The Puritans had a heavily important part in the formation of early America, as well as a religion that influenced our early American society. This society has been the target which many authors have picked to set their novels in. The topic of Puritan life contains a broad list of aspects that can be easily compared to one another in several different books. Two selections that go into detail about some of the different aspects of the Puritan people are The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, and The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. These two particular writers who wrote of Puritan times conveyed, in their text, the similarities of religion, punishment, and adultery in the Puritan community of 17th century. Briefly, The Crucible looks at some the actual historical events of the Salem witch trials. It was witchcraft that the story was set around, and it threatened the purity of the Salem community. As a result, frenzy was established, with characters accusing others of witchery. In the novel The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne commits the sin of adultery, and then is confined to wear an embroidered scarlet-colored “A” on her chest, to signify what she had done. She does not release the name of the other adulterer, and leads a life with her daughter, Pearl. Reverend Dimmesdale, the secret father of the child, struggles against himself due to the fact that he doesn’t confess to everyone his sin. Religion was of great importance in the Puritan society. It gave a guideline for the morals that citizens should follow. In Miller’s novel, Puritan religion was at the center of town. People were judged by it, and were only and not with the devil holy if they followed it. They were also questioned by it. Hale asks Proctor, “… I note that you are rarely in the church on Sabbath Day. Twenty-six time in seventeen month, sir… Will you tell me why you are so absent?” (Miller 64) An example of the strictness of religion and moral beliefs in The Scarlet Letter is when Hester is patronized for her sin. The religion forbid it, therefore it was strongly frowned upon by society. This strong following of Puritan religion is conveyed in both novels and mentioned throughout. As law is in most communities today, there is no doubt that religion was put on one of the highest pedestals of the Puritan community. Due to the fact that religion was followed so avidly, those who went and ... ... middle of paper ... ...s birth to a daughter, who she names Pearl. This act of “unholyness” is mentioned in both novels to convey to the reader that not everyone of the Puritan community ever sins. Unfortunately, it is a fact of life, and men and women have been doing it for many years, as they will continue. Both The Scarlet Letter and the Crucible were written for the main point of criticizing the Puritan way of life, and the Puritans over-reactions to sin. Hawthorne and Miller both used adultery to illustrate this point. The books The Crucible and The Scarlet Letter were written about Puritan times. Conveyed in their text were the similarities of religion, punishment, and adultery in the Puritan community of 17th century. The subject of Puritan ways contains many different aspects that are compared to one another in several different books. Novels have been chosen to go into detail about some of the different aspects of the Puritan people, as they were very important part in the history of early America. Works Cited Michael. “Seventeenth Century Life/ Scarlet Letter. http://www.planetpapers.com/Assets/905.html March 1, 2000.
American literature often examines people and motives. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, and in Aruthur Miller’s modern dramatic masterpiece, The Crucible, people and motives often depict patters of Puritans struggling for life during a shaky time. Two main characters from both pieces of works share the traits of a struggling Puritan as adulators. Even tough Hester and Abigail have similar traits, their sins differ dramatically and were punished differently.
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter share remarkable parallels not only in their examination of early Puritan America, but also in the dilemma of the two main male characters, John Proctor and Arthur Dimmesdale. Both these men had sinful relations with another member of the town, and must deal with the adversity that resulted from their sin. Although both John Proctor and Reverend Dimmesdale become hypocrites in their society, Proctor overcomes his sin and is able to redeem himself, while Dimmesdale’s pride and untimely death prevent him from fully experiencing redemption.
The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, focuses on the Salem witch trials and the extreme behavior that follows the trials. Miller shows how the dark desires and hidden agendas provokes such extreme behavior. The Crucible was written in a time when the anti-communist movement was strongly protested. During the Salem witch trials, a person was guilty until he proved himself
I have read the The Crucible, The Scarlet letter, and Of Mice and Men. In two of these stories, The Crucible and The Scarlet Letter, society was very much alike. They were based on a Puritan background. The Puritans had laws to live by. In the story Of Mice and Men, society showed racism and also that people took the law into their own hands.
Men and women walk around in the same neutral colored clothing, hand in hand with the lord and their Puritan values. However, these seemingly ordinary Puritans are all similar in one form— sin. In archaic theme-based literature, similarities can be distinguished between two stories and their attributes. Within the works of The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible, a plethora of correlative elements can be identified by the reader.
