The two ways that sin is handled in the book are the two ways that many Christians today handle their own sin now and that is the way that Reverend Dimmesdale handled it and the way that Hester Prim handled it, and how it relates to psalms 32:3-5. The main difference between the two main characters in the story was the way that they handled sin Hester Prim let her sin be exposed, and she tried to get through it she did not run or fight or make excuses for herself, instead she just lets people say what they want to say about her and instead tries to help the poor by making them cloths. This is a good way to handle your sin but it is not the best way because from what she should have immediately turned back to god and confessed and try to learn …show more content…
at this is important is because if she did then they would have all have lashed back even harder and during this time it may have extended her prison sentence and also it may have made it hard for her to eventually become accepted in the …show more content…
He was at fault for the same crime but he kept it hidden from the public, he made many excuses about why he could not come clean with other people and this led to a lot of self-hatred. People that handle their sin in this way will normally be overwhelmed with guilt. This approach is never a good way to handle your sin because you can’t receive forgiveness as well as you should, this is because you have no one to help you through it and this makes it harder to repent for your sin and move on with your life. The Reverend attempted to confess his sin without saying what he actually did by just saying that he was a sinner but because he did not confess the part that he really felt guilty about he was unable to get rid of his guilt. This escalates to him attempting to punish himself by doing things like long fasts praying for hours on end and even whipping himself, but none of these could get him to let go of the sin that was tearing him apart. Dimmesdale should have come clean right at the start but he instead he covered it up and this opens a door for people to use it against you if they find out. This happens in to Dimmesdale when Chillingworth who at the time was Hester’s ex-husband and Dimmesdale’s doctor, he finds out that his suspicions were right about Dimmesdale being the person that was involved in the affair with Hester when he finds the letter A written on his chest. This opens a door for
This only made his guilt worsen. Dimmesdale does not feel passionate when he is trying to do job. The people are only imagining getting help because his tainted soul could not possibly redeem other souls. He feels as if he is cheating those people in their faith. Hester then tries to rebuttal by saying “Your present life is not less holy, in very truth, than it seems in people's eyes.
First, Dimmesdale’s sin getting revealed was foreshadowed and it sounded as if it had to be revealed in a certain way. While Dimmesdale was with Hester and Pearl on the scaffold, Pearl asked if he would stand with them the next day. To this he said, “Nay, not so, my little Pearl, not so my child. I shall, indeed, stand with thy mother and thee one other day, but not to-morrow” (Hawthorne 99). If Dimmesdale was not worried about what the public would think once he revealed his sin, then he would have just stood their the next day and revealed it then.
The young and beautiful Hester Prynne was once married to a man who had been missing for around three years and committed adultery with another man. Considering the time period this was no small action especially since her unnamed partner is Reverend Dimmesdale and in disguise her long lost husband is actually Roger Chillingworth. Both characters are covering up parts of their life that play a big role in who and why they are for their own individual reasons. Dimmesdale is cowardly covering up his crime in order to protect his holy name as well as himself from the shame and embarrassment that the truth will bring.
Reverend Hale discovered halfway through the trials that this was all “nonsense”, in his words. He left because it was
In both “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne and “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, there is an overarching motif of sin and the effects that sin has on the characters and the prose itself. Throughout both pieces of literature, the effects of sin are a large driving force that both progress and enhance the plot. In order to attain a deeper insight of the role of sin in both pieces of literature, it is necessary for the reader to not only look at the sins of the characters, but also look at the background and context of both prose, the treatment of the characters due to their sins, and the overall character development throughout the story. While the focal point of this essay will be to compare and contrast the role of sin in both prose, it is necessary to first look at the backgrounds and
One action, a split second decision can undo all good deeds in a person 's life. This often occurs in novels such as The Crucible by Arthur Miller or The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne where characters make a life altering decision that causes them pain in the end. These character traits are used so often it becomes something of a stereotype, similar to the characters’ personalities in these iconic novels. The authors use cliches to express the idea that kind hearted people can become sinners despite their goodness.
