Scarlet Letter
Name
Teacher
English 1, block 3
12 October 2013
The Power of Guilt
Almost all people have felt some type of guilt. Whether it be from cheating on a test, lying to your parents, or forgetting your best friend’s birthday, guilt can be very powerful, it gives us a contrite awareness that we have acted in a way that some would considered to be wrong. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale have committed a great sin, and because of this sin, it causes these characters to have an extensive amount of guilt. Hawthorne transmits the idea of guilt and sin by using different symbols, like the scaffold. Throughout the novel, the scaffold’s symbolic significance of guilt demonstrates how one can attempt to overcome their guilt by confessing and being a productive citizen of society. During the Puritan era, the scaffold was used for public humiliation. Those who committed a severe crime were punished by standing on the scaffold and being ridiculed by the people in their town. This form of humiliation brought shame and guilt upon perpetrators. When the scaffold first appears in the novel, Hester Prynne endures this form of punishment for committing adultery, which back in that time period was a serious offense. “A roar of laughter burst from the multitude-each man, each woman, each little shrill-voiced child, contributing their individual parts” (Hawthorne 50) The goal of this public shame is to make Hester feel guilty for her sin. In the beginning of the novel, Hester is standing on the scaffold holding her baby, Pearl. She has accepted the blame that the community has placed on her, “One token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another, she took the baby on her arm, and, with a burning blush, and yet a haughty smile, and a glance that would not be abashed, looked around at her townspeople and neighbors” (Hawthorne 46) Hester has accepted her sins, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she’s going to let them bring her
Teacher
English 1, block 3
12 October 2013
The Power of Guilt
Almost all people have felt some type of guilt. Whether it be from cheating on a test, lying to your parents, or forgetting your best friend’s birthday, guilt can be very powerful, it gives us a contrite awareness that we have acted in a way that some would considered to be wrong. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale have committed a great sin, and because of this sin, it causes these characters to have an extensive amount of guilt. Hawthorne transmits the idea of guilt and sin by using different symbols, like the scaffold. Throughout the novel, the scaffold’s symbolic significance of guilt demonstrates how one can attempt to overcome their guilt by confessing and being a productive citizen of society. During the Puritan era, the scaffold was used for public humiliation. Those who committed a severe crime were punished by standing on the scaffold and being ridiculed by the people in their town. This form of humiliation brought shame and guilt upon perpetrators. When the scaffold first appears in the novel, Hester Prynne endures this form of punishment for committing adultery, which back in that time period was a serious offense. “A roar of laughter burst from the multitude-each man, each woman, each little shrill-voiced child, contributing their individual parts” (Hawthorne 50) The goal of this public shame is to make Hester feel guilty for her sin. In the beginning of the novel, Hester is standing on the scaffold holding her baby, Pearl. She has accepted the blame that the community has placed on her, “One token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another, she took the baby on her arm, and, with a burning blush, and yet a haughty smile, and a glance that would not be abashed, looked around at her townspeople and neighbors” (Hawthorne 46) Hester has accepted her sins, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she’s going to let them bring her