Scarlet Letter: Selfishness In An American Society

1004 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Character developement of the scarlet letter chapter 2

In the American society, some values have remained prevalent throughout generations. These values starting in puritan american can still be seen prominently in today's society. Puritan America, was made up of English Puritans who migrated to America and based their lives around religion and the values set by the church. Going against the ideals of the church, was considered a sin. The Scarlet Letter is a distinctly American novel because it connects the ideals of Puritan America to the ideals that are still prevalent in America today in that it highlights both one's selfishness at the expense of others' well-being and one's struggle for acceptance from a hostile collective. In America there is a huge sense of nationalism and community. …show more content…

This can be distinguished as uniquely American because it's directly derived from the idea that Americans are selfishness, both in the key terms of money and freedom. America is very lucky in the fact that there is freedom, and sometimes people take that for granted. For example, abusing the 2nd amendment rights, the right to bear arms, is considered a selfish act. Since America, especially today has had an immense amount of shootings, from citizens, America can be distinguishable from other countries. These acts, if committed by a right minded person leads to an infinite amount of guilt. Directly connected to The Scarlet Letter Mr.Dimmesdale’s sin causes him to bare the pain of guilt. On Mr. Dimmesdale’s chest there is an invisible scarlet letter which is connected to his sudden illness, because the burden of guilt is so heavy he physically could not bare it. “...to put his hand over his heart with first a flush and then a paleness indicative of pain” (68). This motif present throughout the novel continues the idea that Mr.Dimmesdale’s selfish act of letting Hester and Pearl be shamed, resulted in a painful amount of guilt. The guilt he carried was such a heavy strain on his life, it killed him. “... the minister, conscious that he was dying- conscious, also, that the reverence of the multitude placed him already among saints and angels - had desired, by …show more content…

Society is based around how people view each other and in America, especially with social media today, people can be hated on very quickly. With the small communities like in The Scarlet Letter the same concept prevails, creating the idea that word spreads fast, mainly in a degrading manner. “And as for the people’s reverence, would that it were turned to scorn and hatred” (107). Mr. Dimmesdale believed that if his sin was exposed to the community, the way people viewed him and his teachings would be reinscribed in their brains as repulsive. He was so afraid of the reaction of the community, it strayed him away from telling the truth. “I have laughed, in bitterness and agony of heart, at the contrast between what I seem and what I am! And Satan laughs at it” (107). This explains how Mr. Dimmesdale’s job is extremely ironic in regards that he is the character in The Scarlet Letter that has the heaviest sin to carry, while he reinforces the idea not to sin to others. This connects to America today, because many people are still struggling to be accepted by today’s society without fitting into the social norms. Today, if one was to go outside the constricting box of normalcy, it would be considered a taboo. So, relating back to The Scarlet Letter instead of creating resentment towards himself, Mr. Dimmesdale kept quiet in hopes society wouldn’t look down upon him and his

Show More
Related

  • The Cowardly Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    1018 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter and John Proctor from The Crucible

    1483 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Scarlet Letter Guilt Quotes

    1287 Words  | 3 Pages

    As a spiritual leader, it is his responsibility not only to condemn Hester of her sins, but also when the sinner does not repented for them, they are to be set aside from society which results in Hester making the letter “A” beautiful. We see that hear through this quote, “[g]ood Master Dimmesdale,.. the responsibility of this woman’s soul lies greatly with you. It behooves you, therefore, to exhort her to repentance and to confession, as proof and consequence thereof” (pg. 62). After stating this the people wait for his direction. He leans over the balcony and commands her to disclose the name of the man she had slept with. She, however, refuses to relinquish the name, as she knows it is better for her to keep quiet, until he decides that it is time to come forward with the truth. This is only exemplifies the hypocrisy within Dimmesdale. Not only in this story of the Scarlet Letter, but throughout the early churches we often see religious leaders in this predicament of coming forward or not coming forward with the truth of their role within certain situations. Hester, on the other hand, is portrayed as strong but also abandoned, because she is standing alone for the sins she could not have committed alone. Dimmesdale also struggles within confessing to Pearl the truth and keeping it from her. At first he is regarded as being selfish for not

    Read More

  • Free College Essays - Hidden Sin in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    1259 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Changes of Character in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    710 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Dimmesdale's Guilt and Internal Struggle in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Scarlet Letter Hypocrisy Quotes

    738 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Mr. Dimmesdale's Feelings of Guilt and Shame in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s "The Scarlet Letter"

    901 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...y, Dimmesdale suffered constantly from corporal afflictions as well as the internal conflict of coping with his actions. After the initial sin, Mr. Dimmesdale lived a life of endless struggle and underwent the most suffering throughout The Scarlet Letter. Dimmesdale allowed his life to become consumed with guilt and the quest to complete a suitable penance, which brought him sorrow, self-hatred, and the demise of his body and spirit. The outward influence of society played a key role in Arthur’s unvarying anguish by providing him with a constant reminder of his sin and hypocrisy and adding to the growing guilt and shame he kept bottled within him. Combinations of his mental, physical, and emotional struggles ultimately lead Mr. Dimmesdale to his untimely death. In the end, the suffering became too great to bear and Mr. Dimmesdale’s was forced him to succumb to it.

