Scarlet Letter Honesty Vs Disgrace Quotes

“A good man or women will be honest no matter how painful the truth is. A coward hides behind lies and deceit” (Anonymous). It is true that with every decision one makes, at least two solutions will be presented, as explained in the quote above; honesty versus disgrace, in terms of the actions that may take place. Nathaniel Hawthorne spoke of the same matter in his work, The Scarlet Letter, as the man or women who communicated the beautiful words above did; both intended for all who read their writings to understand that the outcomes of being a coward can never amount to the rewards of being truthful. Hawthorne created the character Arthur Dimmesdale, in his novel, to exemplify this behavior of being dishonest and the spiral effect it has on …show more content…
This was most evident by the way Dimmesdale was presented with opportunities to confront his sinful action and failed to use them efficiently. When Dimmesdale stood upon the scaffold, in remorse, next to Hester and in front of the Puritans, not saying a word, Hawthorne wanted more to be shown than “Dimmesdale was weak.” Dimmesdale made the same mistake of not being truthful when his health began to be affected by his guilt. In both situations Hawthorne kept Dimmesdale quiet to present his audience with the consequences of Dimmesdale 's inaction. In both scenarios, Hawthorne did not only want to show that Dimmesdale was weak, but the fact that Dimmesdale was an antihero, and with an antihero comes the inaction that made Dimmesdale weak. Hawthorne grouped together, both his theme of “one’s actions make them who they are” and the characteristic of the antihero. Thus Hawthorne was better able to expose that, in humanity, everyone starts out pure and, throughout their journey, their actions dictate who they …show more content…
Hester was able to do something that Dimmesdale could never find the courage to do. Hester owned up to her sins and faced judgment. Not only did Hester take action by accepting what she had done wrong, but she also did not hide from the result, becoming stronger for that reason. Although Dimmesdale finally confessed to his wrongdoing, while lying upon his death bed, he was still not to be considered strong. Hawthorne left Dimmesdale to represent weakness and Hester the opposite, thus the proposal was presented that, standing by one’s actions is only the first step of being cleansed from all guilt. It is not possible to rid one’s self of the blanket of guilt and shame that consumes them until they are true to all and most importantly, deal with the consequences that follow. Through the demonstration of both Hester and Dimmesdale, Hawthorne explains this key to peace to becoming, and how, through humanity, it is obtained through