Essay Comparing The Scarlet Letter And The Crucible

The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible are two books about an illegal act that negatively affected a group of Puritans, during the 17th century. In The Scarlet Letter, the narrator tells a story about a woman who commits adultery with her lover and decides to live away from the other Puritans. In The Crucible, a man hides his sin from the Puritans in Boston, which ultimately leads to the Salem Witch Trials. Proctor and Dimmesdale are main characters in the books who face physical and mental problems, due to their hidden sin. Their choice to commit their sin is ultimately an unlawful act in the Puritan society that resulted in the suffering of their lovers and their tragic deaths.
To begin, the sin committed by Proctor and Dimmesdale is an illegal act in the Puritan society. According to the Puritans, the goal in life is to go to Heaven in the
In The Scarlet Letter, Hester unwillingly wears the letter A on her chest as a sign of her sin, which made her feel guilty and ashamed. Since Dimmesdale hid his sin, Hester received even more hatred because she did not want to expose Dimmesdale as her lover to the Puritans, who believed she could have a less severe punishment if she revealed her Pearl’s father. In The Crucible, Proctor has an affair with Abigail, even though Proctor has a wife. In Act II of the play, Elizabeth says to Proctor, “It is her dearest hope, John, I know it. There be a thousand names; why does she call mine? There be a certain danger in calling such a nam- I am no Goody Good that sleeps in ditches, nor Osburn, drunk and half- witted. She’d dare not call out such a farmer’s wife but there be monstrous profit in it. She thinks to take my place, John” (Miller 61). Proctor’s affair causes Abigail to feel jealousy towards Elizabeth, which eventually lead her to accuse Elizabeth of witchcraft. As Dimmesdale and Proctor kept their sin hidden, their health starts to