The narrator of the Scarlet Letter uses devices such as hyperbole, paradox, satire, and allusion to describe Dimmesdale’s internal conflicts as they begin to reveal themselves within chapter eleven. To illustrate the narrator uses hyperbole in lines twenty-two to twenty-five using the town's people's belief of Dimmesdale being a pure, humble, and godly young man that is incapable of sin. The usage of hyperbole in one townsperson claimed, "The saint on earth! Alas, if he discerns such sinfulness in his own white soul, what horrid spectacle would he behold in thine or mine!” Emphasizes the strong, naive belief of the townsperson towards the sin Dimmesdale had committed. For they believed that it could not have been as bad as their own if not …show more content…
harmless. Additionally the narrator uses another townsperson remark towards Dimmesdale’s godliness by commenting, “The godly youth!” in spite of listening to Dimmesdale’s confession of being a vile sinner. Consequently as the town’s people believe this of the young minister, Dimmesdale himself is left to reflect a “self-acknowledged shame,” despite his confession he still did not truly voice what his vile sin was. Despite Dimmesdale confessing to be a vile sinner the narrator takes the opportunity to use paradox when describing Dimmesdale’s personal belief of truthfulness and lying.
The narrator wrote, “He had spoken the very truth, and transformed it into the veriest falsehood.” Observing that Dimmesdale confesses to sinning but never fully explaining what it was that he had done. The narrator also adds, “...he loved the truth, but loathed the lie.” This notes that Dimmesdale is a man that values the truth over the lie but yet he lied. This is paradoxical because both statements can prove Dimmesdale went against his belief of the truth by turning the truth into a lie which he hated himself for doing. Therefore “he loathed his miserable self!” for lying instead of being truthful knowing the consequence of his egregious sin.
The narrator in addition uses satire to demonstrate the extent of Dimmesdale’s internal conflict from his sin. For this reason Dimmesdale turns to whipping himself as a sort of punishment for sinning. The narrator wrote, “this Protestant and Puritan divine had plied it on his shoulders; laughing bitterly at himself the while, and smiting so much more pitilessly because of that bitter laugh.” This is used to describe how Dimmesdale punishes himself for his vice and mocks himself by laughing at himself while pitilessly whipping himself even
harder. Through Dimmesdale’s punishments the narrator uses allusion as a result of Dimmesdale’s fasting and vigils. The narrator writes, “his white-bearded father, with a saint-like frown, and his mother, turning her face away as she passed by.” Dimmesdale could be seeing his dead parents frowning and not paying him any attention as a sign of disappointment for his iniquity. The narrator remarked, “Ghost of a mother… she might yet have thrown a pitying glance towards her son!” Not even Dimmesdale’s own mother could pity him nor his father. These visions did not make Dimmesdale any more torpid than he already was.
In The Scarlet Letter, author Nathaniel Hawthorne efficiently conveys his purpose to the audience through the use of numerous rhetorical devices in his novel. Two such rhetorical strategies Hawthorne establishes to convey his purpose of informing the audience of valuable life lessons in The Scarlet Letter are characterization and the theme of duality.
In the book The Scarlet Letter, the character Reverend Dimmesdale, a very religious man, committed adultery, which was a sin in the Puritan community. Of course, this sin could not be committed alone. His partner was Hester Prynne. Hester was caught with the sinning only because she had a child named Pearl. Dimmesdale was broken down by Roger Chillinsworth, Hester Prynne’s real husband, and by his own self-guilt. Dimmesdale would later confess his sin and die on the scaffold. Dimmesdale was well known by the community and was looked up to by many religious people. But underneath his religious mask he is actually the worst sinner of them all. His sin was one of the greatest sins in a Puritan community. The sin would eat him alive from the inside out causing him to become weaker and weaker, until he could not stand it anymore. In a last show of strength he announces his sin to the world, but dies soon afterwards. In the beginning Dimmesdale is a weak, reserved man. Because of his sin his health regresses more and more as the book goes on, yet he tries to hide his sin beneath a religious mask. By the end of the book he comes forth and tells the truth, but because he had hidden the sin for so long he is unable to survive. Dimmesdale also adds suspense to the novel to keep the reader more interested in what Reverend Dimmesdale is hiding and his hidden secrets. Therefore Dimmesdale’s sin is the key focus of the book to keep the reader interested. Dimmesdale tries to cover up his sin by preaching to the town and becoming more committed to his preachings, but this only makes him feel guiltier. In the beginning of the story, Dimmesdale is described by these words; “His eloquence and religious fervor had already given earnest of high eminence in his profession.”(Hawthorne,44). This proves that the people of the town looked up to him because he acted very religious and he was the last person that anyone expected to sin. This is the reason that it was so hard for him to come out and tell the people the truth. Dimmesdale often tried to tell the people in a roundabout way when he said “…though he (Dimmesdale) were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart through life.
Before Dimmesdale’s untimely death in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Dimmesdale committed the sins of adultery and lying. In order to keep his sins a secret, Dimmesdale spoke nothing of his involvement in the affair until it tore him apart from the inside out.When Dimmesdale tried to confess his sin to his congregation, they saw the confession as if it were part of his sermon. “He had spoken the very truth, and transformed it into the veriest falsehood”. (Hawthorne 171) Instead of correcting their assumption, Dimmesdale went along with it, once more hiding his sinfulness. When Dimmesdale finally confessed his sin openly...
In the story of the Scarlet Letter, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale possesses more guilt and fear than any other character portrayed within this fascinating book by Nathaniel Hawthorne. There are many examples that make this theory evident: by him putting off his confession about his act of passion, it results in a woman being punished and set apart from the rest of civilization, all while dealing with his moral obligations as a pastor and finally comparing him to the other major male character within the story. Even with his abundant knowledge of what is right and wrong, Dimmesdale attempts to rationalize his mistakes and reason to himself throughout the story that what he is doing is best for everyone. Is this a only a sign of just fear or hypocrisy
The Scarlet Letter involves many characters that go through several changes during the course of the story. In particular, the young minister Dimmesdale, who commits adultery with Hester, greatly changes. He is the moral blossom of the book, the character that makes the most progress for the better. It is true that Dimmesdale, being a minister, should be the role model of the townspeople. He is the last person who should commit such an awful crime and lie about it, but in the end, he confesses to the town. Besides, everybody, including ministers, sin, and the fact that he confesses illustrates his courage and morality.
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.
As soon as Hester stands on the stocks with Pearl for a day without him, Dimmesdale becomes forever haunted from his guilty conscience. He self-inflicts a great deal of harm upon himself both physically and mentally. “And thus, while standing on the scaffold, in this vain show of expiation, Mr. Dimmesdale was overcome with a great horror of mind, as if the universe were gazing at a scarlet token on his naked breast, right over his heart. On that spot, in very truth, there was, and there had long been, the gnawing and poisonous tooth of bodily pain. Without any effort of his will, or power to restrain himself, he shrieked aloud; an outcry that went pealing through the night, and was beaten back from one house to another, and reverberated from the hills in the background; as if a company of devils detecting so much misery and terror in it, had made a plaything of the sound, and were bandying it to and fro” (Hawthorne 128). Dimmesdale comes close to confession many times, but cowardice and self-preservation come into play, affecting his decision. He is unable to summon the power to confess, but instead tortures himself and engraves an “A” by his heart. He quickly realizes that he will not survive long in his current situation.
Dimmesdale considers the timing fortunate as it aligns with his Election Day sermon and feels that there could not be a more suitable way to end his career as a minister. He thinks to himself, “At least, they shall say of me, that I leave no public duty unperformed, nor ill performed!’” (Hawthorne 146). Up until the moment of his histrionic confession on the scaffold, Dimmesdale acts to maintain his respected reputation in the Puritan society. Even his final confession is a performance before the town. As analyzed by literary critic Terrence Martin, “...in keeping with the brilliant economy of The Scarlet Letter, the moment at which Dimmesdale commits himself consciously to deadly liberating sin becomes the moment at which he secretly wishes to cap his public life with a final burst of eloquence on the most important occasion the Puritan community can offer.” His death is his final act of hypocrisy, as he declares that he stands with them but leaves Hester and Pearl alone again to face society. His confession, like his silence, was a grandiose facade for an act of
Guilt, shame, and penitence are just a few of the emotions that are often associated with a great act of sin. Mr. Arthur Dimmesdale, a highly respected minister of a 17th century Puritan community, is true example of this as he was somehow affected by all of these emotions after committing adultery. Due to the seven years of torturous internal struggle that finally resulted in his untimely death, Mr. Dimmesdale is the character who suffered the most throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Mr. Dimmesdale’s ever present guilt and boundless penance cause him an ongoing mental struggle of remorse and his conscience as well as deep physical pain from deprivation and self inflicted wounds. The external influence of the members of his society
At the beginning of the novel, Dimmesdale has established quite a reputation for himself. In discussing individual members of the magistrate, the towns people describe Dimmesdale as a "God fearing" gentleman, "but merciful overmuch (49)". Due to his actions all of the people respect and look up to the Reverend. Throughout the story, Dimmesdale desperately tries to confess, envying Hester, for her courage, he says, "Happy are you Hester, that wear the scarlet letter openly upon your bosom” (188)! Even at the end of the novel, when finally attempting to confess, people are compelled by his final sermon, raving that "never had a man spoken in so wise, so high, and so holy a spirit, as he that spake this day” (243). Proving that he was a very loved and influential man in the small town.
In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes imagery to convey that Dimmesdale can represent Puritan Society rather than the round character that can be seen on the surface level. This is seen through the imagery and symbolism of hypocrisy, Dimmesdale as a Christ figure, and the scarlet letter.
That man who Hester loves so deeply, Mr. Dimmesdale also undergoes major changes due the sin he bears. In the beginning of the book we see this man’s weakness and unwillingness to confess sin even as he begs Hester the person he committed his sin with to come forth with her other parties name (p56). As The Scarlet Letter progresses we see Dimmesdale become weaker physically and his religious speeches become even stronger so that his congregation begins to revere him. For a large part of the novel Dimmesdale has been on a downward spiral in terms of mental and physical health thanks to a so-called friend who was issued to take care of Mr. Dimmesdale, then because of a talk with Hester he is revitalized and given the power to do something, which he could not for seven long years. At the end of the novel Dimmesdale is finally able to recognize his family in public and confess his sin before all releasing the sin he held so long hidden in his heart (p218, 219).
Throughout the passage, Hawthorne uses clear, distinct diction to create a sense of firmness to assert Hester’s views regarding her outlook on her own existence and that of women in general. Diction, a facet of writing comprised of mood and word choice, in a passage is very influential in sustaining a particular message or theme as it creates a framework for explanation. As a result, the author can “push” a certain message, per se, to the reader by developing a distinct mood in writing. In the case of the Scarlet Letter, as mentioned, Hawthorne developed a negative mood to assert Hester’s negative view. For example in the lines, “She discerns, it may be, such a hopeless task before her. As a first step, the whole system of society is to be torn down and
In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Dimmesdale’s inability to cope with his secret sin is illustrated through his repetitive desire for death and torment, which demonstrates human’s innate weakness to conform to problems in a dynamic society leading to their sorrow and desire to avoid guilt.
The novel in general is written in formal language because of its complex wording and sophisticated style. Hawthorne uses imagery as well as metaphors and irony. The language is flowery at instances and plain in others. His use of diction does not indicate his social status, education or region. Dialogue makes up about half of the novel. The dialogue from character to character is a bit distinct but the language is pretty similar even little Pearls language is very sophisticated.