Of the many ideas presented in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The
Crucible by Arthur Miller, and A Different Drummer by William Kelley, all the novels
express the importance of the conflicting nature of truth. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne
portrays that a person should not lie, even when drastic consequences such as death threaten
him or her. However, Miller suggests in The Crucible that people should consider preserving
life more important than always speaking honestly. Kelley presents the concept that
sometimes lies become necessary to protect a friend in A Different Drummer.
Dimmesdale says to Hester, “Truth was the one virtue which I might have held fast,
and did not hold fast, through all extremity; save when thy good, -- thy life, -- thy fame, --
were put in question. Then I consented to a deception. But a lie is never good, even though
death threaten on the other side” (175). Dimmesdale struggles very much in The Scarlet
Letter while discovering that a hidden lie left to fester causes more grief and pain than he
considers worth living for. Dimmesdale states, “Many, many a poor soul hath given its
confidence to me, not only on the death-bed, but while strong in life, and fair in reputation.
And ever, after such an outpouring, oh, what a relief have I witnessed in those sinful
brethren! Even as in one who at last draws free air, after long stifling with his own polluted
breath” (120). By describing how much of a relief came after confessing a lie to many
people, Dimmesdale shows the corrosive nature of living a lie. Because its effects ruin lives,
losing his life seems a better course to Dimmesdale than living in agony. Hawthorne writes,
“And yet, by the constitution of h...
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...ide in the car because he knew
Walter would have told his mother, and would have caused trouble for his father” (75). In
this case, Mister Leland protects his father by not telling Walter about his ride with
Bradshaw. Mister Leland figured that Walter would probably tell their mother and she would
get mad at Harry for allowing a stranger to “borrow” Mister Leland.
Throughout The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Crucible by Arthur
Miller, and A Different Drummer by William Kelley, characters develop differing
conclusions on the nature of truth. Hawthorne demonstrates his belief in The Scarlet Letter
that people should never lie, no matter the consequence. Miller portrays the idea in The
Crucible that people should lie to preserve some things like life. In A Different Drummer,
Kelley suggests approves of people lying to protect friends.
In the article “Is Lying Bad for Us”, Richard Gunderman persuades his readers the effect of lying can have on our daily lives. He expresses strong opinions towards being honest and how lying has negative consequences on not only our mental health but
Everyone struggles with admitting the truth. No matter how people are raised they still seem to fall into a situation where they feel lying is their only way out. Lying is the truth being hidden, therefore, withholding information is equivalent to lying. The truth may seem hidden but it will always reveal itself. In Frank Peretti’s novel, The Prophet, consequences such distrust, vices, and misunderstanding follow all the characters that lack truth.
In “The Ways We Lie”, Ericsson describes the different types of lies: white lie, facades, ignoring
Lastly Nathaniel Hawthorne brings out that we absolutely must accept responsibility for our actions or suffer the consequences come with them. Hester is the prime example for this here because she was smart and freed herself of this great weight quickly so that it wouldn’t drag her down. This theme was not as applicable to Dimmesdale, however, who decided to hide his wrongful actions and was bearing this secret upon his heart and mind at all times.
Life is unpredictable, and through trial and error humanity learns how to respond to conflicts and learns how to benefit from mistakes. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a character who changes and gains knowledge from the trials he faces, but first he has to go through physical, spiritual, and emotional agony. In the midst of all the havoc, the young theologian is contaminated with evil but fortunately his character develops from fragile to powerful, and the transformation Dimmesdale undergoes contributes to the plot’s climax.
...hers might say. He tells our narrator, “The most important thing in the world is knowing the truth.” He goes on to remark, “The whole truth and nothing but the truth” (Mahfouz, 69). In this story, the Truth had a positive affect on the character. It gave him a new sort of freedom. He had gained a new sense of identity because of his new knowledge, and this evoked a sense of happiness in him.
Hawthorne uses dark diction and kinetic imagery to emphasize how Dimmesdale’s guilt causes him to experi...
He realizes that he must look within himself for the strength to overcome his staggering guilt when Chillingworth catches on to his plans to go to Europe with Hester and Pearl. With this knowledge, he preaches his last sermon. He comes forth with such confidence and swagger that Pearl and Hester do not recognize this man. Dimmesdale’s speech was very powerful in the way that he connected directly with Hester when speaking. For example, Hawthorne wrote, “Hester Prynne listened with such intenseness, and sympathized so intimately, that the sermon had throughout a meaning for her, entirely apart from its indistinguishable words.” Hester felt Dimmesdale good when subtly addressing her during the speech. In this sermon, Dimmesdale is somewhat redeeming himself. He knows of his bad nature all too well, and he feels when he is speaking that he can alleviate his guilt by helping others. At the end of the sermon, Dimmesdale reveals his sins on the platform for all of the Puritan society to know whilst holding Pearls hand. In the end, he reveals although there may be some evil in him, he is good at heart. Now, after a tragic demise Dimmesdale lies with his heavenly god knowing the full knowledge of what it is to live a “half-life” in the Puritan
When initially asked about the morality of lying, it is easy for one to condemn it for being wrong or even corrupt. However, those asked are generally guilty of the crime on a daily basis. Lying is, unfortunately, a normal aspect of everyday life. In the essay “The Ways We Lie,” author Stephanie Ericsson makes note of the most common types of lies along with their consequences. By ordering the categories from least to most severe, she expresses the idea that lies enshroud our daily lives to the extent that we can no longer between fact and fiction. To fully bring this argument into perspective, Ericsson utilizes metaphor, rhetorical questions, and allusion.
