Throughout all of American Literature, authors have used different techniques to relay a message to the reader, one way being by depicting how the community’s influence on the protagonist shapes the protagonists’ development. In The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible, authors Hawthorne and Miller, respectively, use the social norms in Puritan society to express a common theme by portraying the positive and negative moral changes in characters. In Puritan society, individuals believed they were carrying out “God’s work”, creating a society where compromise was rare and harsh punishment was inflicted upon those who made mistakes that were deemed immoral to society. Because of the strict nature of the Puritans, acting in a manner that was completely
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In The Crucible, the highly religious Puritan society looks down upon the sin Abigail Williams and her friends, Mary Warren and Mercy Lewis commit, which is necromancy. Despite committing this sin, as well as the sin of adultery, unlike the protagonists who use their guilt to their advantage by building better characters, Abigail creates a web of lies which places detrimental effects on innocent individuals, such as Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail’s demeaning actions towards others in society strengthen her immoral personality as she transgresses into living an even more immoral life. Her transformation differs from that of the protagonists because the protagonists transform into living far more moral lives than immoral lives. A similar transformation can be seen in The Scarlet Letter, when Chillingworth transforms into a despicable individual because of his plans for vengeance on Hester Prynne. Before Chillingworth arrives to Boston the society in which Hester is situated in, he is known to be an intellectual and studious man who is had the qualities of a gentle, caring individual. However, as Chillingworth comes to know of Hester’s sin of adultery, a desire for vengeance is inflicted in Chillingworth which causes “the former aspect of an intellectual and studious man, calm, and quiet” to be “succeeded by an eager, searching, …show more content…
John Proctor, towards the end of The Crucible, rips up the confession papers in front of Danforth which symbolizes his desire to break away from the oppressive Puritan society; through rebelling against Puritan society, considering that many individuals usually conformed to the strict rules of Puritan society, John Proctor is viewed as the “hero” at the end of the play. Miller’s decision to show the conflict of living a life of lies versus dying for honesty through John Proctor additionally allows him to present John Proctor as a sympathetic character, who as John Proctor chooses to die for honesty rather than live a life of lies. Likewise, Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter, eventually becomes a legend in the Puritan colony of Boston, as a result of her living a life full of compassion in which she performs charitable acts. Throughout Hester’s life, “the scarlet letter ceased to be a stigma which attracted the world’s scorn and bitterness, and became a type of something to be sorrowed over, and looked upon with awe, yet with reverence, too” (Hawthorne 234). Through the transformation in the symbolism of the scarlet letter, Hawthorne is able to illustrate Hester as having struggled, yet persevered through a life she had never imagined, and allows him to portray Hester as sympathetic towards
In The Crucible, the highly religious Puritan society looks down upon the sin Abigail Williams and her friends, Mary Warren and Mercy Lewis commit, which is necromancy. Despite committing this sin, as well as the sin of adultery, unlike the protagonists who use their guilt to their advantage by building better characters, Abigail creates a web of lies which places detrimental effects on innocent individuals, such as Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail’s demeaning actions towards others in society strengthen her immoral personality as she transgresses into living an even more immoral life. Her transformation differs from that of the protagonists because the protagonists transform into living far more moral lives than immoral lives. A similar transformation can be seen in The Scarlet Letter, when Chillingworth transforms into a despicable individual because of his plans for vengeance on Hester Prynne. Before Chillingworth arrives to Boston the society in which Hester is situated in, he is known to be an intellectual and studious man who is had the qualities of a gentle, caring individual. However, as Chillingworth comes to know of Hester’s sin of adultery, a desire for vengeance is inflicted in Chillingworth which causes “the former aspect of an intellectual and studious man, calm, and quiet” to be “succeeded by an eager, searching, …show more content…
John Proctor, towards the end of The Crucible, rips up the confession papers in front of Danforth which symbolizes his desire to break away from the oppressive Puritan society; through rebelling against Puritan society, considering that many individuals usually conformed to the strict rules of Puritan society, John Proctor is viewed as the “hero” at the end of the play. Miller’s decision to show the conflict of living a life of lies versus dying for honesty through John Proctor additionally allows him to present John Proctor as a sympathetic character, who as John Proctor chooses to die for honesty rather than live a life of lies. Likewise, Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter, eventually becomes a legend in the Puritan colony of Boston, as a result of her living a life full of compassion in which she performs charitable acts. Throughout Hester’s life, “the scarlet letter ceased to be a stigma which attracted the world’s scorn and bitterness, and became a type of something to be sorrowed over, and looked upon with awe, yet with reverence, too” (Hawthorne 234). Through the transformation in the symbolism of the scarlet letter, Hawthorne is able to illustrate Hester as having struggled, yet persevered through a life she had never imagined, and allows him to portray Hester as sympathetic towards