Heroes in the Scarlet Letter Essay

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Jessica Gee
11/1/12
English 11
The Scarlet Letter: Essay 1 In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, there are many heroes. Many acts of courage and loyalty were done in the novel, and there are four main people who I think are the heroes in the story. Hester Prynne is the main hero since she is so loyal and Dimmesdale is a hero for his because of his bravery. Lastly, Chillingworth is the tragic hero of the story in my opinion. The villain to me was the Puritan society as a whole. All of these characters lived tragic lives, and the community was the cause. They are heroes because of their excellent qualities. The character Hester Prynne is definitely the main hero in The Scarlet Letter. She has so many great qualities and strengths. For example, she is extremely loyal to Dimmesdale throughout the book. Her love and faithfulness to the minister never changes. Also, she is a hero because of the strength she portrays in the story. She is bold when she walks in front of all of the Puritans with her extravagant Scarlet letter that she almost wears proudly on her chest. She is not ashamed and she constantly tries to show the hash Puritan society that she will not break down as a result of their punishments. Finally, Hester is very caring. She takes very good care of Pearl and raises Pearl to be a kind young lady. Hester has a very generous personality. She is the greatest hero in the novel. The second hero in this story was Dimmesdale. At the beginning of the story, Dimmesdale seems like a coward. His weakness is his fear of telling the truth and the consequences that would come from him being honest. Dimmesdale however always keeps his love and loyalty for Hester throughout the book, whether the rest of society knew of it or not. Also, he isn’t just getting off scotch free; his guilt engulfs him to the point of sickness. He is also driven to start carving his own A in the skin on his chest. This shows that Dimmesdale truly feels remorseful for what he has done to Hester and his sins. Lastly, his last heroic act when he confessed his sins in front of the entire harsh Puritan society. He finally got the giant weight he has been carrying for years off his shoulders and Pearl loves him for his act of bravery. Also, it seems as though the Puritan’s even like him more because they knew he was a good man and one small mistake shouldn't consume a person’s reputation. Dimmesdale was a very good man, and a great hero for The Scarlet Letter. In this story I believe Roger Chillingworth is a different type of hero; a tragic hero. Roger Chillingworth is actually a very sad man. Although, he is a very respectable man, he is very unfortunate when concerning social skills. He has a great amount of potential since he is extremely intelligent and skillful. He could live a very prospering life. However, is major weakness is his need for revenge. Revenge takes over his life, and the only thing Chillingworth ever thinks about his how to ruin
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