Fear In The Crucible And The Scarlet Letter

The image people often conjure up when the word fear is uttered is similar among the many. It is a negative, unwanted, and evil picture which further proves that fear is a negative and harmful emotion because it causes one who is induced with it to make hasty and rash decisions without a second of thought. It is an emotion that works its magic in a way that no other emotion really does, it comes and goes whenever it is called just like any other emotion. However, when it arrives it carries the fate of that person's life, even if it is only for a couple of seconds. In both the Crucible and The Scarlet Letter, fear is shown to be doing just that, clouding the minds of many characters and impairing their judgement. It is to a point where every …show more content…
In this story, a different argument forms as the harm is inflicted in yet another different way, one in which is more relatable among the many. Often when a person does something wrong, they usually feel the guilt, the shame in which is brought upon them for their sins, as they fear that it will affect not only themselves but the individuals that they care about, as the effect could be devastating. That fear, the fear that compels them to give in and tell, soon becomes the sole cause of their problems and often eats them up. This can be shown in the book through the chemistry between Dimmesdale and Hester, as in Chapter 3 Dimmesdale states to “...Be not silent from any mistaken pity and tenderness for him; for, believe me, Hester, though he were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart through life.” (Hawthorne 63). Here Dimmesdale practically begs Hester to put the blame on himself as the guilt is eating him up on the inside and eventually, that is a part of what kills him in the end. All throughout the story Dimmesdale kept a secret that he was the father of a child who everyone thought was someone else's , a crime in which there is usually no forgiveness in the day and age in which he was living in, especially in a puritan society. Since his crime was of this stature and since he knew the consequences and couldn’t accept the fact that Hester was taking the blame, Dimmesdale feared of the choice he had to make. To save Hester from the punishment, humiliation, and shame she was receiving or keep quiet and remain a god-like figure among the people, fear drove to him to go with the first option. One which did end up devastating him in more ways than one, a situation that is a copy and paste