Scarlet Letter, Chillingworth A Man Of Evil

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Chillingworth: a Man of Evil

In the novel the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne’s character Roger Chillingworth is supposed to represent the evil in the story. Hawthorne shows Chillingworth to be evil by several means. The physical description of Chillingworth shows him as an evil character. Statements are also made by Hawthorne referring to the inner content of Chillingworth that would lead the reader to feelings of his evilness. Another good way Hawthorne expresses that Chillingworth is evil is his name. There are many methods Hawthorne uses to demonstrate the evil qualities of Chillingworth.
When Chillingworth first enters the novel he is seen in a crowd. Hester notices him because he stands out. Chillingworth is dressed all in black. Black is a color often used to represent evil, other famous characters that demonstrate this are Captain Ahab and Darth Vader. Chillingworth is also said to have a hump on the left side of his back. The left or “sinister” side is used to represent evil. Chillingworth is also gnarled and ugly. Hawthorne writes characters to appear on the outside the way he wants the reader to see them on the inside. Chillingworth appears to be an ugly person on the outside therefore he must be one on the inside. Chillingworth is shown as a dark, evil, ugly character.
The first thin one usually notices about the man in question is his eyes. These eyes have the power to read deep into a human soul. He can see whatever hangs heavy on the heart of the person and bring it to light; for example Chillingworth could use this to bring out a person’s sins. Hawthorne sees this act to be the greatest sin of all, making Chillingworth evil.
Chillingworth is a name that has a strong connotation of evil. The word chill has meanings similar to that of the word cold. Having the suffix worth makes his name mean of cold value. Cold is usually associated with evil. This can be seen in expressions like cold hearted. Chillingworth is a human being of cold value therefore he is a man of evil.

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