Comparison of The Scarlet Lett
Comparison of The Scarlet LettThe Scarlet Letter & The Crucible Comparison Essay
Through carefully analyzation of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthrone and The Crucible by Arthur Miller; one will discover the related themes throughout the stories. These themes include sin, punishment of sin, Revered Dimmsdale and Hester Prynne, the devil, and love & lust. Through carefully analyzation and discussion one can see the evident relationship that exists between these two works.
The main evident theme from both works is sin. In The Scarlet Letter, the sin that has been committed is adultery and has produced an illegitimate child. Hester Prynne, and the outspoken and praised minister of the Puritan community Arthur Dimmsdale were the adulters who committed the sin and produced the child Pearl. Throughout the story Hester is dehumanized for her sin, while Dimmsdale is still thought to be the "almighty" minister. In similarity from The Crucible, sin is put on trial. The Crucible directly addresses the themes and ideas from Salem Witch Trials. The young girls and their "leader" Abigail are the core of sin and evil in the girls and the community. Throughout the story accusations are "thrown" at others from the community who are believed righteous. Ultimately in this story the sin is "coming" directly from the black-man or the devil. The girls are believed to have formed a pact with the devil and are now attempting to lure others to come with them. Overall, in both works sin is the major theme and how sin affects the lives of the people and their communities.
The scaffold in The Scarlet Letter is extremely important. The most pivotal scenes in the book take place on it. The scaffold is a place of public humiliation. The lawbreaker must stand in front of all his or her peers with them fully knowing of his or her crime. Standing on the scaffold as a guilty sinner would also mean that they will be shunned, as Hester was, for the rest of their lives. It seems a terrible punishment by today's standards. But the scaffold was not merely a cruel device of humiliation and scorn. The prison was a blemish on the face of a society bent on self perfection. The scaffold was the society's way of righting the wrong and preventing it from being repeated. The entire town was ashamed to see Hester, one of their own standing in front of them for a horrendous crime. It strengthened their resolve to continue to do what in their minds was righteous. The scaffold was not only a place of punishment. It was a place of atonement as well. It gave the guilty person relief knowing that they were acknowledged as a sinner and that they did not have to deal with the prison and the guilt of their minds anymore.
The difference between Hester's emotional state and Dimmesdale's state was enormous. Hester...
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