The Scarlet Letter Analytical Essay

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Recommended: Analysis of sin in the scarlet letter

A person’s reaction to sin can be more damaging than sin itself depending on how they react. The Scarlet Letter clearly integrates the idea that how a person handles sin determines the outcome of their character. Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth all have different reactions to sin throughout the Scarlet Letter and this affects their character and their outcome.
Hester throughout the Scarlet Letter has a variety of reactions to sin. At first the community shames and alienates Hester, this enables Hester to become a freethinker. Her loneliness lets her often ponder and question many aspects of the community. However, later in the story, Hester becomes a compassionate and maternal figure. She makes sure her choices won’t get Pearl taken away from her. When Hester makes decisions, she puts Pearl into consideration and this shows the readers Hester’s maternal figure come forth. Hester also shows a maternal figure towards her community. She does a lot of charity work by bringing food and clothes for the poor. Hester throughout the book feels guilty and gets used to blaming herself. For example, when Hesters sees Chillingworth she blames herself for causing Chillingsworth for becoming an evil man. Hester before she sinned with Dimmesdale had traces of compassion, defiance, and honesty but the scarlet letter brings it out in a greater extent. Hester ends up agreeing to run away with Dimmesdale and start a new life. However, things don't work out the way they expected and Hester leaves Boston for a short time but comes back and is seen as a bold figure in the community.Towards the end of the seven year time period, the women ignore her sin and comes to her for shelter against many inequalities they face. The scarlet letter’s meanin...

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... occurred in the face of sin. Chillingworth’s reaction to sin is not to seek justice but instead to obtain revenge. Chillingworth’s life eventually begins to revolve around ways to get revenge on Dimmesdale. Unlike Hester and Dimmesdale’s sin, Chillingworth’s is deliberately intended to cause harm. When Dimmesdale eventually dies, Chillingworth has no reason to live since he based his whole life around seeking revenge on Dimmesdale. Therefore, Chillingworth dies within a year of Dimmesdale’s death.
The Scarlet Letter is trying to get across to the readers that sin can have either a positive or negative result depending on how that person chooses to react to sin. As long as there is sin, people will react to it in different ways; some will hide it, some will embrace it, some will rot from it. But no matter how the sin is dealt with, it will always leave it's mark.

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