Preview

Honesty In The Scarlett Letter

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1264 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Honesty In The Scarlett Letter
Lies are told around the world multiple times during the day. Everyone sitting in this room has probably once today, said a lie. Sometimes lying is understandable for someone’s protection but sometimes the truth is essential to the person. There are multiple things people say in a day that are seen as lies such as “That outfit looks really good on you!,” “It wasn’t me!” and “I’ll be with you in a few minutes.” Honestly is not always the best policy because in the end it does not make everything better. People tell little lies so that they protect someone they care about and not hurt the feelings of another person. Honesty not always being the best policy is showed in The Scarlet Letter, “Tell All The Truth” poem, the “He Lies” video, …show more content…
In the Scarlet Letter, everyone eventually lies and they don’t necessarily get in trouble because of it. In this story, lying helped in many different situations. In this story Chillingworth lied about being a doctor and this helped him by allowing him to talk face to face with Hester and allows him to plan revenge on whoever got Hester pregnant. Hester lies to the people by not telling them who got her pregnant and this is to help and protect Dimmesdale from all the people. Lastly, Dimmesdale lies about committing adultery with Hester and this is to protect his reputation. In this story, it allows the readers to understand some of the ways lying can be used to protect someone or something the person who is lying, care for. In this book, there is a lot of lying going on but all of it is being used so that in the end someone is protected. Also in the poem “Tell All The Truth,” Emily Dickinson is telling people to only say the truth in slants. If you are having to tell the truth in slants to someone then you shouldn’t being …show more content…
In the video “He Lies”, the dad is lying to his daughter everyday. This video was tough to watch but it really shows how important it is for someone to lie to their kid to make their day everyday. In this video the dad is lying about having money, having a job, not being tired and etc. but most importantly he lies to his daughter to make her happy. In the video it shows him making the daughter laugh while buying her ice cream with the money he works hard for while not being employed. The dad is tired in the video and you can tell but he lies to her and acts like the happiest man in the world around her. This video truly shows the dad’s love for his daugher. The dad has a reason to lie to his daughter, and that reason is because he wants to make her life have a better turnout than his did. This video really shows the deep message about how honesty is truly not always the best
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Scarlet Letter Guilt Quotes
    • 884 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Scarlet Letter Guilt Quotes

    While reading The Scarlet Letter book I had a little trouble with understanding the words and how it was used back in the days because they have different meanings to it now. The Scarlet letter brought out many morals to me along with the themes that I was given to explain. If I would have to make up a theme or moral of the story, is not to lie because the more you hold in the lie the deeper the guilt grows you it will make you into a different person, it will make you become something you don't want to become it will make you turn into something terrible that honestly you would not want to become.…

    • 884 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Scarlett Letter-3 Reasons for Whyroger Chillingsworth Is the Most Sinful Character
    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Scarlett Letter-3 Reasons for Whyroger Chillingsworth Is the Most Sinful Character

    Published in 1850, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a book based on sin, guilt, and redemption. A woman, Hester Prynne, must bear the guilt of sin by wearing a scarlet “A” on her bosom. The reason she wears this letter is because she had a child by a man, Arthur Dimmesdale, who is not her husband, Roger Chillingworth. Although she has committed the sin of adultery with Dimmesdale, her husband is also guilty of being a sinner himself. According to the narrator in Chapter 14, “This unhappy person (Roger Chillingworth) had effected such a transformation by devoting himself for seven years to the constant analysis of a heart full of torture, and deriving his enjoyment thence, and adding fuel to those fiery tortures which he analysed and gloated over.” would convince anyone that Chillingworth is the most sinful character in The Scarlet Letter. Three reasons for why he is the most sinful character would be that he deceives the colony with his untrue identity, stays in Boston to get revenge on Reverend Dimmesdale, and posses worldly and sometimes prohibited forms of knowledge.…

    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Analysis of the Scarlet Letter 1
    • 1147 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Analysis of the Scarlet Letter 1

