Comparison Of Sin Acceptance In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

Progression of Sin Acceptance Since The Scarlet Letter

Ninety percent of people believe committing infidelity is morally wrong, but, only sixty-three percent believe it should be treated like any other crime in today’s society. This differs greatly from Puritan beliefs, which, if a man or woman was caught committing adultery they could be punished by death, or in Hester Prynne’s case, be forced to wear the letter “A” across her chest. In his book, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne introduces methods of punishment for adultery, in order to exhibit the severity of sins in Puritan societies, which contrasts to that of modern day views and helps the reader understand how greatly the non-acceptance of sins and severity of punishments has

In this case, the sin would be adultery. But, there are not just differences, there are some similarities to the societies. As a whole, both societies view that adultery is not justifiable as morally-sound, and in most cases the person would be punished for their actions. In Puritan society, sins were much more intolerable because of the fact that their whole society was based around their religion. While the number of non-believers are growing, there are some who believe that the government should remain, and even strengthen the ties between religion and government. In both Puritan societies as well as today’s societies, those who believe that government and religion should be united, believe that people who “have brought shame upon”(Hawthorne 46) the community should be punished for their sins, even as harshly as, “eliminat[ing] them from the face of the Earth”(Hall). Charles L, Worley is one example of a modern day citizen who has similar ideas to Puritanism when it is on the topic of marriage based sins. Worley is one of the leaders of a large movement to eliminate homosexuals and others who have committed marital sins. While there are many who believe in the severity of punishments during the era of the Puritans, there are many who agree with the philosophy that people should be punished for their