Impure Puritans in The Scarlet Letter
In a world where society is disorganized, unhappy, and chaotic, it
can be extremely difficult to provide an honest, and just law system. As a
result, in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, people use their
religion (Puritan), as judge, jury, and executioner. For some people, it
can be very troublesome to live a normal life when you are surrounded by
biased and chauvinistic men and women. In this story, Hester Prynne is a
victim of her religion, and her fellow townsfolk.
Throughout the book, Hawthorne writes about the townspeople and how
they act and behave towards each other, Hester, and life in general. The
novel starts with Hester walking towards the town scaffold to be seen for
public display, because she committed the crime of adultery.
A lane was forthwith opened through the crowd of spectators.
Preceded by the beadle, and attended by an irregular procession of stern-
browed men and unkindly visaged women, Hester Pyrnne set forth towards the
place appointed for her punishment. A crowd of eager and curious
schoolboys, understanding little of the matter in hand except that it gave
them a half-holiday, ran before her progress, turning their heads
continually to stare into her face, and at the wink-ing baby in her arms,
and at the ignominious letter on her breast. P. 52, 53
As this is happening, all the people see is the crime that Hester
committed, not the person behind it. They do not take into consideration,
that the crime itself, is not as evil as they make it out to be. Hawthorne
describes it as enjoyable to the spectators, by showing the children watch
her and laugh as she makes her way to the scaffold. It's as though the
people of the Puritan religion are heartless, ruthless, cold blooded, and
that what is going on, is considered fun.
Aside from forcing Hester to stand on the scaffold, they make her
knit an "A" onto her chest. The "A" symbolizes adultery. The plan was for
people to look upon this symbol, pity her, and make Hester feel deprived of
humanity. Instead of knitting a simple "A", Hester designs a very complex
and elaborate one. The reaction from the people shows how evil some of
In the beginning years of Janie’s life, there were two people who she is dependent on. Her grandmother is Nanny, and her first husband is named Logan Killicks. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, “Janie, an attractive woman with long hair, born without benefit of clergy, is her heroine” (Forrest). Janie’s grandmother felt that Janie needs someone to depend on before she dies and Janie could no longer depend on her. In the beginning, Janie is very against the marriage. Nanny replied with, “’Tain’t Logan Killicks Ah wants you to have, baby, its protection. ...He done spared me...a few days longer till Ah see you safe in life” (Hurston 18). Nanny is sure to remind Janie that she needs a man in her life for safety, thus making Janie go through life with that thought process.
A sinful nature is an aspect in man that makes him rebellious against God. Everyone has a sinful nature and it affects every part of us. Sin corrupts the human mind and has consequences for doing wrong in the eyes of the Lord. Every individual on Earth sins, and this is represented in the novel The Scarlet Letter. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale to portray how different people cope with their sin and the consequences of that sin.
Imperialism is the domination of a weaker country by a stronger country. For instance Britain dominated India and China in the mid 1880s to the beginning of the 20th century. Imperialism has had both a positive and negative effects on the countries involved. Britain was imperialistic for many reasons, it could dominate because it had the technology and power to do so. They also needed land to acquire raw materials for growing markets.
Life as a human is dictated by an inborn hunger or purpose, and people, in general, will act on this hunger for their own personal gain in their individual ways. This hunger, be it for wealth, land, love, power, revenge, or pride, can, and will be the undoing or failing of all mankind as Miller so clearly points out in his play 'The Crucible';. This essay will explore the motives of characters within the play and even the motives of Arthur Miller himself and therefore show how conflict stems from certain recognisable human failings including those mentioned above, fear, and hysteria.
Under the jurisdiction of her grandmother, Nanny, Janie learns that once married to a financially reliable husband, love will follow. Epitomizing protection, the pragmatic marriage between Janie and Logan Killicks
The Puritan society was extremely restricting. They had strict laws and rules, and harsh punishments for even the smallest of misdemeanors. They lived with only the bare necessities and discouraged uniqueness or boldness. As a Romantic writer, with beliefs the complete opposite of the Puritans, Nathaniel Hawthorne was very critical of the Puritan’s strict society. In the allegorical novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the characters of Hester Prynne, Reverend Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth order to convey the central moral of rejecting societal ideals and acting upon one 's own desires and emotions.
Through analyzing Janie’s relationship with Logan Killicks and Jody Starks, it is clear that her individuality is questioned and influenced by who she is with. Killicks was chosen by Nanny to become Janie’s first husband primarily due to his enticing financial stability. Janie soon realizes that “marriage did not make love.”(25). She “wants to want him sometimes. [She] don’t want him to do all de wantin.”(23). Logan says to Janie, “Ah’ll take holt uh dat ax and come in dere and kill yuh!” (31). Janie has finally had enough of being used and bei...
Because of Abigail Williams’s unequivocal craving to have the eyes of the town turned towards her, as well as her irrational feelings towards the inaccessible John Proctor, she chooses a course of action with serious implications not just for herself, but for the whole town of Salem. These choices lead her to become a changed character by the end of the play, and are the reason she abandoned her heartache and pain and escapes the place where her difficulties had begun. Breaking sacred religious laws in Salem had had consequences Abigail Williams could never imagine. Perhaps this is why Puritans considered lying a deadly sin – it truly could be deadly, and not just for the liar.
On Janie’s quest for self-fulfillment, she realizes that she must live for hers to find the love that she needs and wants. Security and status do not equal love these unnatural things caused her marriage to Logan and Joe to be unsuccessful. When Janie meets, Teacake it is his natural aura that complements Janie because the novel shows us that nature is her identity.
Throughout the drama, The Crucible, the characters are faced with chilling choices as they maneuver through a world that has lost its moral compass. The crucibles, the serious tests, of their dearly held values put them in the position of having to figure out what is right and true in a world turned upside down. The value of truth is tested when lies are rewarded and truth brings suffering, shame and the scaffold of the gallows. The value of justice is challenged by a system that comes to be based on coerced confessions, unsubstantiated charges and self-serving political scheming. The value of love, be it of husband and wife or of friends and community, is put to the test where true love is exemplified by fatal choices.
...at she had to be strong and much more than a house-wife. Moving on with her life, in the next marriage with Joe she was constantly belittled, but she stayed by his side even after the abuse. Janie had develop faithfulness in this relationship, but still she had not found true love. In addition, Joe had left her with a huge sum of money and the store leaving her more stable and independent. From Janie last relationship with Tea Cake she had developed her own identity. Leading Janie to true happiness and love. Through Janie’s long journey she was able to find out who she was and she finally found her true love.
The play “The Crucible” is an allegory for the McCarthyism hysteria that occurred in the late 1940’s to the late 1950’s. Arthur Miller’s play “the crucible” and the McCarthyism era demonstrates how fear can begin conflict. The term McCarthyism has come to mean “the practice of making accusations of disloyalty”, which is the basis of the Salem witch trials presented in Arthur Miller’s play. The fear that the trials generate leads to the internal and external conflicts that some of the characters are faced with, in the play. The town’s people fear the consequences of admitting their displeasure of the trials and the character of John Proctor faces the same external conflict, but also his own internal conflict. The trials begin due to Abigail and her friends fearing the consequences of their defiance of Salem’s puritan society.
Argue for the abolition of crime: Nils Christie: Crimes do not exist. Only acts exist, acts given particular meanings within various social conditions.
"Don't do the crime, if you can't do the time." -- David Grusin and Morgan Ames
MacDonald, H. (2010, January 4). A crime theory demolished. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870359090504574638024055735590.ht