scarlet letter- guilty heart

A detailed Summary of scarlet letter- guilty heart

A great deal of blood has been shed and many wars have been fought during the history of civilization; however, man's greatest battle and most formidable enemy is only himself. Humans like to think of themselves as faultless, but sin is inevitable. Mankind is a sinful race; therefore, everyone has sinned. This has been made only more evident with the passing of time and the development of the human character. Not every person has the ability to address the concept of sin and also display it in a way that causes others to look at their lives through critical eyes. However, one factor that has remained constant in the human character through this development is conscience. As conscience continues to consume all that is his very essence, the struggling Arthur Dimmesdale, illustrates Hawthorne's theme of the negative affects of a sin-stained conscience and a life of secrecy in The Scarlet Letter.

In this story, an anguished Arthur Dimmesdale struggles to pacify his conscience and withhold the secret of his sin from being known. He did not reveal to anyone the revenge he felt in his heart, and he tried to keep anyone from realizing that his revenge was slowly taking over his life. Nathaniel Hawthorne was successful in writing a nov

Concealing sin and converting to a life of secrecy has forced Dimmesdale to lead a very depressing life. With his last steps, he ascends the scaffold and completes something he feels he should have completed seven years earlier: he accepts his sin, he accepts Hester, and he accepts Pearl. He reveals to the world his humanity and in so doing, forgives himself and is himself forgiven. His conscience and the truth, which had been agonizing him before has purified him, and he is free to achieve the peace he was in search of.

Arthur Dimmesdale's embrace of his conscience and truth lead to a decisive victory in the battle against himself. In the novel, Arthur Dimmesdale proved to be an effective character in illustrating the theme of conscience and redemption through truth. Through Arthur's change from merely feeling the pains of his human weakness while being interviewed, to his attempts at relieving his pain through scourging, fasting, and vigils, to his ultimate acceptance of the truth at the final scaffold scene, Nathaniel Hawthorne succeeds in showing that redemption can be achieved through truth alone. Complete atonement comes only with complete truth.

Arthur begins his progressive moral revolution and self-hatred. He despises the hypocrisy of such a vile scoundrel, as himself preaching from behind the pulpit, yet can never bring himself to admit his corruption before his congregation. From this undesirable spiritual weight he seeks freedom. He had striven to find forgiveness in admitting his guilt at the pulpit, but he ended up only feeling more shamed when the masses viewed his conf

Some common words found in the essay are:
Roger Chillingworth, Dimmesdale Arthur, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Pearl Hester, Arthur Dimmesdale, , Hester Thy, Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale's, arthur dimmesdale, Dimmesdale Hester, life secrecy, conscience truth, fasting vigils, scarlet letter, nathaniel hawthorne, secret arthur, hawthorne 91, arthur begins, human character,

Approximate Word count = 1079
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels