Sin in The Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays

Sin in The Scarlet letter        Since the dawn of time people have read, studied and enjoyed books in which the hacek or heroes fall from grace. No matter who those heroes are- the human race in The Bible,the demon prince Lestat in Anne Rices Vampire Chroniclesor a certain Thane of Cawdor in Macbeth- the pits plays a greatpart in all of their downfalls and subsequent ressurections.And the common chord principal(prenominal) characters in Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter-Dimmesdale, Chillingsworth, and Hester Prynne- are no different.          All three characters are flung from the normal rolesthat society has laid upon them- minister, housewife, doctor-into untried roles- sinener, whore, and vengance crazed sadist.These new roles are not necessarily apparent to all in town.However, even so though the townspeople do not know of thesinners, God does. And in Gods eyes, whose sin was greater?That, I cannot answer. But in this mer e mortals opinion, the sin of Chillingsworth far outdid the sin of Dimmesdale or Hester Prynne, for Chillingsworths sin was one of revengeand one of secrecy. He was not driven by an anger at his ownsin, but by the sin of others. He used deception andmanipulation to make the life of another(prenominal) miserable. He wasnot flung from societys view as if he were a dirty secretlike Hester was he was embraced by it. However, his sin didtake its toll.  He was disfigured horribly and became atwisted man, scarred by sin. He also was robbed of thepleasure of destroying Dimmesdale which was his reason forliving. He died shortly after Dimmesdale.          Hester Prynne, however, was the gross(a) opposite of Chillingworth in that her sin gave her life, not destroyed it. She took her punishment and embraced it, use it to rebuild herself not as a pathetic sinner, but as a pseudo-saint. At first, the town shunned her as a sinner. However,after they saw that sh e was good, and her sin was of love,the same town embraced and loved her. Her sin drew her moredeeply into the society of capital of Massachusetts than she ever was before.And when her time to die came, she did so with honor. HesterPrynne - sinner and saint.     However, Hesters sin was shared. Whereas she was asinner on the outside and a saint on the inside, ArthurDimmesdale is the reverse, both literally and figuratively.