fear of being discovered torments the mind, in a way the anticipation is more dreadful than the impending punishment. However one can find the power to redeem themselves through someone or something, cleansing their sins.

When one does wrong, the common reaction is to hide it and pretend as if nothing happened. Because of the human conscience it is difficult to completely forget about a wrongdoing. Through our conscience guilt is built up and eventually that guilt shatters enough

Hester Prynne would be a main example, she experiences the shame of committing adultery throughout the book. The word shame itself is repeated over and over, making it and guilt very over-used words in the book. The book describes Hester’s emotions and situation with words such as “miserable” (Hawthorne 35), “ignominy” (Hawthorne 156), “suffered” (Hawthorne 112), and “shame” (Hawthorne 6). The townspeople treats her like a criminal, a model of sin. Hester dislikes the fact that Pearl has a strong interest in the letter, hoping Pearl won’t go down the same path as herself. Hester constantly thinks of the scarlet letter as a badge of her shame, she even refuses to take the scarlet letter off; baring it as a burden she must carry. Hester wears it everyday and works for charity as a way to atone for her sin. Though, she does not seem to regret her affair. Evidence of this is shown through Pearl, Pearl is loved dearly by Hester and evidently does not regret having her. Hester names her with the thought of Pearl being her “only treasure” (Hawthorne 41). Also, it’s strongly implied that Hester does not like her husband, saying “I hate him” after they confront by the seaside (Hawthorne 130). Giving a strong reason of why she does not feel guilty about committing adultery. Thus what Hester feels is not mainly guilt, she does not regret her actions and does not let the treatment of the townspeople bring her down. She acknowledges her crime with shame and hopes to redeem herself by her

In order to prove that guilt has the capability to transform itself into psychological and physicals punishment, one must first understand what guilt is, and how it can be perceived and distinguished from other emotions. One of the articles that explains and defines guilt is the article, "Guilt, Shame, and Reparative Behavior: The Effect of Psychological Proximity," by Majid Ghorbani et al. In the article Ghorbani et. al. intricately analyze the differences between shame and guilt saying that guilt. Understanding how easy it is to confuse the two, they first define them in the beginning by using a quote from one of their references, “Ferguson and Stegge 1998.” In the article Ferguson and Stegge state “Guilt is defined as an agitation-based emotion of regretting a wrong action or decision, (qtd. in Guilt, Shame, and Reparative Behavior: The effect of Psychological Proximity, 313). Ferguson and Stegge’s quote is essential because it provides a concrete description when guilt occurs and what emotion type it belongs to. This is also crucial to the claim guilt can manifest into physical and psychological punishment because it gives a definition of guilt and provides a guideline for it. Although Ghorbani et. al. knew what guilt was they still needed to figure out what it looked like. To do this, they

Like running over someone or something because your intoxicated and you go to jail for it. Guilt can also teach you a lesson when you’re sitting in jail for the rest of your life because of what you done. Sitting in a cell at the jail house makes you think about the things you have done and could teach you a lesson. Guilt is also isn’t just about crimes, it also deals

A gory scene unfolds in front of you... What just happened? You just shot another human being, but you’re going to ignore this fact because that’s the best remedy to mitigate guilty right? I mean what better way to ease away the guilt that’s going to claw you alive from the insides, than to forget the event ever happened… But it’s not that easy to get rid of guilt, it never is. Guilt haunts us no matter even if we pretend like it does not exist. Guilt is like a pesky fly; it’ll never stop bugging (no pun intended) no matter how much you try to chase it away.

Today a child broke a promise. “But,” they thought, their mind racing for a solution, “what other way is there?” So, trying to forget that what they were doing was wrong, they peeked over their peers shoulder, seeing the answers they needed. Afterwards, they would push down the feeling in their stomach that they had done something very heinous. Guilt can't always stop somebody from doing wrong things, and those times are when the alternative seems worse.

Life is too short to be living in a dark world that can destroy what is now made in the present and in the future of a person. People cannot think right when the mind is out of control no matter how much they try, however most people’s self-conscience is aware of a betrayal and guilt comes right after a horrible event. As for a guilty conscious it comes with a confession of the wrongdoings since the heart cannot endure the feeling. Certainly, today’s society of troubled adults and adolescents need to know that guilt comes in many experiences but will develop as a better person over time. In Edgar Allan Poe “The Tell-Tale Heart” the short story reveals a theme that our minds play back events that our hearts can’t erase through point of view, settings, and symbolism.

The concept of guilt is related to the concept of debt. If an autonomous individual inflicts pain on another individual as result of anger, they will feel that they would owe the individual for the pain they caused. (debt) The individual might choose form of punishment that the autonomous individual must endure. Nietzsche states that punishment is just a way to secure payment.

Therefore when we discuss guilt as I attach my thoughts to this argument regarding this ideology no one or religion can place false guilt on one. Correct guilt is perfect, accurate and has freedom as oppose to some burden that derives from this ideologies attempt to control. I want to clarify what I am alluding to when I reference burden. In the Lord we have freedom and in this context I have been conversing concerning guilt as we consider guilt typically it may be regarded as something undesirable so as when we ponder the bible and guilt if one is guilty then they in their hearts are signifying that they are wrong or notice a wrong based on the scriptures. Consequently the Lord chastens us for the reason that we have done that wrong now generally chasten can give the impression of something harmful as I just declared in relation to

     All human beings will, at some point carry some amount of guilt with them. Whether they could have prevented what happened or not, humans tend to carry guilt. Hester Prynne will forever carry the guilt of committing adultery. This is shown when Hawthorne writes, ?Here, there was the taint of deepest sin in the most sacred quality of human life? (53). In his novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne writes about sin and hypocrisy by describing the trials and tribulations of Hester Prynne. Hawthorne wants the readers of his book to dig deeper into their own thoughts and beliefs and examine if they themselves are hypocritical in daily life.

As the authors guilt strains more and more upon his mental state, he must find a way to cope. He attempts to reach solace by using logic. Vendler notes this occurrence, “The speaker’s choice of definition and division into parts in the deceptively scholastic beginning (‘Th’expense of spirit in a waste of shame/ Is lust in action, and till action, lust / Is perjured,’ etc.)

How does moral consciousness impact human actions? The authors of stories intimate the answer to this question through the development of two crucial characters. For example, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Arthur Miller, authors of The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible, have different perspectives on how they view moral conscience. Nathaniel Hawthorne, with the character of Dimmesdale, represents a flawed character with an essentially good character. Arthur Miller, meanwhile, describes Abigail as a morally corrupt antithesis of Dimmesdale's character. Although Dimmesdale and Abigail are similar in their sinful actions, they differ in their moral conscience, displaying

Due to the magnitude of these negative emotions, shame and guilt play an important role in increasing self-consciousness and self-evaluative process. Shame motivates social behaviors and leads to conformance to social norms. When it emerges as guilt, shame becomes a useful emotion that reminds people of social norms and therefore implies adaptive behaviours, because it motivates people to respect their internal ideals and conform to social