Guilty In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

Confessing is a way to clear one’s conscious and allow for one to continue on in their life with a new sense of direction and purpose. This is evident in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter by the sins of Hester, Dimmesdale and Chillingworth, and how they all deal with the outcomes differently. When Dimmesdale and Hester confess to their crimes, it allows the colonists to see them at their most vulnerable and judge them based on that. While it takes a long time for forgiveness to come, it eventually does and that is because they were open about their crimes.

Guilt and shame haunt all three of the main characters in The Scarlet Letter, but how they each handle their sin will change their lives forever. Hester Prynne’s guilt is publicly exploited. She has to live with her shame for the rest of her life by wearing a scarlet letter on the breast of her gown. Arthur Dimmesdale, on the other hand, is just as guilty of adultery as Hester, but he allows his guilt to remain a secret. Instead of telling the people of his vile sin, the Reverend allows it to eat away at his rotting soul. The shame of what he has done slowly kills him. The last sinner in this guilty trio is Rodger Chillingworth. This evil man not only hides his true identity as Hester’s husband, but also mentally torments

The significance of the store To Kill a Mockingbird is the expression mocking bird appears in the story lots of times. Also the most significant novel in this whole book is the mockingbird symbol. Another significant part of the story is the definition of a mockingbird and it is a type of Finch, it’s also a small bird who likes to sing. It got the name mockingbird because when it sings it is mocking other birds. (http://www.allfreeessays.com/essays/The-Significance-Of-The-Title-Of/21174.html)

Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter in an era commonly referred to as “The Transcendentalist Movement” (“The Scarlet Letter”). “Transcendentalism a reaction against the rationalism of the previous century and the religious orthodoxy of Calvinist New England, it stressed the romantic tenets of mysticism, idealism, and individualism” (“The Scarlet Letter”). It sees God as an important part of a person and the world, God was not a “harsh distant figure” (“The Scarlet Letter”). Simultaneously, Puritan values and ideas also played a major role in shaping The Scarlet Letter. “The Puritans are all alike and, taking themselves for the standard, see all difference and variety as unnatural, bad” (Baym 53). That is, anything out of the norm, Puritans will instantaneously oppose it and disassociate themselves from it. “Because they are dedicated to forms, rules, laws, [and] structures, the Puritans have no tolerance for secrets: they take people as purely public beings, and they hate and fear anything

Characters lose their innocence throughout American literature. What exactly does “losing their innocence” mean? Losing one’s innocence can be seen as a character maturing. A character may lose his/her innocence in ways including the viewing of a traumatic event, especially one that will scar his/her life forever. Losing one’s innocence can also be caused by losing one’s trust in someone whom he/she once trusted, catching a glimpse into the “real world”, or performing an act of immorality. The recurring theme of loss of innocence, as seen throughout American literature and reality, can affect a person and the people around him/her both negatively and positively. As a result, the audience can see the character mature through losing hope of dreams, becoming an outcast of society, gaining a new perspective of ideas, or gaining confidence. Negative and positive effects falling onto characters as a result of a loss of innocence can be found in works such as The Scarlet Letter, The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, and The Hunger Games; this theme can also be seen in real life through the effects of children exposed to violent video games.

The Puritans were very strict in their rules and ways of living. Many offences were considered sins to Puritans and were punishable by death or being shunned by society. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the three main characters all commit sins and suffer for doing so, bringing their own ruin. Sin has detrimental consequences for all people.

Guilt and Relief Author Stefan Zweig once brilliantly wrote “No guilt is forgotten so long as the conscience still knows of it.” In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, pastor Dimmesdale struggles with the guilt that he bears. Though, he tries to fight it and repent for his sins, he is mistaken in his efforts. He will not, however, tell anyone of his sin because he is scared of the possible retaliation from the townspeople. He lives for seven years in this painful state of guilt because he has yet to realize that the only thing that can save him is letting it all out.

Arthur Dimmesdale, Hester Prynne, and Roger Chillingworth all committed sins that needed forgiveness. Nonetheless , only Hester found what they all sought after. Forgiving themselves and others to receive forgiveness prevails as a major struggle and for Dimmesdale and Chillingworth, that struggle ends in sad deaths. For Hester however, that struggle ends in a righteous redemption from her sin.

Sin, secrets, guilt, and shame are unfortunate occurrences that every person will encounter during a period of their life. The shame inflicted upon an individual will lead them down a difficult path, however in the end it will result in new knowledge and lessons essential for life. As shown in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, public shaming pushes characters such as Hester and Dimmesdale farther from the Puritan society that they had once considered family, it encouraged them to feel shame for their sins such as adultery and remain truthful in a society full of secrets, however in the end it opens their eyes to the world outside of their sins allowing them to grow and help others as well. First, being made victims of public

Let us gather here today as one- not as a group, but as a family.We all stand here today on a level scaffold. Many of you remember me as a nefarious citizen that stood on this here scaffold several years ago. Those who do not already know me, I am Hester Prynne- I have migrated from Amsterdam in hopes of coming to the New World, and in my past I have committed a terrible infraction. I am forever enduring the consequences for engaging in an act of adultery seven years ago. Although, 25% percent of those who have committed adultery go unnoticed and their only punishment is taking their guilt to the grave. There is a sinner among all of us. I am not here to justify the sin I have exerted, I am here to bring to a greater understanding that everyone here has sinned- whether or not you have dealt with the consequences that come along with sinning is dependent on if your community perceives it as a sin.

There are certain social expectations that communities have, and when those expectations are met with an unconventional method, the community is taken aback. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne highlights this irony with the character Hester Prynne. Hester is expected to take her letter and feel shameful, but she exceeds their expectations when she changes the meaning into something beautiful without feeling extreme guilt. Ironically, Hester does not feel guilt as the community feels she should.

   "...pain is in itself an evil; and indeed, without exception, the only evil; or else the words good and evil have no meaning." (Chase 127) In the novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne presents a very clear view of his stand on morality, which he carefully cultivates through the course of the story. The moral, which is "Be true!" applies equally well to all of the characters in the novel. Though his view does seem to stand as true through the length of the story, it does not, unfortunately, transfer as smoothly to our lives today. In essence it is a hedonistic view to take, which requires a slight stretch as to his interpretation as to how evil, and important, an individual's pain is unto

As American-British novelist Mark Lawrence once said, “We’re built of contradictions, all of us. It’s those opposing forces that give us strength, like an arch, each block pressing the next”. The aforementioned contradictions are what lead to conflicts, and in turn growth and acceptance. Nathaniel Hawthorne, in his revolutionary classic The Scarlet Letter, delves into the conflicts that the brave, yet infamous Hester Prynne has to overcome. As Hawthorne unfolds the unfortunate tragedy of Hester and her mysterious lover, the battles Hester has to face are multiple external and internal stimuli that bring about the growth of Hester as a character. The onerous obstacles that Hester must face through her life wear her out mentally, but only then can she truly grow and accept who she is.

According to the Urban Online Dictionary, Moral Ambiguity can be defined as “Lack of clarity in ethical decision-making. That is, when an issue, situation, or question has moral dimensions or implications, but the decidedly “moral” action to take are unclear, either due to conflicting principles, ethical systems, or situational perspectives.

Animal Farm Essay “Death is the solution to all problems. No man – no problem.” -Joseph Stalin Joseph Stalin is someone that might sound familiar to you.