Lack Of Trust In The Scarlet Letter

828 Words2 Pages

For the longest time, man has constantly and continues to exemplify a lack of trust towards one another. It goes back as far the first man to walk the earth, and the choice he made to neglect God’s forewarning. Many authors have taken into account of this common human error such as Nathaniel Hawthorne in his novel The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne’s belief that a lack of trust can blind a man into not being able to differentiate friends and enemies is validated by recent episodes of film such as “ Remember the Titans.” Hawthorne, throughout his novel, distinctly displays the complexities and difficulties that come with a lack of trust through Reverend Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale, led by the internal struggle of his sin of adultery, embraces a perfect facade in order to avoid exclusion and condemnation from the Puritan society particularly due to his status. Yet due to the magnitude of the sin on his heart, Dimmesdale subtly distances himself from his community and begins to trust no one. Consequently, the absence of faith in his fellow man blinds him most in his sickness through his interaction with Roger Chillingworth; his doctor, whose mission is to bestow torture upon his soul. Within their encounters, the narrator takes note of this issue saying, …show more content…

Dimmesdale, thus unknowingly brought even more pain and tribulation upon himself by allowing a wolf in sheep's clothing into his inner chambers; because he lacked the ability to trust he also acquired the inability to discern.

Open Document