Puritan thought, the so called start of American thought, and the time of the Puritans was very important for the development of American history. Two tales that show the flaws in thinking and judgment of that time are “The Crucible”, and “The Scarlet Letter”. Both of these stories give a similar portrayal of the Puritans, the freedom that can be won - or lost - by a symbol, and shows how sin, whether it be lying or adultery, can destroy you. However, these narratives also differ in many ways showing the differences in the roles of ministers in a community, how the community evidenced sin, and what the gender of convicted and 'convictor ' was. “The Crucible” and “The Scarlet Letter” show the 'evil ' and 'good ' that was the Puritan people.
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In “The Crucible” the accusers were girls, mere teens as our society today would deem them, and in “The Scarlet Letter” the accusers were the people, and the church as well. Both tales had an element of the church presenting its cases and 'rooting out the Devil where he stands ', but in “The Crucible” the church is pushed aside as the judges and court takes over and begins the hysteria that Reverend Hale had attempted to end, even to the point of trying to get John Proctor to sign a false confession so he could live. And finally, though as before this is not the last difference it is one of the major ones. In “The Crucible” the girls are the accusers. The ones that put forth their hasty claims for who did them wrong, and in a way choosing who will live and who will die. Of the flip-side, in “The Scarlet Letter” Hester, the main female influence in the tale is the accused and the guilty. The girls in one story caused the ruckus, and in the other the woman was the 'victem '. These tales regardless of differences and similarities were great stories in their time that chastised what people call folly, and say shouldn 't have happened in such severity to begin with, but the sins, guilt, power struggles, victimizing, and deceit all still happen today, and as they still occur that gives us one last thing to say is the same about these two tales. They are still relevant. Sin and Consequence:
An analysis of …show more content…
The uses of adultery were not just to point out that men were weak beings, easily seduced, and foolish once in the arms of a woman or overcome with grief or angst; that was not what the theme of sin was there for. Abigail Williams, subjected to the slow decay of pride and jealousy slowly lies until she is no longer trusted by the people, has caused the death and suffering of the man she 'loves ', and feels such fear at what she has done that she steals 31lb from her uncle and flees the town of Salem. Arthur Dimmesdale was devastated by his guilt, John Proctor chose to die before soiling his name for a sin he did not commit while reconciling for the one he had
In “The Crucible” the accusers were girls, mere teens as our society today would deem them, and in “The Scarlet Letter” the accusers were the people, and the church as well. Both tales had an element of the church presenting its cases and 'rooting out the Devil where he stands ', but in “The Crucible” the church is pushed aside as the judges and court takes over and begins the hysteria that Reverend Hale had attempted to end, even to the point of trying to get John Proctor to sign a false confession so he could live. And finally, though as before this is not the last difference it is one of the major ones. In “The Crucible” the girls are the accusers. The ones that put forth their hasty claims for who did them wrong, and in a way choosing who will live and who will die. Of the flip-side, in “The Scarlet Letter” Hester, the main female influence in the tale is the accused and the guilty. The girls in one story caused the ruckus, and in the other the woman was the 'victem '. These tales regardless of differences and similarities were great stories in their time that chastised what people call folly, and say shouldn 't have happened in such severity to begin with, but the sins, guilt, power struggles, victimizing, and deceit all still happen today, and as they still occur that gives us one last thing to say is the same about these two tales. They are still relevant. Sin and Consequence:
An analysis of …show more content…
The uses of adultery were not just to point out that men were weak beings, easily seduced, and foolish once in the arms of a woman or overcome with grief or angst; that was not what the theme of sin was there for. Abigail Williams, subjected to the slow decay of pride and jealousy slowly lies until she is no longer trusted by the people, has caused the death and suffering of the man she 'loves ', and feels such fear at what she has done that she steals 31lb from her uncle and flees the town of Salem. Arthur Dimmesdale was devastated by his guilt, John Proctor chose to die before soiling his name for a sin he did not commit while reconciling for the one he had