Dimmesdale, standing before Hester, exclaims, “I have laughed, in bitterness and agony of heart, at the contrast between what I seem and what I am!” (Hawthorne 383). I read this sentence. I felt this sentence. I have questioned this sentence. What about this one sentence, one in hundreds, or maybe even thousands of sentences from this book, made me feel this way? This feeling, as many would qualify as sadness, stings from the core depths of my heart. This endless abyss of a parasite struggles and scrapes at my heart’s canals as it burrows deeper, furthering itself from the light of day, from rationality. Intense disgust and rage overflows from my heart and breaches into the cavities of my mind. Like a man that has become a child inside a womb of impenetrable steel, crushed and struggling to get out, my mind cries streams of blood, yelling in agony into the darkness of the void. …show more content…
The human condition may contain the sense of great heights, achieving great dreams and great lives, but it also contains the hellish experience that many call the limit of man. No matter the intensity of the desire or pain, cowardice and selfishness will always creep down from its dark cave, ravaging at the man before the crossroad. As a result, more often than not, man will take the path of less resistance, aware but unaware of his weak spirit. Traveling down the road, the man will soon realize that he has lost something important: his free will. He weeps, but weeps of his weakness, his lack of strength to stand up to his desires, to fight his inner demons and cowardice, to seek the light he has always desired. He dreams shortly of what could have been, the cruelty of the double-edged sword called the human condition, then falls on his knees to become his own
Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne attempted to expose the varying ways in which different people deal with lingering guilt from sins they have perpetrated. The contrasting characters of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale ideally exemplified the differences in thought and behavior people have for guilt. Although they were both guilty of committing the same crime, these two individuals differed in that one punished themselves with physical and mental torture and the other chose to continue on with their life, devoting it to those less fortunate than they.
When individuals face obstacles in life, there is often two ways to respond to those hardships: some people choose to escape from the reality and live in an illusive world. Others choose to fight against the adversities and find a solution to solve the problems. These two ways may lead the individuals to a whole new perception. Those people who decide to escape may find themselves trapped into a worse or even disastrous situation and eventually lose all of their perceptions and hops to the world, and those who choose to fight against the obstacles may find themselves a good solution to the tragic world and turn their hopelessness into hopes. Margaret Laurence in her short story Horses of the Night discusses the idea of how individual’s responses
In final conclusion, one could confidently argue that Fate is unjustifiable, but Fate is in no sense impossible to defeat. To break the bonds and limitations of Life, the handiest tool is the courage among the stragglers. In Reality, there are factors that are outside the physical variances; and that is the strength within our minds, which aims not to those material benefits, but the refinement of our Bravery through the journeys. And this goal should be the highest pursue of a wise person, who must care little of the difficulties posted by external forces, and conquer those difficulties with high spirits and become a stronger being.
Humans live constantly in flux between vulnerability and invincibility. The change in the state of being is so fluid that it has blurred together into the medium of the human experience. The fact that the feeling self-consciousness is what develops the character of people has become lost on the masses. However, Michael Chabon’s “The Lost World”, uncovers this deeply buried secret. “The Lost World” directly supports the fact that vulnerability is the key to the human condition and a more perfect life. Life is about tradeoffs- with all disappointments come surprise and with all joys come disappointments.
A human being is a complicated entity of a contradictory nature where creative and destructive, virtuous and vicious are interwoven. Each of us has gone through various kinds of struggle at least once in a lifetime ranging from everyday discrepancies to worldwide catastrophes. There are always different causes and reasons that trigger these struggles, however, there is common ground for them as well: people are different, even though it is a truism no one seems to able to realize this statement from beyond the bounds of one’s self and reach out to approach the Other.
Patrick Henry and Jonathan Edwards are both spectacular speakers and have the ability to influence a crowd. Henry uses his ability of persuasion to sway the Virginia House of Burgesses. Edwards uses persuasion to give a sermon directed toward sinners and natural men. Henry and Edwards have many parallels and variations in their works. One can distinguish the similarities and differences between Patrick Henry and Jonathan Edwards in the purpose, repetition, and rhetoric of their writings.
A great deal of blood has been shed and many wars have been fought during the history of
The Scarlet Letter involves many characters that go through several changes during the course of the story. In particular, the young minister Dimmesdale, who commits adultery with Hester, greatly changes. He is the moral blossom of the book, the character that makes the most progress for the better. It is true that Dimmesdale, being a minister, should be the role model of the townspeople. He is the last person who should commit such an awful crime and lie about it, but in the end, he confesses to the town. Besides, everybody, including ministers, sin, and the fact that he confesses illustrates his courage and morality.
though out the rest of the book. One of the main character's that is affected
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s well known novel, The Scarlet Letter, extensive diction and intense imagery are used to portray the overall tone of the characters. In particular, Hester Prynne, the wearer of the Scarlet Letter, receives plentiful positive characterization throughout the novel. Hester’s character most notably develops through the town’s peoples ever-changing views on the scarlet letter, the copious mentions of her bravery, and her ability to take care of herself, Pearl, and others, even when she reaches the point where most would give up and wallow in their suffering.
Hawthorne uses imagery to highlight the blackness and darkness of Dimmesdale’s guilty heart. Dimmesdale says this about himself when he is talking with Chillingworth says that the men meaning himself, “shrink from displaying themselves black and filthy in the view of men…they go about among their fellow-creatures looking pure as new-fallen snow; while their hearts are all speckled and spotted with iniquity of which they cannot rid themselves.” (Hawthorne, 129) Hawthorne uses the dark imagery and the contrasting terms such as “speckled and spotty heart” compared to “pure as new-fallen snow” to show how the guilt in a man’s heart remains with them on the inside even if they don’t show it on the outside. Hawthorne is alluding to Dimmesdale and how he k...
Truthfulness is one of the most important themes in “The Scarlet Letter,” because it represents a valued aspect in the Puritan society as it makes one pure and true to oneself. Truthfulness also provides a way to escape sin, because those who lie are considered sinners. Chillingworth reinforces this idea when he says to Dimmesdale, “There was no one place so secret...where thou couldst have escaped me, saved on this very scaffold” (Hawthorne 172). From this, one can see that the revealing of Dimmesdale’s sin has allowed him to escape the torture that was brought upon him by the Devil in the form of Chillingworth, ultimately proving that honesty is truly a powerful force in their society. The entirety of truthfulness is also emphasized by Nathaniel
In the novel The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850, the author leaves an underlying theme of how one wants to appear which contradicts their true intentions or feelings. This not only appears in instances with individual self versus society but also in internal thought and actual speech. The story develops three characters that express the motif. Understanding these characters’ motives and situation, as well as seeing how they struggle with their alternate personas, is vital to understanding Hawthorne's message.
Revenge is the act of retaliating in order to get even with someone for the wrongs they have done. In the novel “The Scarlet Letter,” the author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, uses Roger Chillingworth to reap revenge on Arthur Dimmesdale for his affair with his wife, Hester Prynne. Chillingworth becomes so devoted to revenge that is all his life revolves around. Chillingworth then devotes the rest of his life to taking revenge on Dimmesdale.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, there are many moral and social themes develped throughout the novel. Each theme is very important to the overall effect of the novel. In essence, The Scarlet Letter is a story of sin, punishment and the importance of truth. One theme which plays a big role in The Scarlet Letter is that of sin and its effects. Throughout the novel there were many sins committed by various characters. The effects of these sins are different in each character and every character was punished in a unique way. Two characters were perfect examples of this theme in the novel. Hester Prynne and The Reverend Dimmesdale best demonstrated the theme of the effects of sin.