    “It may serve, let us hope, to symbolize some sweet moral blossom, that may be found along the track, or relieve the darkening close of a tale of human fatality and sorrow,” (Hawthorne 44). In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, light and dark are used to compare and contrast the inner nature of Hester, Pearl, and Dimmesdale, All of these characters describe the theme of sin and suffering, but throughout their own struggles they strive and succeed to end up on the other end of the spectrum.…

    • 1147 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Identity In The Scarlet Letter
    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Identity In The Scarlet Letter

    The truth may not always be beautiful, but it is a part of a person’s identity. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, illustrates how denying the truth affects one’s mental and physical wellness. It is better to be true to one’s identity rather than put up a false identity to please society. Hester and Dimmesdale both bare a scarlet letter “A”. Yet, Hester’s is a symbol of beauty in truth and the Dimmesdale's a symbol for the ugliness of one's character when one is untrue and ashamed.…

    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    media a cause of risky behaviour
    • 305 Words
    • 1 Page

    media a cause of risky behaviour

    There are people in this world who lie to harm. There are others who lie habitually, seemingly unable or unwilling to tell the truth. Most people do their best to tell the truth and find it difficult to lie, but end up doing so when circumstances seem to demand it--when they need to save face or "protect" themselves from punishment. The first type of person is best dealt with under the topic of "meanness," while the second type is best left to the psychoanalyst or psychologist. It's the third type of lying that belongs here, for that's the type that keeps us from enjoying our days for all that they're worth--an aberration in our behavior that pulls us down, makes us feel horrible, causes fear that wasn't there before, and has the potential to harm relationships that mean a great deal to…

    • 305 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Is Lying Ever Justified Essay
    • 375 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Is Lying Ever Justified Essay

    In a new Associated Presslpsos poll over half people said, lying was never justified.But in the same poll,two-thirds said it was ok to lie in certain situations,like protecting someone’s feelings.I firmly believe that lying is acceptable in our society.…

    • 375 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    ways we lie
    • 1157 Words
    • 5 Pages

    ways we lie

    It is curious to know that every day without thinking everyone tells lies “The Ways we lie” by Stephanie Ericcson is a realistic text that demonstrates what a lie is, why lies are told, how lies are justified, and consequences. According to this essay “We lie. We all do. We exaggerate, we minimize, we avoid confrontation, we spare people's feelings, we conveniently forget, we keep secrets, we justify lying to the big-guy institutions.” (Page 408 of The Bedford Reader). Ericsson analyze the different ways we use lies to help and hurt our self in our everyday lives, and how this effects American culture.The purpose of this essay is not to make people feel bad about themselves or to censure anybody, but to make people think before they lie.…

    • 1157 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Honestly Tell The Truth By Barbara Ballinger: Article Analysis
    • 220 Words
    • 1 Page

    Honestly Tell The Truth By Barbara Ballinger: Article Analysis

    Lying is sometimes acceptable justable when you are trying to protect others or yourself. For example, Barbara Ballinger says “If you’re hiding Anne Frank in your attic because her life is on danger” (Ballinger P11). This shows that it is okay lie if you are protecting someone.…

    • 220 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Arthur Dimmesdale In The Scarlet Letter
    • 719 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Arthur Dimmesdale In The Scarlet Letter

    Everyone in their life goes through guilt and regret, and may have things in common with Dimmesdale. In the excerpt The Characters Reveal the Story’s Meaning from Hawthorne: A Critical Study by Hyatt H. Waggoner, he states “He first descends from his original position as the saintly guide and inspiration of the novel as very nearly the worst of the sinners in his hypocrisy and cowardice.” (Waggoner 74). Readers can learn from Dimmesdale in many ways. From reading the novel, they can see how much damage regret and guilt causes. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne states the moral of the story, “Be true! Be true! Be true! Show freely to the world, if not your worst, yet some trait whereby the worst may be inferred!” (Hawthorne 286). This quote tells you to be true to yourself and be you. Dimmesdale is a perfect example of this, because he wasn’t true to himself and ended up paying a huge price for his guilt. Everyone knows that lying is a sin, and can have major consequences. Even if you tell your secret, you can still feel guilt after the fact. Dimmesdale is a very relatable character, and readers can understand him the most, as well as learn from him throughout the…

