Lack Of Trust In The Scarlet Letter

For the longest time, man has constantly and continues to exemplify a lack of trust towards one another. It goes back as far the first man to walk the earth, and the choice he made to neglect God’s forewarning. Many authors have taken into account of this common human error such as Nathaniel Hawthorne in his novel The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne’s belief that a lack of trust can blind a man into not being able to differentiate friends and enemies is validated by recent episodes of film such as “ Remember the Titans.”

Hawthorne, throughout his novel, distinctly displays the complexities and difficulties that come with a lack of trust through Reverend Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale, led by the internal struggle of his sin of adultery, embraces a perfect facade in order to avoid exclusion and condemnation from the Puritan society particularly due to his status. Yet due to the magnitude of the sin on his heart, Dimmesdale subtly distances himself from his community and begins to trust no one. Consequently, the absence of faith in his fellow man blinds him most in his sickness through his interaction with Roger Chillingworth; his doctor, whose mission is to bestow torture upon his soul. Within their encounters, the narrator takes note of this issue saying,

“Trusting no man as his friend, he could not recognize his enemy when the latter actually appeared”( Hawthorne,114).

Dimmesdale, thus unknowingly brought even more pain and tribulation upon himself by allowing a wolf in sheep's clothing into his inner chambers; because he lacked the ability to trust he also acquired the inability to discern.

He further on takes notice of his lack of trust as he proclaims to Hester, his adulteress, that if he had one friend or enemy that knew of his sin he could live with himself. Yet, Hester, being his only friend to which he can not seem to realize, informs him about Roger Chillworthing saying,”Thou hast long had such an enemy,and dwellest with him under the same roof!”(Hawthorne,168) This indicates the consequence and importance of trust that needs to be to addressed in order for one to walk on a straight narrow path.
In the same way, many other authors have displayed the same issue of a lack of trust through different lenses that transcend individuality and personal relationships, and in some cases they close in on its role among the topic of race. One example of this perspective is the movie “Remember the Titans” and an interview with the real coach. This movie beautifully sheds light on the racial tensions that existed post the civil rights movement through a divided high school football team. Both the whites and blacks did not trust each other and had upsetting views about the integration of the team because they saw each other as the enemy. The integration began with the coaches who to some degree also lacked trust in each other, but they found a common ground in football. They created a hole in the barrier between the two races by causing them to sit with each other on the buses. Coming directly from the real coach, he says,”I forced them on each other. I forced them to learn each other's culture. I forced them to be a part of each other's lives."(Coach Boone, Espn) Understanding each other's culture and befriending one another is especially an important way of building the trust that was lost due to the past. It also brings forth the idea that in order for the team to rebuild and win they have to be able differentiate the inner problem of who's the real enemy and who's the real friend on the field which begins with trust. Yet, as the movie progressed and the racial relationships did as well, slight glimpses of distrust were still seen in the people's reaction to losing. For example, earlier in the season after a lost, someone threw a toilet seat through the coach’s window which has never left his mind. He recalls,”I've never gotten over that incident that particular night, because I could never understand how anybody could feel so bad about another human being as to throw a toilet commode through a window."(Coach Boone, Espn) Skin color in American society still brings distrust is some way regardless of the progressions made even towards one someone may call a friend. That being said, an overall lack of trust in every situation met proves to leave its toll on one because it blinds you from the reality of the truth.
In conclusion, Hawthorne and other authors show how trust plays a crucial important role in one's everyday decisions. A lack of trust is a double edged sword that blinds people from telling the difference between a friend or an enemy whether it be through racial tensions or personal relations. Trusting in someone allows for so much good to be imposed, but when the opposite is in play only confusion and pain is brought into the picture.