Scarlet Letter 4

"How much uglier they were,-how his dark complexion seemed to have grown duskier, and is figure more misshapen,-since the days when she had familiarly known him"(102).

Evil and goodness are two conflicting themes in the novel thus far which are beginning reside in different peoples souls. We see it in Pearl nature and what her mother sees when looking in the mirror. We also see it in Chillingworth. As Hester pointed out, Robert Chillingworth's physical features are beginning to change in a negative way. It is almost as if evil is overcoming his body and deforming his imperfect figure even more. Although he wasn't very appealing to begin with, Hester notes that he is very different from when she saw him on the scaffolding. As mentioned before, there is a constant battle between good and evil in the novel thus far, and not both characteristics beginning to overcome certain characters. It is only a matter of time until someone like Chillingworth is fully overcome in evil and executes his revenge. In addition to this, Chillingworth is also Dimmesdale's physician and has a great amount of emotional and physical control over Dimmesdale which he will use to his advantage.

"And the bond-servant, perhaps, judging from the decision of her air, and the glittering symbol on her bosom, that she was a great lady in the land, offered no opposition"(95).

The significance of the bond servant is that he is unaware of the tales of the scarlet letter, and thinks of Hester as a very well presented and established woman in society. Hawthorne uses this servant to critique society and to present Hester as something other than sinful and overly passionate. In the short interaction between the servant and Hester we are given a glimpse of the outside world and how bad the puritan society actually is. Furthermore, it is also important to note Hester's determination and willingness to fight for her daughters possession. Although Pearl acts as a torment to Hester, she also acts as a gift and reminder of her sin.

The Scarlet Letter 3

"Pearl was a born outcast of the infantile world. An imp of evil, emblem and product of sin, she had no right among christened infants"(85).

Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Pearls treatment by society as a critique which is indirectly intertwined with a commom modern debate that all humans are inherently good. Pearl was born as a product of her enviornment and was treated very similarly to her mother. She inherited many of her mother's traits such as beauty, but more interestingly, passion. Despite the fact that Pearl is rather troubled, taking on "demonic" characteristics and violently conversing with other children her age, she is an individual human being, yet still bears the emotional stress that her mother does. Had Pearl been born into the Garden of Eden and remained there, she would be an angel, and an ideal child, however, since she had been born into the puritan society that she did, she will always be nothing but "an imp of evil." Hawthorne attempts to critique the puritan society by instilling the idea of imperfection and goodness into the people's minds so that they must see more to someone that their external features. Furthermore, Pearl symbolizes sin and represents the strong passion that pushed her mother to sin. She represents the contrast between God and society, which represent two different ideals.

"She possessed an art that sufficed...needlework"(75).

Hester plays the role of two different types of people in society. She symbolizes sinful passion and sin in general, as well as someone with the skill to provide the people with something valuable, clothing. Although Hester resembles sin and will until the day that she dies, as well as hatred among the people, she also represents desire and something greater than just a trade. Her skill represents her coming back into society or slugish redemption. Hester is well aware of her sin, and is not disturbed by it in the least bit. However, her trade is the only thing that ties her to the town, and government, apart from God.

Scarlet Letter 2

"A writhing horror twisted itself across his features, like a snake gliding swiftly over them, and making one little pause, with all its wreathed intervolutions in open sight. His face darkened with some powerful emotion, which, nevertheless, he so instantaneously controlled by an effort of his will, that, save at a single moment, its expression might have passed for calmness"(57).

As learned later on in the chapter this unappealing man being described is Hesters husband, Robert Chillingsworth whose look symbolize his evil and dangerouse character. Robert Chillingworth's character is one to be feared and closely watched in the novel as he plans to seek out the man who has yet to be branded and punished for what he had done. As the chapter progresses, he makes it quite clear that he will do anything to accomplish this, which poses a threat to not only Hester and her mistery man, but to the town as well. "Thy acts are like mercy...But thy words interpret thee as a terror," as explained by Hester. The mere presence of her husband puts Hester into an unstable state which is unsafe for herself and her child, who cries in pain because of Hesters reaction to Robert's appearence. As we have learned in The Count of Monte Cristo the simple act of revenge only results in self analyzation/regret, as well as bloodshed. Clearly nothing good can come from Robert's over zealous and obsessive nature.

