Scarlet Letter Analysis

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Sinful
By Katie Michalak In today’s world, the act of sin is prosecuted differently than it was in the Puritan age. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic, The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne is sentenced to a lifetime of wearing a scarlet letter “A” on her chest for her sin. When her husband, Roger Chillingworth, arrives in Boston and is educated about Hester’s affair, he seeks revenge on both her and her secret lover. Rebecca Sinclair writes in her article “When the strains of war lead to infidelity”, that her husband is being tried for adultery, and how often it happens to soldier and their family. The Scarlet Letter develops the themes of sin, alienation, abandonment, and revenge to provide insight to the traditional beliefs of the puritans compared to the 21st century. When Roger Chillingworth arrived in Boston after being captured by Native Americans, he discovered that his wife, Hester Prynne, has had an affair and gave birth to a baby girl. From that …show more content…

Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair is being tried for adultery and sexual misconduct. Text messages and journal entries confirming the affair was consensual. Many wives know about their husband 's’ infidelities, but choose to stay silent. Most of the time their options are to stay with an unfaithful husband to keep family together; or lose husband, family, financial healthcare, health care, and housing. It’s a choice between unfaithfulness and unhappiness. Compared to the 21st century, The Scarlet Letter develops the themes of sin, alienation, abandonment, and revenge to provide insight to the traditional beliefs of the Puritans. Hester Prynne was punished for her sin, left the town, and was publicly shamed. The article develops these themes to demonstrate the traditional powers held by the U.S. military. Both the novel as well as the article provide information that the Puritan time as well as the 21st century share some of the same

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