preview

The Gift of Evil in The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Decent Essays
Open Document
Gifts Of Evil

In the book The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne there are many characters who have committed sins. In Puritan community they followed the word of god and banned all sins. These sins in The Scarlet Letter were look as The Black Mans work meaning satans work. The sins committed were harmful and hurtful to people and their souls. Hester and Mr. Dimmesdale committed adultery with bearing a child named Pearl. But Roger Chillingworth committed the worst sin by using his gifts for evil.

Hester Prynne was the main character in the Scarlet Letter. Hester sin was committing adultery with minister Arthur Dimmsdale. Birthing a child named Pearl of pure sin. By committing her sin they punished her. “‘If thou feelest it…show more content…
Inward trouble drove him to practices more in accordance with the old, corrupted faith of Rome than with the better light of the church in which he had been born and bred. In Mr. Dimmesdale's secret closet, under lock and key, there was a bloody scourge. Oftentimes, this Protestant and Puritan divine had piled it on his own shoulders, laughing bitterly at himself the while, and smiting so much the more pitilessly because of that bitter laugh.”(211 ).

Even though he told Hester to keep their sin a secret he punished himself by putting a black mark on his chest of the letter “A” on his chest knowing the struggle and pain on his soul. By him staying in Boston he was making himself suffer more but he doesn't want to flee as Hester told him to.

Roger Chillingworth was sneaky and the most unfriendly spiteful character throughput the Scarlet Letter. Roger Chillingworth's sin was keeping Dimmdales alive to watch him suffer because i knew his secret about adultery. "What evil have I done the man?" asked Roger Chillingworth again. (250) In this quote he believes he not doing anything evil or sinister like. Roger Chillingworth was doctor in the Scarlet Letter. He used his skills and gifts for evil keeping Dimmesdale alive. “‘He therefore still kept up a familiar intercourse with him, daily receiving the old physician in his study; or visiting
Get Access
Related
Get Access