Throughout all of American Literature, authors have used different techniques to relay a message to the reader, one way being by depicting how the community’s influence on the protagonist shapes the protagonists’ development. In The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible, authors Hawthorne and Miller, respectively, use the social norms in Puritan society to express a common theme by portraying the positive and negative moral changes in characters. In Puritan society, individuals believed they were carrying out “God’s work”, creating a society where compromise was rare and harsh punishment was inflicted upon those who made mistakes that were deemed immoral to society. Because of the strict nature of the Puritans, acting in a manner that was completely out of the norm in Puritan society caused society to look down on those individuals. These characteristics of Puritan society are reflected throughout both The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible, in which both the protagonists and antagonists react differently; the protagonists attempt to atone for their sin because of the guilt they are unable to overcome while the antagonists do not attempt to atone for their sins and experience negative moral changes. Throughout Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and Miller’s The Crucible, the depiction by both authors of protagonists who experience moral changes as a result of guilt originating from their committed sins, indicates the recurring theme in American literature that characters who exhibit
A theme in The Crucible is that a society ruled by theocracy and status based on religion is bound to fall apart. Salem 's strict adherence to the Christian shurch is evident in everything the citizens do. They use measures of a person 's knowledge and adherence to the religion as a means of judging their character and also their status in society. They believe "God [was] provoked so grandly by such a petty cause" (121), which is why the "jails are packed" (121). If the citizen did anything to make God angry, they were punished. This is why the judges were so relentless and naïve in putting the accused women to trial and convicting them. They believed "the law, based upon the Bible, and the Bible, writ by the Almighty God,
In both The Scarlet Letter as well as The Crucible, these two books help create American people today by showing them the way of their errors. Throughout both stories, the one thing that remains constant is that people are punished severely for crimes which did not demand a penalization to that degree. While reading these pieces of literature, many seem to notice the harshness and torment that was allowed back in the early ages of Massachusetts are still tolerated in today’s day and age. Although Americans have learned a lot from reading event as these, there is still a long road ahead. First of all, these two pieces of literature allow people now a days to see the perspective that people had back then.
Nathaniel Hawthorne and Arthur Miller both used their writings to comment on the state of the world at their current times. Miller’s Play The Crucible and Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter both share several similar concepts, despite the fact that they were written just over one hundred years apart. The Scarlet Letter is about a Puritan woman by the name of Hester Prynne, who has an illegitimate child (called Pearl) with the religious leader of the town, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. The Crucible is a play featuring the Puritan town of Salem, which is suffering through a hysterical, supernatural paranoia started by a vengeful adulteress named Abigail Williams. The similarities between these two texts have been compared and explored by many before, and three such explorations are investigated over the course of this paper.
While on the scaffold, she has a strong face on, attempting to look as if having a baby out of wedlock and then living in prison has held no effect on her. However, Hawthorne states on page 55 that Hester “felt at moments, as if she must needs shriek out with the power of her lungs, and cast herself from the scaffold down upon the ground, or else go mad at once.” She is still trying to figure out what is best for her daughter, and she obviously still has feelings for the father that she has yet to acknowledge and deal with in an emotionally healthy manner. After Hester is released from the prison, she seems to become more charitable, more pious, and accepts her punishment. The narrator states that walking out of the prison was much more torturous for Hester than the scaffold was at its peak. Here, she accepts that the public scrutiny of her and her child will become an ever-present part of their life. While she still feels deep shame for her actions and having the Scarlet Letter branded in her clothing makes her miserable, it allows her to think clearly. She has chosen to stay in Boston, since it is the birthplace of her daughter, Pearl. The narrator reveals on page 77 that she has accepted it as the place where she will live out her punishment and purge her soul. She has also become more perceptive of the society. She feels as if the Scarlet Letter allows her to look past her own sins and into the sins of others. In conclusion, she is still the same woman she was before
Why is it that people feel threatened, when their beliefs are challenged? Most societies have a code of conduct, which sets certain behaviors meant to keep harmony. Those that question authority are perceived as dangerous and most often, end up being silenced. Opinions and ideas can cause doubts in a government, resulting in the loss of control and power over the people. The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Crucible by Arthur Miller depict those same societal issues. The Scarlet Letter explains the consequences, that a women has to face on her own after she committed adultery in a Puritan society. The Crucible follows the Salem witch trials and the mass hysteria of the people in, an also, Puritan society. Both The