"Be not silent from any mistaken pity and tenderness for him; for, believe me, Hester, though he were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart through life"(63).

The small speech or pep-talk that Dimmesdale gives to Hester illudes to the cowardly nature of Dimmesdale. He prompts Hester to speak the name of the man guilty for commiting adultery with her and indirectly hints to us that this man is in fact himself, Dimmesdale. As a religious man and a stong believer in god, or so we can assume, it is his duty to confess in the best interest of himself and others. However, he can not because he is fearful, and like John Proctor, unable to bear his sin and seeks some sort of self gratification. This is why he attempts to convince Hester to reveal her accomplice, eventhough he might lose his position in society, because Dimmesdale can not. If he does not speak, his sin willbe found by Hesters insane husband and displayed on his chest.

Scarlet Letter 1

"People say...that the Reverend Master Dimmesdale, her[Hester] godly pastor, takes it very grievously to heart that such a scandal should have come upon his congregation"(49).

I'm not pointing fingers just yet, but Reverend Dimmesdale seems to be the mystery man who cheated with Hester. Despite the lack of evidence, it is human nature to defend yourself when you are challenged or when all of the negative attention is brought to you which is what Dimmesdale is doing here. Although he was not directly accused of anything and he is not suspected of anything just yet, he does what many guilty people do, and that is attempting to distance or cut the ties connecting them to whatever can convict them. Dimmesdale attempts to play the situation off and express his "anger" so that he is above everything and everyone else. A similar situation can be found in the character Abigale Williams from The Crucible. In the novel, abigale attempts to establish power over certain individuals and remain under the radar. In doing so she discredits many of Salems townspeople in order to remain invincible. However, just like Abigales reign was not continuous, Dimmesdales "plan" will soon corrode as well as his position in society.

"Here, there was a taint of deepest sin in the most sacred quality of human life, working such effect, that the world was only the darker for this woman's beauty, and the more lost for the infant that she had borne"(53).

Perhaps error and imperfectness lie in society rather than societies people. In an attempt to develop a semi-perfect society, the puritans fail to realize that human beings are naturaly flawed, and have been since the beginning of human life on earth. In punishing those who sin, society is only breeding generations of sinners like the croud who publically gossipped about Hester. This croud failed, as well as society, to do the one thing that could ultimately perfect society, and that is love. We are all sinners in the eyes of God if we do not love everyone. Everyone is inherently good, and until people like you and me, and the characters in The Scarlet Letter can learn to love others as they trully are beneath their external layers, society and life will always and forever be flawed and imperfect.

