The Scarlet Letter: Hidden Sin
People often keep secrets in an effort to hide their sins from others. This is a risky since secrets have a way of manifesting themselves externally, and thus, letting everyone know of their owner’s sins. Hidden sin is a prominent theme in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter. Names like Chillingworth and Dimmesdale let the reader know how, in reality, these characters are, before ever really encountering them. Characters whom the reader will encounter in this novel are going through some type of dilemma on the inside, which begins to show itself in the exterior of the particular individual. In The Scarlet Letter, two studious individuals, Roger Chillingworth and Arthur Dimmesdale, two of the main characters in the novel, each possess their own sins which begin to show themselves in their outermost features, each brought apon themselves for their own respective reasons.
Roger Chillingworth's features begin to display his inward deformities externally as the novel progresses due to his attempts at finding the man who violated his marriage. When he is first seen in the novel, "there was a remarkable intelligence in his features, as of a person who had so cultivated his mental part that it could not fail to mould the physical to itself and become manifest by unmistakable tokens." He also has a left shoulder which is slightly higher than the right originally, which only gets more ugly and misshapen with the rest of his body. Chillingworth then takes up residence with Dimmesdale and begins his quest to punish the minister and find out the true identity of this man. After he begins his quest the townspeople observe "something ugly and evil in his face which they had not previously noticed, and which grew still the more obvious to sight, the oftener they looked upon him.” Soon his wife, Hester, finds "the former aspect of an intellectual and studious man, calm and quiet, which was what she best remembered in him, had altogether vanished and been succeeded by an eager searching, almost fierce, yet carefully guarded look."
Chillingworth, the injured husband, seeks no revenge against Hester, but he is determined to find the man who has violated his marrige: “He bears no letter of infamy wrought into his garment, and thou dost; but I shall read it on his heart.” Chillingworth comments: “Believe me, Hester, there are few things.
William Golding’s timeless classic, Lord of the Flies, reflects Philip Zimbardo’s observations on the power of power through the transformation and development of the character Roger and his personality. The more power available to Roger, the more savage he becomes until it reaches a point where he can violently murder a peer and put his head on a stick for all to see and feel no remorse. Power can corrupt even the greatest of men and if a man can have power and not be corrupt, he has passed the ultimate test of character.
Body contact and personal space in the United States. (n.d.). . In Wikipedia. Retrieved November 19, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_contact_and_personal_space_in_the_United_States
On June 13, 1994, Nicole Brown, ex-wife of O.J. Simpson, was found murdered alongside Ronald Goldman (Dershowitz 19). Chapter one of Reasonable Doubts describes how many people jumped to the conclusion that O.J. carried out the murders. Incriminating evidence emerged that more than pointed to Simpson’s guilt (Dershowitz 21). Soon enough, media reports claimed that Simpson would be charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Simpson’s reluctance to be peacefully taken into custody was illustrated by his famous Los Angeles free-way chase that ended in his eventual surrender (Dershowitz 23). Dershowitz chose to join the defense team when offered the opportunity, claiming that the case could greatly educate people, especially his Harvard law students, on...
“It is universally accepted that 776 B.C. was the year the festival at Olympia, in honor of Zeus, became known as the Olympics, and the period of four years between celebrations became an Olympiad (Zimmerman 1984).” Yet the precise circumstances surrounding the creation of the ancient Olympics are still shrouded in mystery. Several myths encompassin...
Smith, P. H., Thornton, G. E., DeVellis, R., Earp, J., & Coker, A. L. (2002). A population-based study of the prevalence and distinctiveness of battering, physical assault, and sexual assault in intimate relationships. Violence Against Women, 8, 1208-1232.
Cheetahs are amazing animals, that are known for their amazing speed and their gorgeous fur, and who have adapted themselves to life in the dry plains of the Serengeti. Despite all of the adaptation s that they have made the population of the cheetah is declining. With the extinction of the cheetah comes damage to all the other animals that the cheetah interacts with. The ecosystem of the Serengeti along with the niche of many different plants and animals would be in danger with the extinction of the cheetah. Cheetahs are animals that need our help in being saved because they have not evolved enough to keep themselves alive with out outside help. Even though it would be costly to save them, it would be more costly to lose them. Without the cheetah we would be depriving the world of a magnificent animal, therefore it can and should be saved.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Mr. Dimmesdale’s greatest fear is that the townspeople will find out about his sin of adultery with Hester Prynne. Mr. Dimmesdale fears that his soul could not take the shame of such a disclosure, as he is an important moral figure in society. However, in not confessing his sin to the public, he suffers through the guilt of his sin, a pain which is exacerbated by the tortures of Roger Chillingworth. Though he consistently chooses guilt over shame, Mr. Dimmesdale goes through a much more painful experience than Hester, who endured the public shame of the scarlet letter. Mr. Dimmesdale’s guilt is much more damaging to his soul than any shame that he might have endured.
