The Oppression Of Humanity And Nature In The Puritan Society

Nathaniel Hawthorne, in his bold novel, The Scarlet Letter tackles a variety of themes that include: sin, guilt, redemption, postfeminism, and organized religion's abuse of power. Hawthorne spoke in a somber and grim tone, designed to arouse a sense of suspense for his readers. The audience in which he was addressing would have been conservative Christians and women suffragettes, all of whom reflected the ideologies during this time period. By instilling clever diction, Hawthorne exposes hypocrisy in Puritanism and objects against the religion's superfluous punishments; which force individuals to endure unnecessary and extreme suffering.

The puritans were a religious group made up of people who wanted to "purify," the Church of England. The puritans were activist that wanted to get rid of the catholic system within the church. However, people in England sought out to remove these groups of people from the area because they saw them as a threat to their religion. This is how the puritans ended up in Massachusetts Bay Colony. The puritans moved to this colony in hopes of recreating and ideal community, a "utopian" society that others could look up to. The puritans ideal community consisted of peace and partnership; they wanted to remove all evil and improve the quality of life. The puritans then became strict to ensure that every person was equivalent in the eyes of God. I think the religion puritans created casted a fear in other people especially in England because they are so used to being ruled under one king. The

The Puritan society influences the morality in The Scarlet Letter, while in Ethan Frome, Ethan makes his decisions based on his own ideas of morality. The similarity in the moral sensibilities of these novels is significant because it reveals that the ideas of morality can be seen across time periods, as it was not only an issue at one specific time. In conclusion, the insight provided by Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and Wharton’s Ethan Frome reveals that the moral ideas expressed in these novels can be found across settings and time

The Puritans encountered many hardships during the 17th century. These included traveling to the New World, fighting in King Phillip’s War, and questioning their belief in God at times. The Puritans were one of the religious groups who believed The Church of England needed to be purified. The other group representing this notion called themselves Pilgrims. The Pilgrims differentiated themselves from the Puritans because the Pilgrims believed The Church of England was corrupted to deeply, and could not be purified from within. The Pilgrims wished to separate themselves from The Church of England, causing the Pilgrims to also be called separatists. The Puritans, however, wanted to purify The Church of England from within. For this reason, the

Pressures in the community compels everyone, even the most well-reasoned people, to be amenable and to conform to society’s standards. In The Scarlet Letter, everyone follows and complies strictly to Puritan

“There are many things in this world that a child must not ask about” (Hawthorne). In a shameful society, prejudice against an individual can go far beyond a child’s understanding of the society. On the other side, revealed, corrupt action often yields to ignominy and humiliation in public; thus, one would rather keep their guilt or shame to themselves for a perfect image. Similarly, during the 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a novel in Salem, Massachusetts, The Scarlet Letter, which he portrays the impact of humanity’s ceaseless struggle with sin, guilt, and hypocrisy in public or private matters. Moreover, he reveals the society’s internal and external impact on the nature of the individuals. Specifically, Hawthorne utilized

The Puritans led their lives according to a strict moral code, centered around religion, which they had followed and conformed to. In addition conformity, Puritans believed, was crucial to uniting the community, and therefore resulted in anti-individualistic beliefs. However, when they deviated from the religious code they were threatened with banishment from the community and often experienced public shaming. Also the Puritans, whom had come to the colonies seeking religious freedom for themselves, cultivated a society that was intolerant of the practice of religious freedom for others. The Puritan influence enabled conformist tendencies based around a religious moral code which did not tolerate for deviation of Puritan beliefs that ultimately sacrificed individualism.

In my thesis I contend that the Puritan society was successful because they came with family and friends from the same town or homes they originated from. Puritans also distributed lands amongst charters which created a stable economic status for all of the people living in the community. They were also able to befriend any neighboring Native Americans to avoid conflict that can harm or destroy their new successful society. Puritans came to New England with a new self-rule, meaning they left England because of religious persecution held against them. They were able to create a new successful society that lasted a very long time.

The New England colonies were founded by English Puritans. While most Puritans sought to purify the Church of England from within, and not to break away from it, a small group of Separatiststhe Pilgrimsfounded the first small, pious Plymouth Colony in New England. More important was the larger group of nonseparating Puritans, led by John Winthrop, who founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony as part of the great migration of Puritans fleeing persecution in England in the 1630s.

Theological and humanistic forms of thought have been used long before the first Pilgrims set foot in the Americas. These forms of religious verses nonreligious thoughts have shaped the literature of the early Puritans. The sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, the novel, The Scarlet Letter, and the play, The Crucible, all represented the reoccurring theme of perfection, through the way in which the people must live in order to maintain the standards placed upon them by society. The people of this time were too busy shaming others for their sins, when little did they know that they were just as much a sinners as the accused.

Though Hester has been corrupted by her Puritan society as a result of her public mortification, her daughter, Pearl, continues to live freely and happily deep in the woods. By living off from the Colony, Pearl is able to be herself and not worry about the various restrictions society puts on individuals; unlike if she and her mother lived within the hussle-and-bussle of everyday an Puritan community. However, whenever they would go into town for various reasons “the children [would] gather about her… Pearl would grow positively terrible in her puny wrath, snatching up stones, and flinging it at them… “ (Hawthorne 64). Obviously, when in the presence of the people that made up the warping society, Pearl would instantly have a different personality

Nathaniel Hawthorne was a man who was both plagued and absorbed by the legacy of the Puritans in New England. He was related to John Hathorne, a Puritan judge during the infamous Salem Witch trials of 1692. In The Scarlet Letter, his fictional account of mid-17th century Boston presents an opportunity to examine different themes commonly associated with Puritans. Particularly the nature of sin, personal identity and the repression of natural urges are themes that appear repeatedly through the novel. While his account of this time period may not be completely historically accurate, it is indicative of the persistent thematic influence of Puritan culture on American and New England society.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story was indeed a social commentary about the ways in which the Puritan’s lived a life which contradicted their beliefs. Although Puritanism no longer exist in today’s society, Hawthorne criticism about the Puritans is still applicable today in most religious societies. For Hawthorne, he wanted religion to stress more about acceptance rather then rigorous religious morals, something people are asking for today. Due to this outlook, more people are turning their backs away from the concept of religion, causing the decline of it.

Frederick William Robertson once said, “There are three things in the world that deserve -- no mercy, hypocrisy, fraud, and tyranny.” Ushering in the Romantic era in literature, this quote stood as the foundation for many transcendental pessimists; Nathaniel Hawthorne was no exception. As described in The Custom House, the introduction to The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne heavily disapproves of his own extreme Puritan past and, in fact, heavily critiques it throughout the entire novel. However, while not directly, Hawthorne criticizes Puritan culture and ideals by exposing their sin in the community. He does this in a number of ways, but readers can plainly see that he chastises the Puritans by portraying them as religious extremists, intelligently

In the Puritan society the outlandish mindset of the leaders caused more harm than good with the witch trials in Salem to the events mentioned in The Scarlet Letter. Sin and evil the new world cloud the vision of the citizens, yet they are two separate actions and have different definitions. Hawthorne explains the difference between the two in the novel and also shows off his famous skill of questioning a society’s rules, regulations, and social structure. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses his writing style of ambiguity, and ornate word choice to relay his opinion of the puritan society. Characters, quotes, and symbols give us a snapshot of the time and thoughts on events and ideas during the era. Hawthorne’s characters are a