Scarlet Letter Reaction To Mistakes

Reaction To Mistakes The Human brain has two distinct reactions to mistakes, what is described as a “wake up call” (McGonigal) or a complete shutdown. Through extensive experiments and research, scientists have found that many of their subjects reacted better to feedback from mistakes if it reflected their self-image, making improvements less likely to occur. Reverend Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and both of the Wes Moores exhibited behavior like this throughout their respective novels, which lead to character development in some, but not all characters. The use of flashbacks and dramatic irony by Hawthorne and Moore helped prove the common theme of reaction to mistakes in The Scarlet Letter and The Other Wes Moore.
Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Chillingworth aimed to enact revenge upon Dimmesdale, Hester’s true love, as a response to their adultery. However, while he reacted to their mistakes through the torturing of Dimmesdale, looking back, Hester realized that Chillingworth did not acknowledge his own mistake of persuading Hester to marry him “when her heart knew no better,” (Hawthorne 163). Had Chillingworth taken the time to look …show more content…
All Dimmesdale needs to do is confess “. . . on [the] . . . scaffold,” (Hawthorne 236) in front of the Puritan community and he will feel less guilty. Since Dimmesdale does not yet understand this, he continues to torture himself and receive torture from Chillingworth. Similar to Hawthorne, Moore also leaves Wes ignorant of his need to confess, relating to the jewelry store murder, which leads to greater consequences for Wes. By “. . . [insisting] that he was not there the day of the murder,” (Moore 155), and taking his case to trial, Wes ends up with life in prison, an inevitable result. For both Wes and Dimmesdale, not only did their mistake have consequences, but their reactions to those mistakes did as