The Industrial Revolution was a time of great change and increased efficiency. No more would be goods be produced by sole means of farming and agriculture, but now by the use of machinery and factories. Technology was beginning to increase along with the food supply as well as the population. However, this increase in population would greatly impact the social aspect of that time. Urbanization was becoming much more widespread. Cities were becoming overwhelmingly crowded and there was an increase in disease as well as harsh child labor. Although child labor would be reduced somewhat due to unions, the Industrial Revolution still contained both it’s positive and negative results.
Guilt and shame haunt all three of the main characters in The Scarlet Letter, but how they each handle their sin will change their lives forever. Hester Prynne’s guilt is publicly exploited. She has to live with her shame for the rest of her life by wearing a scarlet letter on the breast of her gown. Arthur Dimmesdale, on the other hand, is just as guilty of adultery as Hester, but he allows his guilt to remain a secret. Instead of telling the people of his vile sin, the Reverend allows it to eat away at his rotting soul. The shame of what he has done slowly kills him. The last sinner in this guilty trio is Rodger Chillingworth. This evil man not only hides his true identity as Hester’s husband, but also mentally torments Arthur Dimmesdale. The vile physician offers his ‘help’ to the sickly Reverend, but he gives the exact opposite. Chillingworth inflicts daily, mental tortures upon Arthur Dimmesdale for seven long years, and he enjoys it. Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth are all connected by their sins and shame, but what they do in regards to those sins is what sets them apart from each other.
Educators need to be prepared for any accidents that may occur, make sure there is a first aid kit that is well stocked and checked on a regular basis. Food must be handled properly and a well balanced diet should be followed. Food safety guidelines need to followed to preven...
This essay will discuss music events by demonstrating specific examples of the supply, demand and challenges of the music events industry. The supply of music events enlarges day by day. There are many types of these events and also a large number of kinds of music genres. Festivals have been a cultural phenomenom for hundreds of years. The reasons why the first festivals started were religious celebrations. Later on the festivals took part for reaffirming and rivaving a local culture or tradition of the town. The history of very first music festivals go back to years before the century. According to historian, they took place in Ancient Egypt around 4500 B.C. But the first well known music festival was in Dublin, Ireland in 1897 and it is known as the Irish Music Festival. The festivals and cultural events play an important role in the urban regeneration process. The music festivals have become very popular, mostly in young age generation. Festivals or rock concerts usually have a larger audience comparing to other high arts such as ballet, opera or classical concerts. The main reason of this is people are often attracted to see such a performance only because their are motivated by the social status of the attending. Another thing is the performance spaces for doing a festival are much less demanding in terms of renting a building such as concert halls or opera houses since the festivals take place external so that makes it an enviromental performance and not hermetically sealed. Besides it is much easier to get tickets for festivals than for a concert mainly due to the fact that the capacity is not limited. Additionaly people tend to purchase the tickets rather when they are on holidays than back home althought the prices are ...
Islamic art and architecture is a blend from three or more different cultural traditions from the east. The Arab, Turkish, and Persian traditions are three such traditions that were adopted into the Islamic art and architecture design. The best expressions of Islamic art and architecture are found in Muslim mosques. The mosque serves as a place where Muslims can come together for prayer of Islam. Mosques are also a center for information, education, and dispute settlement. One of the most famous mosques of the Islamic art is the Great Mosque of Samarra in preset day Iraq. The Great Mosque of Samarra also has a spiral staircase on the outside of it.
Over the years, we see more kids having cell phones. The disadvantages of kids having cell phones are cyberbullying, sexting, poor grades, and lack of physical activity.
In the cheetah world, speed is the most important super power it has and it is also used for hunting prey ...
People live with lies every day. Everyone from the President of the United States to the poorest beggar in New York City has told a lie. White lies, gray lies, and plain old dirty fat lies are strewn forth every day like water from a fountain. The only true difference between them is the amount of guilt they place on the liar. If they feel guilt, then they suffer greatly throughout their lives, from lots of small indiscretions or just one large one. The majority of the people in this world have the ability to alleviate their guilt through some kind of penance, but for some that is not enough. Nothing they do can erase the feeling of guilt and the knowledge they did something wrong. People like this make themselves sick with worry and regret, and they often die of their disease: depression. Those people who do manage to drop their guilt become productive members of society again because they have reconnected with the rest of the human race. They dont deny their guilt or their crimes, they just acknowledge there are some things they cannot change, they can just try to make up for them. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne the decision of the characters to either admit or hide the truth determines the quality of their lives. While Hester Pryne admits her sins and resolves them over time through her charity work, Arthur Dimmsdale bottles up his sins and, even though he physically tortures himself, cannot resolve his great misdeeds.