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Sin In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

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The novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is filled with committed sins. From lying and adultery, to jealousy and anger. One question that can be asked is, which sin was the greatest? We all know that in God’s eyes, all sins are the same. Sometimes though, some sins can be seen as greater than others to everyday people.

The three main characters of the novel (Arthur Dimmesdale, Hester Prynne, and Roger Chillingworth) committed pretty horrible sins. However, Dimmesdale seems to be in the top spot for the greatest sin committed. Hester and Dimmesdale first met after she was sent to Boston by her husband from England. Hester was just a sad, lonely girl and Dimmesdale was a well-respected minister in the town church. Both knew that it was against their beliefs to enact in what they did, but temptation got the best of them. Suddenly, Hester became pregnant and Dimmesdale shut her out of his life. …show more content…
When Hester was placed upon the scaffold to be punished for their sin, she did not once say Dimmesdale’s name. “Speak, woman! Speak; and give your child a father!” they would demand from her. Hester reply was, “I will not speak! And my child must seek a heavenly father; she shall never know an earthly one!” It was wrong of Dimmesdale to ask Hester to lie to the town as she is being punished for yet another sin she had committed in the

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