Of the many ideas presented in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, and A Different Drummer by William Kelley, all the novels express the importance of the conflicting nature of truth. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne portrays that a person should not lie, even when drastic consequences such as death threaten him or her. However, Miller suggests in The Crucible that people should consider preserving life more important than always speaking honestly. Kelley presents the concept that sometimes lies become necessary to protect a friend in A Different Drummer. Dimmesdale says to Hester, “Truth was the one virtue which I might have held fast, and did not hold fast, through all extremity; save when thy good, -- thy life, -- thy fame, -- were put in question. Then I consented to a deception. But a lie is never good, even though death threaten on the other side” (175). Dimmesdale struggles very much in The Scarlet Letter while discovering that a hidden lie left to fester causes more grief and pain than he considers worth living for. Dimmesdale states, “Many, many a poor soul hath given its confidence to me, not only on the death-bed, but while strong in life, and fair in reputation. And ever, after such an outpouring, oh, what a relief have I witnessed in those sinful brethren! Even as in one who at last draws free air, after long stifling with his own polluted breath” (120). By describing how much of a relief came after confessing a lie to many people, Dimmesdale shows the corrosive nature of living a lie. Because its effects ruin lives, losing his life seems a better course to Dimmesdale than living in agony. Hawthorne writes, “And yet, by the constitution of h... ... middle of paper ... ...ide in the car because he knew Walter would have told his mother, and would have caused trouble for his father” (75). In this case, Mister Leland protects his father by not telling Walter about his ride with Bradshaw. Mister Leland figured that Walter would probably tell their mother and she would get mad at Harry for allowing a stranger to “borrow” Mister Leland. Throughout The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, and A Different Drummer by William Kelley, characters develop differing conclusions on the nature of truth. Hawthorne demonstrates his belief in The Scarlet Letter that people should never lie, no matter the consequence. Miller portrays the idea in The Crucible that people should lie to preserve some things like life. In A Different Drummer, Kelley suggests approves of people lying to protect friends.
“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true” (Kierkegaard)- Misleading oneself by accepting things as true or valid when they are not is a common phenomenon of nearly every human being, especially when faced with life changing of threatening situations. Self-deception can therefore be considered an option to escape reality in order to prevent oneself from dealing with the weight of a situation. Basically, those strong influencing psychological forces keep us from acknowledging a threatening situation or truth. However, oftentimes people do not realize that they are deceiving themselves, for it is mostly the action of the subconscious mind to protect especially the psychological well- being. This psychological state is depicted and in Ambrose Bierce’s short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”. He shows that people try to escape reality and seek refuge in self-deception when confronted with life-threatening situations, through characterization, alternate point of view, and the fluidity of time.
Lastly Nathaniel Hawthorne brings out that we absolutely must accept responsibility for our actions or suffer the consequences come with them. Hester is the prime example for this here because she was smart and freed herself of this great weight quickly so that it wouldn’t drag her down. This theme was not as applicable to Dimmesdale, however, who decided to hide his wrongful actions and was bearing this secret upon his heart and mind at all times.
Every human has sinned but Dimmesdale’s evil deeds led him to live a double life—one as a godly minister and another as the “greatest sinner.” Meanwhile Hester was at trial and being punished for her sin, Dimmesdale showed no sign of guilt and he did not have the valor to stand by her side and take full accountability for his actions. Not only did Dimmesdale fail as a lover, but he also failed as a father by denying Pearl and allowing her to live as an outcast. The townspeople held the minister as a saint but little did they know that he disobeyed the eighth commandment from Exodus 20:16, by hiding the truth from his church Dimmesdale became a liar. Moreover, in chapter twenty Dimmesdale confesses all the evil thoughts that roam in his mind and that his flesh desires to do. He even states how he has used his eloquence to manipulate the youngest female member to attend church. As a result of all the evil deeds, the minister seems to depart from his relationship with God and is confused. Dimmesdale becomes lost and desperate, he habitually questions life and his identity but ironically the famed theologian finds no concrete answers to h...
Arthur Dimmesdale, a character of high reputation, overwhelmed by guilt, torn apart by his own wrongdoing, makes his entrance into history as the tragic hero whose life becomes a montage of pain and agony because of his mistakes. The themes leading to Dimmesdale’s becoming a tragic hero are his guilt from his sin, and his reluctance to tarnish his reputation in the town. Guilt plays a huge role in defining Dimmesdale as a tragic hero. Dimmesdale has understood that by not revealing his sin, he has doomed himself. This also connects with the constant struggle with Chillingworth. The mysteries of Dimmesdale’s guilty heart entice Chillingworth to delve into his soul and reveal what has been hidden, causing Dimmesdale great pain and suffering. His guilt is taking over, causing him to inflict pain upon himself while also experiencing true and meaningful suffering. Guilt is not the only theme in the novel that help to characterize Dimmesdale as a tragic hero, but reputation and authority in the community also help to characterize him as a tragic hero. Arthur Dimmesdale has a grand reputation and authority in his community, which worsens his downfall. The respect he had from his community makes them hurt worse when they see his decline. His excessive pride makes him ignorant to most, until the end when all things go downhill. He also made a life altering decision of whether to stay and face his guilt, or to run away from his mistakes. Arthur Dimmesdale, from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, is an example of a tragic hero because of the downfall brought about by his guilt and necessity to uphold his authority in the town.