One’s words have many meaning and can change shape by different people. Reputation is the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something. Thomas Paine a famous English-American political activist, the philosopher born in 1774 best describes Reputation as, “what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us.” Applying that one true identity lies beyond human vision but only truly seen by the god. This message is repeated in ‘The Crucible’ as many characters are challenged between telling the truth to risk their lives to keep their reputations rather than do the right thing. Whether it be, by lying about one’s action,
The presence of guilt has been felt by all human beings. As guilt grows in a
A book and a play, both are extremely widely read and interpreted in countless different ways. These two are thought to be prime examples of American Literature. Arthur Miller was born on October 17, 1915, and he published his play, The Crucible, in January of 1953. Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804, and his book, The Scarlet Letter, came out to print in March of 1850. These two types of literature were published roughly 100 years apart, so there are minute changes in the way they were written. Both are set in early 1700’s Massachusetts, but The Crucible is in Salem, and The Scarlet Letter is set in Boston. There are many similarities and differences between the two, the biggest three are how adultery plays a role in puritan
In The Crucible and The Scarlet Letter, they are both known to be a part of the Puritan religion. The puritans are known to be very strict. Often people are put to cruel punishments for mistakes or sins they had committed. The actions they take to “punish” a person are extreme. The Puritans act and seem so committed to their religion. The people seem “Holy” but you never really know what happens behind closed doors. The Puritan religion is so strict is causes members to become corrupt.
In the Drama “The Crucibles” by Arthur Miller, creates an intensifying and motivating situation that keeps readers on their toes eager to find out what happens next. Miller gives a dramatical attitude and emotion in the situation that is scattering in Salem. Miller emphasizes the plot/situation in the text through a few specific characters, their conflicts, and transition of the plot in every act. Miller describes the plot through 3 main characters; John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, and Abigail Williams. I liked how throughout the play miller focused on the conflict in between the 3 characters which impacted the overall plot of the play,
The Puritans had a heavily important part in the formation of early America, as well as a religion that influenced our early American society. This society has been the target which many authors have picked to set their novels in. The topic of Puritan life contains a broad list of aspects that can be easily compared to one another in several different books. Two selections that go into detail about some of the different aspects of the Puritan people are The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, and The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. These two particular writers who wrote of Puritan times conveyed, in their text, the similarities of religion, punishment, and adultery in the Puritan community of 17th century.
For the time that stands in this moment let us change our perspective to those who took the stage of a perfidy, the point of view from those in The Crucible and The Scarlet Letter. Both stories follow the same path, when it comes to sharing a focal point with the protagonist, and then switching over to the viewpoint of an antagonist. In The Scarlet Letter a chapter switches from the eyes of Hester to the eyes of Dimmesdale, but The Crucible's change in viewpoints was through discussion. Their discussions being of a society that condemns sinners, Puritan ruled America, and an open, biased, opinion towards accused and those "caught in the act."
The Puritans had a heavily important part in the formation of early America, as well as a religion that influenced our early American society. This society has been the target which many authors have picked to set their novels in. The topic of Puritan life contains a broad list of aspects that can be easily compared to one another in several different books. Two selections that go into detail about some of the different aspects of the Puritan people are The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, and The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. These two particular writers who wrote of Puritan times conveyed, in their text, the similarities of religion, punishment, and adultery in the Puritan community of 17th century.
Throughout American history, no matter what time period, humans have been categorized, discriminated against, and treated according to their class, financial status, and race. Many concrete and obvious examples of this have appeared throughout the years, ranging from the Salem witch trials in the late 1600’s, all the way to the recent civil rights movements in the 1950’s and 60’s. Social history uses personal stories to show how class/status and race played a part in the way people were treated in America.
“Women belong in the kitchen.” “All women should be barefoot and pregnant.” “Women are strictly homemakers.” These are a few of the commonly used phrases regarding the female role in society that date back to the mid-seventeenth century. However, ardent supporters of gender equality have surfaced in almost every culture where this ideology is practiced. Nathaniel Hawthorne explores this inveterate societal conflict through his story The Scarlet Letter. The main character, Hester Prynne, is punished for committing adultery by being forced to wear a scarlet letter upon her bosom; Hawthorne created a story sympathetic to the female cause and demonstrated, through Hester, qualities of early feminism that later establish themselves during his