    Read More

  • The Distinguishing between Hester and Dimmesdale in Nathaniel

    737 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hester and Dimmesdale both bear a scarlet letter but the way they handle it is different. Hester’s scarlet letter is a piece of clothing, the “SCARLET LETTER, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom” (Hawthorn 51). Dimmesdale on the other hand, has a scarlet letter carved in his chest. This is revealed when Dimmesdale was giving his revelation, in which “he tore away the ministerial band from before his breast. It was revealed!” (Hawthorn 232). Since the Scarlet Letter on Hester is visible to the public, she was criticized and looked down on. “This women has brought same upon us all, and ought to die” (Hawthorn 49) is said by a female in the market place talking about Hester. She becomes a stronger person through living this hard life. Dimmesdale instead has to live “a life of cowardly and selfish meanness, that added tenfold disgrace and ignominy to his original crime” (Loring 185). He becomes weaker and weaker by time, “neither growing wiser nor stronger, but, day after day, paler and paler, more and more abject” (Loring 186). Their courage is also weak.

    Read More

  • Hyperbole In The Scarlet Letter

    509 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Character Development in The Scarlet Letter

    572 Words  | 2 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Guilt and Shame in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    1108 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Death In The Scarlet Letter

    774 Words  | 2 Pages

    Elizabeth Kubler-Ross once said, “Guilt is perhaps the most painful companion of death.” This quote truly captures Dimmesdale’s death and journey to death, it is guilt that drives him to the grave and it accompanies him throughout all five grieving stages. Dimmesdale is one of many characters in The Scarlet Letter that is faced with problems both personally and spiritually. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a romantic novel about a young woman, Hester Prynne, who is permanently marked with her sin by a scarlet A she must bare on her chest and also by her daughter Pearl. Hester committed adultery with the young minister of Boston, Arthur Dimmesdale. Hester, and her beloved child Pearl, learn to over come the A and change the meaning of it from adulterer to able, while they are changing the way society views them, Dimmesdale is withering away under the “care” of Rodger Chillingworth, Hester’s past husband. Chillingworth knows about the sin and seeks revenge on Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale is helpless and in a downward spiral. He let the sin become who he is, even though the towns people don’t know of his adultery until his dying breath. The Scarlet Letter is a story about overcoming the darkness that hangs above you and stepping out of the sin or gloom that controls you. For characters like Hester this is a fairly easy thing to handle, but on the flip side characters like Dimmesdale struggle and can not seem to escape their heinous acts and don’t find peace of mind until they die. The Scarlet Letter mainly focuses on the process of overcoming these troubling times and how each individual character handles the pressure, stress, and guilt that come along with it differently. Arthur Dimmesdale is a lost soul after his sin, he expe...

    Read More

  • The Great Concept Of American Freedom

    1409 Words  | 3 Pages

    Early America was a place for anyone to live their life the way that they wanted, as it is now, but back then this was a new concept. Much of this idea comes from the freedoms obtained by living here. Many other countries in the world had many freedoms, but not as numerous as they were in America shortly after the country was founded. Americans during the late 1700's and early 1800's embraced their freedoms and became leaders and expanders, and what we now consider the founders of many present-day cities and towns. One thing that has been present throughout the generations of people living in America, is the desire to set themselves apart from other nations. This want was supplied to the American people in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. These two documents gave the American people everything they needed to set them apart from the rest. Based on the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, America was able to create an identity including freedom, religion, and individuality that is very unique to this country.

    Read More

  • Appearance vs. Reality in the Scarlet Letter

    656 Words  | 2 Pages

    Present day churches can be filled with hypocrites. Some members and religious leaders go to church to look nice and appealing to someone else. They present themselves as holy and perfect and incapable of doing wrong, but they know they are far from that. As hard as they may try to look and act like the perfect being, the truth of their imperfect ways will be revealed for all to know. This is the case with the character or Arthur Dimmesdale from The Scarlet Letter. Dimmesdale appears incorruptible, revered and strong, but in reality he was corrupt, dishonest, and weak.

    Read More

More about Scarlet Letter: Selfishness In An American Society

Open Document