Dimmesdale tells Hester “What can thy silence do for him, as it were—to add hypocrisy to sin?” (Hawthorne 63). Dimmesdale pushes Hester to reveal her lover (Himself) because he is too weak to do it himself. He “loves” Hester, but doesn’t have the guts to share her burden with her. He understands the turmoil of keeping his secret, but is too attached to his position as minister to admit it. Dimmesdale’s description of his “confessions” in chapter 11 also serve to further exemplify his hypocritical character. He continually calls himself “vile” and a sinner, but he knows that he will only receive more adoration from the crowd. Instead of outright saying that he committed adultery with Hester, he knowingly feeds the audience, boosting his popularity. Again at the scaffold scene his hypocrisy is obvious. He cowers both when he sees a man and when Pearl asks him “wilt thou stand here with mother and me, to-morrow noontide?” (Hawthorne 139). His inability to release in any form his transgression shows whilst playing the preacher role shows is cowardice and
Secrets can destroy even the most respected people. Sometimes is not the secret itself that drives people into exhaustion, but the emotional baggage that comes with it. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Reverend Dimmesdale physically deteriorates because of his guilt caused by a dishonorable sin. The Puritan society in which the story is set discourages the idea of the private self, which Hawthorne shows by creating distinctions between the characters’ private and public lives, specifically Dimmesdale’s.
- Dimmesdale was a young reverend of the community. The people loved him, because of his emotional ways of speaking. He was Hester’s secret lover. He couldn’t live without being punished for his sins. Finally, he confess publicly, as soon as he did he died.
We learn of a case where finding out the truth was a devastating experience for one family. Hag Ali Khalafawy was rich because he had stolen another man’s money. When he was on his death bed he told his son of his thievery and asked that the fortune be returned to its rightful owners. The son didn’t believe it, and his father answered, “It’s the truth, no mo...
...r of these agonies been wanting, [he would have] been lost forever!"(211). This final quote from Dimmesdale shows how the sorrows that he bore changed him and the way that he thought about his life. At the conclusion of his life, he is pleased that he is able to endure the trials that his life has encountered. This shows that the novel has changed his view on his sorrows and frailties from being hindrances into things that have shaped his life for the better.
The source of Dimmesdale's sudden shame is Hester coming up with ideas for them to flee from the town and leave
The reverend knows that if Hester or himself admit that he is the father, then he will be publicly shamed and possibly killed alongside Hester. Due to the fact that he doesn’t want anything to do with that, he keeps to himself and hopes that Hester keeps quiet as well. When, in Chapter 3 The Recognition, Dimmesdale calls upon Hester asking her to admit who the father is, it can be inferred that he is not going to come out and admit his wrongdoing himself. Towards the end of that chapter when Hester yells to Reverend Wilson that she will never admit who the father is, the narrator says that she was “looking, not at Mr. Wilson, but into the deep and troubled eyes of the younger clergyman” (Hawthorne) as if he was troubled about what he should do. Then three paragraphs later, the narrator proceeds to tell us of Dimmesdale murmuring to himself, “Wondrous strength and generosity of a woman’s heart! She will not speak!” further letting us know that he is not going to admit to being the father anytime soon. Another way that Dimmesdale shows his cowardice is through his
Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale from the Scarlet Letter as a man ridden with guilt and hypocrisy to fulfill his role as a corrupt person. The author specifically uses guilt to exemplify Dimmesdale’s role as a culpable person. Dimmesdale’s guilt is represented through his constant chest pains, “On that spot, in very truth, there was, and there had long been, the gnawing and poisonous tooth of bodily pain,” (Hawthorne 102). Hawthorne utilizes this symbol throughout the novel to display the guilty and corrupt personality of Arthur Dimmesdale. The pain resembles the guilt and the sin that lurks his soul. Roger Chillingworth became stationed in Dimmesdale’s home in order to tend to his pains, and Chillingworth concluded that
Dimmesdale also struggles throughout the book with guilt. Hester dealt with more of a mental struggle, while Dimmesdale’s guilt physically gets the best of him. In Dimmesdale’s secret closet was a bloody scourge, which he would whip himself “rigorously, and until his knees trembled beneath him, as an act of penance. He kept vigils, likewise, night after night” (127). Dimmesdale’s way of trying to free himself of his guilt is to physically abuse himself. He whips and makes himself stay awake throughout the nights for punishment. He doesn’t know what else to do with himself but to make himself feel worse. He tells “Hester, I am most miserable” (166). As a reader this can be very sad. It is hard to read about others people’s struggles that they can’t help. Dimmesdale thought he was doing the right thing by keeping his secret, but the guilt is overpowering him now. Setting yourself up for guilt will not work out for you in the end because it will just make you go
It is a story that provides the ultimate explanation of how two different people who are witnesses to a crime give completely different psychological recollections of the same event. The author reminds us that truth depends on the telling. Someone must step forward and tell that truth.
In this novel you will find that the main characters are the prime examples of Love, Hate, Sin, and Purity. Although adultery is condemned and seen as sin, adultery isn't what Hawthorne focuses on. Through my analysis of the Scarlet Letter I noticed that there were three different types of love. The act of hatred plays a vile role throughout the novel. Hawthorne uses Pearl as a blatant symbol of purity, from her birth till the end of the novel. As you will see Love, Hate, Sin, and Purity does play a vital role in this story.