Crucible Essay

Stephen Simmons
AP English 11/Mr. George
12/30/09
Redemption
Redemption is no stranger to the history of the world. It signifies the spiritual and emotional disparity that humans face when seeking forgiveness. Why do people in fact seek redemption? Is it to achieve self gratification, or to cleanse the soul and wash away all the wrong that was done to it? Unfortunately, that question still lingers because one’s motives are likely to be different than another’s. However, one specific act that is more commonly known in our society today, from which many people seek redemption, is the sin of adultery. Commonly those who commit such a horrible crime do not take too seriously to its physical and emotional repercussions. Men or women who disrespect their significant other, whether shackled by the commitment of marriage or in experimentation of love’s very meaning, suffer the feeling of regret. Regret is a devilish feeling; it is a ravenous vulture that tears into our souls, rotten with remorse and guilt. It is how one attempts to cope with this feeling and attain redemption that makes or breaks them as we learn in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. In The Crucible, John Proctor suffered regret and guilt from committing adultery. These feelings haunt him throughout the book until he finds his sins redeemed in the eyes of God after searching everywhere else.
John Proctor in The Crucible had an affair with Abigail Williams, and after doing so, began his journey towards redemption. Proctor attempts to rid himself of his guilt by confessing his wrongdoing to his wife: “I wilted, and, like a Christian, I confessed...Some dream I had must have mistaken you for God that day. But you're not...and let you remember it! Let you look sometimes for the goodness in me, and judge me not” (Miller 55). Mrs. Proctor did not take too kindly to this, and Proctor realized that Elizabeth was not God and could not redeem him. This did not shatter the bonds between them, though they were weakened. From a moral standpoint, Proctor made the right decision in deciding to tell his wife. The deed, however, was done and shortly after he tried to brush the seriousness of the topic away and pleaded that what he had done was not as serious.
Proctor did not find redemption in conversing with his wife because nothing was achieved in their argument. The only thing set in stone was Proctor’s confession to the court: “I cannot mount the gibbet like a saint. It is a fraud. I am not that man...My honesty is broke, Elizabeth; I am no good man. Nothing's spoiled by giving them this lie that were not rotten long before” (136). After failing to achieve redemption the first time, Proctor went to the court and confessed his sin, for himself, as well as the lives of the accused. This confession was also Proctors attempt to discredit Abigail. In doing so, Proctor achieved very little and brought an even worse reputation to his name.
Proctor has already failed in achieving his goal of redemption and forgiveness twice, so he must now look further into himself to realize what he must do. It is important to note that in Salem during this time period, there was no ritual for the washing away of sins. Once one sinned, they were stuck with that sin until the day they died or until something took its place. In our society today, people break laws and commit felonies all of the time, seeming to do so with no remorse. This, in fact, can not be true. Not everyone is a heartless sinner who thinks of themselves before others, and who cares only about their needs. Some people become so overcome with stress and guilt that their view of life is completely changed. For example, one of the most popular American rappers, Eminem, used to be a drug addict, and now he fights against drug use in the world’s youth. So how does one cope with the terrible feelings of guilt and disappointment? They replace it with something better. Drugs are an addiction, and to cope with that and eliminate them from his lifestyle, Eminem rapped instead of doing drugs. Now that his addiction is replaced, he openly fights against it using his music and character.
Proctor does something very similar to this. Although not a concrete figure, God replaces the sin in Proctor’s soul, which exemplifies his religious nature. After realizing that redemption and forgiveness can not be found in a human soul, Proctor looks to God, and finds what he is looking for: “Then who will judge me?...God in Heaven, what is John Proctor, what is John Proctor?” (138). Proctor replaced his sin with love for his wife, children, God, and everyone else. It is not until we love others that we truly love ourselves.
As is exemplified by Proctor, guilt and regret are feelings that can never really be washed away from the soul, but feelings that can be replaced with happiness and forgiveness. As humans, we are never really forgiven because we never really forget what happens. We are forever scarred and forever remembered, which represents how Proctor embodies Christianity. He gave his life for the accused and deceased because he could not simply sit back and watch as the innocent died and he left the earth as a sinful martyr. It was because of Proctor’s name and his love for the people that he, like Jesus Christ, sacrificed himself for everyone else. Because of that, he will be forever remembered by the people and, more importantly, by God. Forgiveness is only a concept when in terms of people; it is a blessing when in terms of God.
Sinners are just people like everyone else. They walk, talk, breathe, and sing, but it is what they do with that sin that makes them indifferent. If one chooses to coexist with that sin, which is always the case, and not let it affect them personally, then they are fine. However, one who chooses to live with that sin and let it eat away at their soul and drive them to the point of insanity without fighting back, will perish and leave the earth as nothing. John Proctor’s death, although mourned upon, represented a new beginning and a new hope. The events leading up to that concluding scene in the novel consisted of attempts to achieve forgiveness and discovering ways to cope with sin. Evidently, Proctor eventually achieved his goal and died an idolized martyr. He died a man of the people, as well as the church. He beat the court, was redeemed, and cheated death. Proctor was a legend, and legends never die.