    • 719 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    I Believe in Honesty
    • 1194 Words
    • 5 Pages

    I Believe in Honesty

    I strongly believe that honesty is the best policy. Let’s not go overboard and think that I never tell little white lies, because I do, but usually it is to spare someone’s feelings. I have learned throughout the course of many years that telling big lies only leads to more lies. What will happen when you tell those lies? You will usually end up telling one lie to cover up another lie and eventually, you will end up telling on yourself.…

    • 1194 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Effects of Lying
    • 1195 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Effects of Lying

    Human beings have one thing in common – we all lie. Many of us like to think of ourselves as honest individuals, but what we do not realise is that there are many occasions when we will resort to lying, whether we are aware of it or not. Lying has become a part of our social behaviour such that most of us often think it is okay to do so, without weighing the consequences of our actions. True to what we think, lying can be acceptable, but it depends on the circumstances. There are many reasons for lying: We lie mainly because we want to avoid something from happening, or we are afraid of something; we lie as a joke, for deceptive gains and even sometimes, to protect the people around us. This is especially so when we think that telling those people the “truth” may hurt them, thus we tend to hide the truth by telling them a white lie in order to preserve the relationship. In this case, the lie is often seen as harmless, though it may not necessarily be acceptable to the person being lied at, as some people just prefer the truth, no matter how much it may hurt. There are other forms of lies and what defines a lie is anything that is not the whole truth. Thus, people may lie unconsciously either because they cannot recall the entire truth, or because they think that some information are not necessary and can be omitted. The severity of the consequences for telling lies differs, depending on the type of lie, but these consequences are usually negative.…

    • 1195 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Eg 3.5 Outline Essay
    • 788 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Eg 3.5 Outline Essay

    Everyone lies every single day, but why? Most would say they lie to protect others from the truth. But is that really better than just telling the truth?…

    • 788 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Scarlett Letter - Summary
    • 916 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Scarlett Letter - Summary

    Summary: The novel, The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in the 1850's, was a book involved in the ubiquitous movement of Romanticism. The main story is set in the Massachusetts Bay Colony (modern-day Boston), a colony newly established by English Puritans.…

    • 916 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    The Nature of Confession
    • 1767 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The Nature of Confession

    The Scarlet Letter is a complex novel that addresses issues of love, revenge, Puritanical hierarchy, adultery and several others. It would appear that the book could have been written merely for the purpose of ethical discussion. The most prominent matter that is addressed among all of them however, is confession. There are countless passages that directly allude to characters in the novel struggling with the secrets they have chosen to keep or confess. Through several different instances, the novel is constantly posing two questions, is it better to withhold secrets and live without public shame, or to confess your sins and face dire consequences? Secondly, what must a person consider in deciding whether to confess or not? The novel truly leaves it up to the reader to decide but based on the occurrences throughout the book, the answer, at least to the first question, seems clear. Dimmesdale, a preacher, chose to withhold his secret until he could no longer bare it. Unfortunately, by this time, it was too late and the weight of his guilt in committing adultery combined with the torment he endured by way of Chillingworth collapsed on him all at once. The Scarlet Letter, through its dramatic plot line, argues time and time again that confession is the only path in eradicating sin. In essence, Dimmesdale’s fear of truth and consequence led to a death that he may not have deserved.…

    • 1767 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Theme Of Deception In The Scarlet Letter
    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Theme Of Deception In The Scarlet Letter

    Scarlet Letter relates to the theme of individual versus society in various ways throughout the novel because of the main character’s (Hester) hardship with her secrets that were kept. Not only Hester but Dimmesdale and Chillingworth were keeping secrets from each other and the whole town. Hester has to control her desire to tell the truth and practices the art of deception to hide these secrets from others. Throughout the history of mankind, the use of deception…

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics