In the echo of the American identity individualism can be considered as one of the loudest componets. However that was not always the case. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter the division between the community and the individualism is discernible. In this essay I will explain how the puritan society contrasts with the main heroine’s personality and how the two characters who sinned differ in the path they took upon. The story takes place in Massachusetts Bay Colony in a strictly Puritan society in the mid-seventeenth century. When Puritans left the Old World and came to New England, they had extremely rigid rules concerning the formation of the new society. This new population was based on unquestionable devotion to the church and
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Hester Prynne and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale both sinned but their journey through the same sin is disparate. Hester’s punishment in the form of the “A” was visible and criticized by everyone. She leads a hard life but becomes stronger by living through the consequences of the sin. She stayed and wore the “A” and continued to undertake good deeds. In the end she proved that being different, non-conformational is not necessarily negative. But in regards to Reverend Dimmesdale the “A” was carved on his chest, unnoticed by the public. He did not acknowledge his sin. He tried to conform to the social norms and pretended to personify everything Puritanism stood for. His hypocrisy destroys him in the end: “No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.” He grew weaker with the passage of time and died, while Hester Prynne was redeemed- “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.” Individualism is a big part of today’s American identity. The need for it overcame the black and white puritan ideas on life. Like the heroine of The Scarlet Letter we should fight for what is worthy, overcome social pressure and handle our mistakes with dignity. Like Hester Prynne we should come out the other side as stronger and better people, learning from our mistakes and overcoming
Hester Prynne and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale both sinned but their journey through the same sin is disparate. Hester’s punishment in the form of the “A” was visible and criticized by everyone. She leads a hard life but becomes stronger by living through the consequences of the sin. She stayed and wore the “A” and continued to undertake good deeds. In the end she proved that being different, non-conformational is not necessarily negative. But in regards to Reverend Dimmesdale the “A” was carved on his chest, unnoticed by the public. He did not acknowledge his sin. He tried to conform to the social norms and pretended to personify everything Puritanism stood for. His hypocrisy destroys him in the end: “No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.” He grew weaker with the passage of time and died, while Hester Prynne was redeemed- “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.” Individualism is a big part of today’s American identity. The need for it overcame the black and white puritan ideas on life. Like the heroine of The Scarlet Letter we should fight for what is worthy, overcome social pressure and handle our mistakes with dignity. Like Hester Prynne we should come out the other side as stronger and better people, learning from our mistakes and overcoming