Dimmesdale's Failure Of Justice In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Sam Killermann one said, “If you can do nothing else, do whatever is in your power to make the people in your life feel completely unashamed of who they are.” This meaningful quote pertains to Dimmesdale, the a priest in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. When he realized he committed an unjust action, Dimmesdale attempted to keep other’s sheltered from the news so that their lives won't change; Dimmesdale believed that shielding his community from the truth would be the best coarse of action. This course of action effectively exonerated him from the crime. Dimmesdale’s failure to own up to his actions proves that he sees justices as to take the best course of action for the community as a whole. However, he does realize that he …show more content…
Also, since Dimmesdale was a major character, his search for righteousness played a huge role throughout the story. The his journey is significant because it keeps tension high between characters, and it demonstrates how justice will always prevail, even if the outside world doesn’t notice it. Webster dictionary defines justice as the process or result of using laws to fairly judge and punish crimes and criminals; but in actuality, justice is lot harder to define. Someone can perceive justice as someone who commits an illegal act gets punished, and someone can just as easily believe that justice is the course of action taken to repay the victims. Dimmesdale believes that justice take the form of an action which is best fit for the community. In the book on page thirty eight and thirty nine, Dimmesdale dances around the publicization of a scandal he was in by compelling Hester to keep their illegal love a secret. Dimmesdale realizes that he is a elite figure in their puritanistic society and him being caught in a scandal would damage the community more than it would help them if his sins were revealed. Being a preacher and committing an affair is even more disgraceful and