Thematic Synthesis Paper
The Crucible and the Scarlet Letter
Different forms of punishments among Puritans served the dual purpose of inspiring individuals to repent and preserving certain social norm (ehow.com).This is shown in both “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller and “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne the unique ways for the guilty to suffer for example in the scarlet letter Hester Prynne had to wear a letter of her bosom forever and was used as an example of shame publically. And in the Crucible, Salem witch trials were held in which people were hanged if they did not confess for witchcraft, even if they were innocent. Some characters did not expose their guilt like Rev. Dimmesdale – who was an adulterer and John Proctor—who committed …show more content…
This is seen in the scarlet letter when Hester had to stand in the middle and everyone was watching her and the baby, “ She turned her eyes, downward, at the scarlet letter and even touched it with her finger, to assure herself if that infant and the shame is real”(Hawthorne 78). This shows how shameful Hester has felt and wants this all to be a dream as she does not want to suffer from shame and live her entire life with that scarlet letter on her bosom. This also shows how guilty Hester is feeling as she is made an example of shame and that everyone will look at wherever she is going. A similar thing is seen in the Crucible when innocent people like Rebecca nurse and Elizabeth Proctor are accused of being witches and they could be only set free if they confess and if they are saying no they will be hanged. As John Proctor in the Crucible said, “If she is innocent…Is the accuser always holy now...? I’ll tell you what’s walking in Salem— vengeance is walking in Salem. We are what we were now the little crazy children are jangling the keys kingdom and common vengeance writes the law!”(Miller 74). This shows how the Salem people, scared of witches were now controlled by whatever children said even if they blamed innocent and holy people as witches. This also shows how Salem finds the accuser holy and how the …show more content…
Guilt could be kept a secret to keep one’s reputation good in the eyes of the society. An obvious example of this is Rev. Dimmesdale in the Scarlet Letter. Dimmesdale has committed adultery with Hester Prynne. He does not reveal his guilt as he is an honored and well respected man in the society and he does not want to blacken his name. But this lead to Dimmesdale suffering internally all the time which is more severe this destroys him as he himself says,” Happy are you Hester, that wear the scarlet letter openly upon your bosom. Mine burns in secret.”(Hawthorne 232). This shows that Dimmesdale is feeling very sad as his guilt is deep and has destroyed him internally and made him weak. This also shows that as Dimmesdale is the clergyman of the church it is his duty to keep people on the right path but when he himself is guilty of sin he is just embarrassing himself in front of himself which makes him more weak and powerless. He is also not forgiving himself, this destruction of one’s soul by guilt and not forgiving oneself can also be seen in the Crucible when John Proctor who had committed lechery with Abigail tries saving his name and reputation by keeping his lechery a secret from the society. By keeping this secret he has only earned weakness and coldness from his wife Elizabeth Proctor who does not trust her husband anymore. This made Proctor weak and burdened with
The Crucible and the Scarlet Letter
Different forms of punishments among Puritans served the dual purpose of inspiring individuals to repent and preserving certain social norm (ehow.com).This is shown in both “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller and “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne the unique ways for the guilty to suffer for example in the scarlet letter Hester Prynne had to wear a letter of her bosom forever and was used as an example of shame publically. And in the Crucible, Salem witch trials were held in which people were hanged if they did not confess for witchcraft, even if they were innocent. Some characters did not expose their guilt like Rev. Dimmesdale – who was an adulterer and John Proctor—who committed …show more content…
This is seen in the scarlet letter when Hester had to stand in the middle and everyone was watching her and the baby, “ She turned her eyes, downward, at the scarlet letter and even touched it with her finger, to assure herself if that infant and the shame is real”(Hawthorne 78). This shows how shameful Hester has felt and wants this all to be a dream as she does not want to suffer from shame and live her entire life with that scarlet letter on her bosom. This also shows how guilty Hester is feeling as she is made an example of shame and that everyone will look at wherever she is going. A similar thing is seen in the Crucible when innocent people like Rebecca nurse and Elizabeth Proctor are accused of being witches and they could be only set free if they confess and if they are saying no they will be hanged. As John Proctor in the Crucible said, “If she is innocent…Is the accuser always holy now...? I’ll tell you what’s walking in Salem— vengeance is walking in Salem. We are what we were now the little crazy children are jangling the keys kingdom and common vengeance writes the law!”(Miller 74). This shows how the Salem people, scared of witches were now controlled by whatever children said even if they blamed innocent and holy people as witches. This also shows how Salem finds the accuser holy and how the …show more content…
Guilt could be kept a secret to keep one’s reputation good in the eyes of the society. An obvious example of this is Rev. Dimmesdale in the Scarlet Letter. Dimmesdale has committed adultery with Hester Prynne. He does not reveal his guilt as he is an honored and well respected man in the society and he does not want to blacken his name. But this lead to Dimmesdale suffering internally all the time which is more severe this destroys him as he himself says,” Happy are you Hester, that wear the scarlet letter openly upon your bosom. Mine burns in secret.”(Hawthorne 232). This shows that Dimmesdale is feeling very sad as his guilt is deep and has destroyed him internally and made him weak. This also shows that as Dimmesdale is the clergyman of the church it is his duty to keep people on the right path but when he himself is guilty of sin he is just embarrassing himself in front of himself which makes him more weak and powerless. He is also not forgiving himself, this destruction of one’s soul by guilt and not forgiving oneself can also be seen in the Crucible when John Proctor who had committed lechery with Abigail tries saving his name and reputation by keeping his lechery a secret from the society. By keeping this secret he has only earned weakness and coldness from his wife Elizabeth Proctor who does not trust her husband anymore. This made Proctor weak and burdened with