... main character in Nathaniel Hawthorne's tale of "The Scarlet Letter", the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is confronted with circumstances both in and out of his control, that lead to his demise. Even though it can be argued that Reverend Dimmesdale is a tragic hero, he lacks the strength and underlying goodness essential ... for him to fulfill this role. With such discrepancies it is easier for me to argue that the Reverend is not the tragic hero that some believe. Arthur Dimmesdale, a minister, lives his life under the watchful yet admiring eye of the townspeople of Boston and, as a result...

• Word Count: 2932
• Approx Pages: 12
• Grade Level: High School

... . He makes Hester promise that she won't reveal his identity to anyone. The book covers a seven year period during which the identity of the father becomes known. It is the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, who is renowned as an especially holy and pious man. Wracked by guilt he starts to show outward signs of serious illness. Hester's husband under the assumed name Roger Chillingworth ... John Wilson, the eldest clergyman of Boston and a great scholar of his contemporaries in the profession, as the person of Reverend Clergyman to persuade and exhort Hester Prune to repentance, and to confessi...

• Word Count: 2453
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... chapters of the novel signifies that Hester will not reveal the identity of Pearl's father. The Reverend Wilson demands that Hester reveal the name of the father, but she refuses to say. Believing that Hester's pastor could discover the name of Pearl's father, Reverend Wilson asks the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale to speak with Hester. She refuses to state the name of Pearl's father ... . Dimmesdale, relieved, responds: "Wondrous strength and generosity of a woman's heart! She will not speak!" (Hawthorne 66). Hawthorne later reveals that ... Arthur Dimmesdale is Hester's lover and the fath...

• Word Count: 1429
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... disobedience of the known will of God. Sin in The Scarlet Letter is not only committed by Chillingworth but by Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and also the Puritan society as a whole. Both Dimmesdale and Hester commit the sin of adultery while Chillingworth commits the mortal sin of having anger, hatred, and envy towards the two ... her sins in the end. Seeing that Hester is sorry for her sins and bases it on love her sin is not the greatest. The Reverend Dimmesdale, a "saintly young minister who is the leader of those extorting Hester to name Pearls father"(Darrel 1) conceals his se...

• Word Count: 2203
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... or were deemed unfit for society. Two works of literature that display both aspects of this society very accurately are The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and The Crucible, by Arthur Miller. The Scarlet Letter displays a society that treats two people very differently who commit the sin of adultery together. The woman, Hester Prynne, admits her sin, is forced to always ... wear a scarlet letter A on her bosom, and is ostracized from society. The man, Reverend Dimmesdale, hides his sin from the world, is almost worshipped by the townspeople, but is filled with the shame of his a...

• Word Count: 1327
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... novel follows the struggles of two sinners in the morally strict Massachusetts Bay Colony in the seventeenth century. A young woman named Hester Prynne and the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale commit adultery. Hester's sin becomes publicly acknowledged when she has a child; she is forced face humiliation by standing on a scaffold in the center ... is in the open, which works to her benefit. Guilt kept on the inside is the most dangerous. This hidden guilt is seen in Arthur Dimmesdale, whose own visit to the scaffold is covert and in darkness, as though he wants to hide it from God's eyes as we...

• Word Count: 891
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... about Betty is "How high did she fly?"38 This clearly illustrates how instinctive and deeply entrenched was this desire for the supernatural. Exasperated, Reverend Parris calls on Rev. Hale, who is an expert in the "demonic arts,"39 to evaluate the situation. The fact that they even have ... as it does with the Black Man, which "is a traditional American name for the Devil."44 In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne commits adultery with Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. She is discovered and forced to wear a mark of shame, the scarlet letter A, on her dress for the rest of her life. Soon Mr. .....

• Word Count: 3126
• Approx Pages: 13
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Arthur Dimmesdale: a modern man caught within the realm of the puritans. Dimmesdale's humanity is on trial throughout this novel, and on his journey to reconciliation we see how the world can break a man. Dimmesdale is hiding in fear as he travels his path to reconciliation. Throughout the novel Dimmesdale becomes increasingly ... in which he, Hester and Pearl are together upon the scaffold as a family. The reverend says "Come up hither once again, and we will stand all three together!" (pg140). After Dimmesdale gives his powerful speech, the author says "By yielding up his breath in the arm...

• Word Count: 1115
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... novel the concept of naturalness of humanity, or naturalism also occurs. In a strict society, such as the Puritans, Hester disobeys the laws. She, in her decision to have a relationship with Reverend Dimmesdale, goes against the Puritan laws and moral code. Her husband, Chillingworth who she loved in the beginning but didn't last, is overseas and Hester thinks that her husband is dead ... have to remain celibate to keep her bond to her early husband, whether he's alive or dead. Hester demonstrates human naturalness by obeying her instinctual urges and having a relationship with Reverend...

• Word Count: 1687
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... . The people are taking him for someone he is not and only Hester really knows the truth behind his shadow. Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale have gone against Puritan law and committed the sin of adultery. But unlike Hester, Arthur hid his secret and was not honest with the people of his society or himself. In the novel The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel ... , truth is the safest lie. By expressing truth Hester is set free, leaving Dimmesdale and Chillingworth to deteriorate from their falseness. Having committed a moral sin with Hester, Dimmesdale holds the truth inside. Being the rever...

• Word Count: 827
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... works of literature that display both aspects of this society very accurately are The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and The Crucible, by Arthur Miller. The Scarlet Letter displays a society that treats two people very differently who commit the sin of adultery together. The woman, Hester ... Prynne, admits her sin, is forced to always wear a scarlet letter "A" on her bosom, and is ostracized from society. The man, Reverend Dimmesdale, who hides his sin from the world, is almost worshipped by the townspeople, but is filled with the dishonor of his action. Hawthorne illustrates ...

• Word Count: 578
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and Arthur Miller's The Crucible are both distinctly different works about the Puritan society. The Scarlet Letter is a novel and The Crucible is a play. While The ... no one dared argue with the court. In The Scarlet Letter, the townspeople are so loyal to the "Good Reverend Dimmesdale," that they are completely blind to the fact that he is the biggest sinner. Everything that Dimmesdale says gets turned into something else. "They deemed the young clergyman a miracle of holiness. They fancied him the ... which he trod was sanctified," (212). The memb...

• Word Count: 648
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... debated countless times throughout our history and two books seem to depict this standard of living in two different ways. The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, conflicts the effects of the conjunction of church and state while The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, conflicts the inability to ... counted against it, there be no road between."(Act 3) Here Danforth demonstrates the emotion that puritans felt toward insubordination and defiance of Puritan lifestyle. Reverend Parris, one of characters who seek power within all the hysteria that has swept the town, is a prime e...

• Word Count: 710
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate