A Scarlet Letter: Honesty Heals A Guilty Heart
Humans like to think of themselves as faultless, but sin is inevitable. Mankind is a sinful race; therefore, everyone has sinned. Yet not every person has the ability to address the concept of sin and also display it in a way that causes others to look at their lives through critical eyes. Nathaniel Hawthorne was successful in writing a novel that accentuated sin and guilt interchangeably, while revealing to the readers the consequences of living with sin as a guideline. The Scarlet Letter is a masterpiece that Hawthorne based upon a scarlet letter he discovered in an ancient dresser and a tombstone inscribed with a capital “A.” This letter “A” proved to be the primary focus because it ...
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Letter, Hester Prynne proved to be more honest than Roger Chillingworth in that she revealed her sin rather than concealing it, she faced her problems rather than running away from them, and Hester was an honest companion to Reverend Dimmesdale.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, Hester Prynne was honest enough to herself to reveal the adulterous acts she had committed; whereas, Roger Chillingworth refrained from revealing the wrongs that he secretly performed. The first picture of Hester showed her stepping out of the town prison amid her neighbors and former friends, adorned in a beautiful gown marked with a scarlet “A.” She took her place on the scaffold and faced her embarrassment and humiliation as courageously as a soldier faces battle. Even though Hester was forced to endure the banishment she received from form her community, her honesty and loyalty paid off. Reverend Dimmesdale once remarked to Chillingworth, “But still, methinks, it must needs be better for the sufferer ...
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and destroying his soul. Had Roger Chillingworth been honest like Hester in revealing his sin, he might not have become as villainous as he did.
In addition, Hester Prynne was moral when it came to facing her responsibilities, but Roger Chillingworth decided to choose a different path. First of all, Hester’s daughter Pearl, was an immense reminder and symbol of her adultery, but Hester never became ashamed of the beautiful girl she brought into the world.
She even struggled against the leaders of the town to prevent them from taking Pearl away from her. Secondly, Hester never once considered leaving her hometown until situation forced her to. Hawthorne wrote, “Here, she said to herself, ...
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A Scarlet Letter: Honesty Heals A Guilty Heart. (2005, June 4). Retrieved April 28, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Scarlet-Letter-Honesty-Heals-Guilty-Heart/27987
"A Scarlet Letter: Honesty Heals A Guilty Heart." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 4 Jun. 2005. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Scarlet-Letter-Honesty-Heals-Guilty-Heart/27987>
"A Scarlet Letter: Honesty Heals A Guilty Heart." Essayworld.com. June 4, 2005. Accessed April 28, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Scarlet-Letter-Honesty-Heals-Guilty-Heart/27987.
"A Scarlet Letter: Honesty Heals A Guilty Heart." Essayworld.com. June 4, 2005. Accessed April 28, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Scarlet-Letter-Honesty-Heals-Guilty-Heart/27987.
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