From 1620 to 1800 Puritans colonized the northeastern portion of America to escape the religious laws of England. A new kind of literature was produced; plays. These became popular in this age and most of them, along with other writings of this period, were about the relationship between people. One of the prime examples of this is The Crucible. In this play numerous feuds break out in a small town causing the punishment of death by hanging. The storyline reflects the second level of depth; relationships between people. This is the main theme found throughout most writings of this era. Many were entertained by the love and hate relationships portrayed through these tales of many emotions and drama. This is the next level down from broad thinking to relationships between
The first major comparison was the most obvious, a relation to an affair… a sin so common, yet so devastating. In both “The Crucible” and “The Scarlet Letter”, two people commit a sin known as adultery. This adultery during the
Puritanism played a very big role in The Scarlet Letter, and it is clear that the religion affected the lives of all the characters. The life of a Puritan was very difficult, which is seen during the whole novel, and it is clear how the harsh punishments changed the lives of many people. Even the people who were not punished lived in fear, hoping that the consequences of certain actions would never happen to them. The Scarlet Letter perfectly displays the difficulties and hardships people faced while being part of a Puritan colony.
Through time it can be seen that the world’s history has a nature of repeating its self. Author Miller, was aware of this as he experienced a repitition of history of society’s flawed government. In the text The Crucible, the writer, Author Miller has identified and illustrated the problems society faced during the 1950’s setting by drawing parallels with the setting of the 1962 Salem witch hunt. This setting helps readers to understand the characters of John Proctor and Giles Corey.
Death is a major theme through both Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. In the first text, mass hysteria rips through Salem after a group of girls danced in the woods and blame everything and anything on witchcraft. The girl who could be identified as the main trouble-maker is Abigail Williams. She kicked up all of the witch suspicions because she had an affair with John Proctor, the identifiable hero. The story climaxed with the death of characters that drew affection from the readers. In the second piece of literature, the main conflict happens to be that of Hester Prynne, who committed adultery and had a child. There was a lot of public ridicule in this instance and many underlying plots within it. Again, the climax of the story could be argued to be the death of a beloved character. These two particular titles do in fact share a lot of common ideas and themes, while at the same having very
Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, The Scarlet Letter, focuses on the Puritan society. The Puritan society molded itself and created a government based upon the Bible and implemented it with force. The crime of adultery committed by Hester generated rage, and was qualified for serious punishment according to Puritan beliefs. Ultimately the town of Boston became intensely involved with Hester's life and her crime of adultery, and saw to it that she be publicly punished and tortured. Based upon the religious, governmental, and social design of the Puritan society, Hester's entire existence revolved around her sin and the Puritan perception. Therefore it is evident within The Scarlet Letter that the Puritan community to some degree has constructed Hester's character.
A sin during the mid 1600’s is quite different than a modern one. For example, in the 17th century people believed that defying a rule of God makes the culprit worthy of being publicly shamed or even killed. Now, sin does not have nearly the same impact for if a person disobeys God they can confess to their priest and be forgiven of their sins. The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne explores the concept of sin in a Puritanical community during the mid 1600’s in Boston, Massachusetts. Here, religion is a focal point in many citizens lives and religious freedom is one of the primary reasons the puritans came to America from England. The novel begins with Hester Prynne, a single mother just being released from prison, who is seen as an adulterer.
Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and Arthur Miller's The Crucible are both distinctly different narratives of the Salem Witch trials. The Scarlet Letter is a novel and The Crucible is a play. While The Scarlet Letter deals mainly with the sin of adultery, The Crucible mainly deals with witchcraft. Both have obvious similarities like the setting and the crime, however, one of the greatest similarities between the two is the loyalty of the Puritan people to their appointed officials. Whether they were church or court officials, the public supported them no matter what, because in their theocratic society, the eyes of the officials were those of God.
Hester Prynne was a young woman living in a Puritan community in the "New World." Her husband, Roger Chillingworth was said to be lost at sea, and Hester assumed his death. Upon this basis, young Hester committed a crime of adultery with her fellow Minister Arthur Dimmesdale. The result of this extra marital affair was the birth of young Pearl, an "elf-like" child. When the townspeople become aware of what Hester has done, they forced her to wear an ultimate sign of punishment, the scarlet letter. This letter "A" for adultery had to be worn on Hester's bosom at all times.
In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne critiques Puritan ideology. Hawthorne believes in some parts of Puritan doctrine because he thinks that the God is philanthropy. Everyone has opportunity to redeem from the sin. However, he criticizes for the harsh and brutal laws of puritanism. Fear makes Puritan push aside Hester. Puritan is afraid that if they do not punish this immoral behavior in the Puritanism society, their core of society which is moral ideology will collapse Hawthorne thinks that the traditional Puritan ideology ruins the natural humanity and human right. He believes the narrow attitude of Puritan makes them only see the sin for betrayal. Puritan ignore Hester’s kind, generous, and moral personality. He uses descriptive settings