Dimmesdale internal conflict was he couldn’t find peace in his life. He was always in pain because his hand was over heart. Dimmesdale could do is to make Chillingworth leave. But can’t because he doesn 't know Chillingworth is his enemy. He could go to Hester for help to see if that solves his problems.
Throughout the story, it is clear that he wants to confess his sin, when he is yelling at the scaffold at night but he’s too weak to do it publicly. The interactions between Hester and Dimmesdale show her hold over him because she has been publicly condemned for a sin that they had committed together. His inability to reveal and accept the truth makes him extremely weak. When Dimmesdale decides to reveal the truth during his Election Day speech, he passes away because he had waited too
The process of growing in a character can be treacherous process. This process was demonstrated well by Reverend Dimmesdale in the novel, The Scarlett Letter. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s style sets up Dimmesdale demise impeccably, giving the reader a deep and insightful look at Dimmesdale. Hawthorne explains the destruction of Dimmesdale, which is due to committing adultery with Hester, with his continued exacerbating health and the letter A throughout the novel. Hawthorne continuously comments about Reverend Dimmesdale’s ailing health, leading the reader to assume that the sin is eating him up from inside.
Dimmesdale suffers differently from Hester, because while she “bore it all” to the townspeople (181), his fears forced him to hide his sin, living a life full of “nothing but despair” (177). Hester, though made a social pariah of the town, has a more honest and healthy way of dealing with her sin. Because Hester is forced to face her wrongdoings under the watchful eye of her Puritan neighbors, she did not have the same guilt of secrecy that Dimmesdale did. Dimmesdale, by hiding his sin, allows himself to become a captive to his guilt. The way that Dimmesdale dealt with his guilt was unhealthy for him, both mentally and physically.
Erin Joel Mrs. Janosy English 2H P 5 22 October 2015 Quote Explication Dimmesdale is trying to overcome a conflict within his own soul, defying his own religion, and choosing to do wrong by keeping his sin to himself. In a theocracy type community like Dimmesdale's, God is known as the supreme civil ruler, and a crime would be known as a sin. On the other hand, Hester’s sin was made known to the public, receiving the public shame and ridicule she deserved. During the duration of time when the public knew Dimmesdale was hiding his sin, “the agony with which this public tortured him” (Hawthorne 119).
Dimmesdale and Chillingworth both have secrets that make them look and act differently, their secrets affect their character and how they do their job. Dimmesdale is the father of Pearl but he doesn 't want to face the same humiliation as Hester did for his sins. Because of his secret he self punishes and fasts, he also preaches better than he did before although his health is failing. Chillingworth’s secret is that he was the husband of Hester while he was away, before she cheated on him. Chillingworth gets uglier and uglier driven by the need to get revenge on Pearl’s father.
The first thing I learned was how keeping a secret from everyone destroys a person. “This feeble and most sensitive of spirits could do neither, yet continually did one thing or another, which intertwined, in the same inextricable knot, the agony of heaven-defying guilt and vain repentance” (Page 144). This quote is showing how Dimmesdale’s guilt and secret is destroying him, and turning him into a madman of sorts. I think this lesson still hold true in our society today. A majority of people have a very strong conscious, and when they are guilty of something, or they have a major secret and they don’t tell anyone, it will tend to destroy the person.
In the short story “The Minister’s Black Veil” and the novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the stories of two men who keep their sins secret and are hurt deeply. In The Scarlet Letter, Reverend Dimmesdale does not reveal his sin to the community and experiences far more pain than Hester, whose sin is revealed. Years after the original sin, Hester has healed and is accepted by the community, while Dimmesdale still feels guilty, as can be seen when he mounts the scaffold. Dimmesdale’s experience is similar to that of Reverend Hooper, who covers his face after a secret sin and is eschewed by the community. When we refuse to admit our faults, we will feel guilty
Dimmesdale sinned with Hester Prynne by committing adultery. Although this was terrible and looked down upon, his crime was self inflicting and done out of passion. After Hester was punished for the crime, Dimmesdale was overwhelmed with guilt and sadness. This showed that Dimmesdale was a good person