religion, or lack there of. Sin also provokes punishment, be direct (by law) or by a moral

lesson. Severity in punishment is also conditional to the society in which the sin is

commited. In Puritan society, much like that of TSL, sins are serious and punishment is

very severe as compared with our modern standards. Nethaniel Hawthorne, the author of

TSL, was very immersed in the concept of sin. He broke sin down into four categories.

These categories where as follows: Secret sin, unforgiving sin, generational sin, and the

"worst" sin being psychological manipulation. Hawthorne clearly expresses the sin

Sin that passed on through the test of time must first be notoriously known and second be

Hester Prynne's loathsome sin, the mere creation of her life was wrong. She was, for lack

strange stare by one who did not know him, this situation best represents generational sin.

apparent. Generational sin is evidenced in TSL by Pearl. Since Pearl is the product of

of a better term, an accident. Pearl was undoubtedly discriminated from the beginning

attempted to confess his sin but he failed every time. Only on his death bed was his sin of

Some common words found in the essay are:
Nethaniel Hawthorne, Pearl Hester's, Letter Sin, Hester Prynne's, Hester Prynne, Dahmer Manson, generational sin, Pearl Pearl, Dimmsdale Dimmsdale, hester pregnant,
Approximate Word count = 502
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)