In society, some people are looked at as liars or “bullshitters,” as stated in the article, “Is Lying Bad for Us?” Honesty is not always the best policy, and in certain situations, liars are best not to tell the truth when protecting the innocent, or protecting oneself. Because of this, lying should be looked at as a standard in society and something that people recognize in every day life.
The reverend knows that if Hester or himself admit that he is the father, then he will be publicly shamed and possibly killed alongside Hester. Due to the fact that he doesn’t want anything to do with that, he keeps to himself and hopes that Hester keeps quiet as well. When, in Chapter 3 The Recognition, Dimmesdale calls upon Hester asking her to admit who the father is, it can be inferred that he is not going to come out and admit his wrongdoing himself. Towards the end of that chapter when Hester yells to Reverend Wilson that she will never admit who the father is, the narrator says that she was “looking, not at Mr. Wilson, but into the deep and troubled eyes of the younger clergyman” (Hawthorne) as if he was troubled about what he should do. Then three paragraphs later, the narrator proceeds to tell us of Dimmesdale murmuring to himself, “Wondrous strength and generosity of a woman’s heart! She will not speak!” further letting us know that he is not going to admit to being the father anytime soon. Another way that Dimmesdale shows his cowardice is through his
Dimmesdale tells Hester “What can thy silence do for him, as it were—to add hypocrisy to sin?” (Hawthorne 63). Dimmesdale pushes Hester to reveal her lover (Himself) because he is too weak to do it himself. He “loves” Hester, but doesn’t have the guts to share her burden with her. He understands the turmoil of keeping his secret, but is too attached to his position as minister to admit it. Dimmesdale’s description of his “confessions” in chapter 11 also serve to further exemplify his hypocritical character. He continually calls himself “vile” and a sinner, but he knows that he will only receive more adoration from the crowd. Instead of outright saying that he committed adultery with Hester, he knowingly feeds the audience, boosting his popularity. Again at the scaffold scene his hypocrisy is obvious. He cowers both when he sees a man and when Pearl asks him “wilt thou stand here with mother and me, to-morrow noontide?” (Hawthorne 139). His inability to release in any form his transgression shows whilst playing the preacher role shows is cowardice and
In choosing to contain his deep sin as a secret, Mr. Dimmesdale suffered from a festering guilt that plagued him until his death. After Hester was sentenced with the punishment for her act of adultery, Mr. Dimmesdale remained silent in refusal to confess to his inclusion in the sin. Over time, feelings of remorse gnawed at Mr. Dimmesdale’s conscience and left him in a self loathing state for his own hypocrisy. Dimmesdale felt excessive guilt in allowing Hester to undergo the entirety of the ridicule and punishment alone while he maintained a positioned of respected and idolized authority, yet could not find it in his heart to expose the sin. Looking upon his situation with the Puritan perspective, Mr. Dimmesdale “…loved the truth and loathed the lie, as few men ever did. Therefore above all things else, he loathed his miserable self” (136). Mr. Dimmesdale felt he was living a lie for he, the very man who preached to the community about living a pure life, was living one tainted with...
At the beginning of the novel, Dimmesdale has established quite a reputation for himself. In discussing individual members of the magistrate, the towns people describe Dimmesdale as a "God fearing" gentleman, "but merciful overmuch (49)". Due to his actions all of the people respect and look up to the Reverend. Throughout the story, Dimmesdale desperately tries to confess, envying Hester, for her courage, he says, "Happy are you Hester, that wear the scarlet letter openly upon your bosom” (188)! Even at the end of the novel, when finally attempting to confess, people are compelled by his final sermon, raving that "never had a man spoken in so wise, so high, and so holy a spirit, as he that spake this day” (243). Proving that he was a very loved and influential man in the small town.
...ter.” (149). While Hester had to receive the penance of her actions and conquer it, Dimmesdale was still in hiding like the coward he presented himself as. He views Hester as the one that got the better end of the situation by saying “Happy are you, Hester, that wear the scarlet letter openly upon your bosom! Mine burns in secret!” (167) Dimmesdale envies Hester’s letter because she has no need to hide form anyone and live in secret. Towards the end of his life, Dimmesdale, has enough strength to admit to his sinful actions and declares of God’s mercy.