How Is Arthur Dimmesdale Guilty

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In the book “The Scarlet Letter” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a lot of the characters are cruel, ruthless, evil, and convicted sinners. The worst of them all was Arthur Dimmesdale. Through the showing of Pride, Lying, Adultery, being a misleading town reverend, and guilt, Arthur Dimmesdale is the most at fault in the book, “The Scarlet Letter”. The way he was punished for theses brutal sins was his own self-guilt.
In the book “The Scarlet Letter”, The main character is a young woman named Hester Prynne. She committed the sin of adultery with the town reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. The outcome of their sin was a baby named Pearl. When the town of Boston found out about the sin, Hester was convicted. However Hetser decided never to disclose who the father of the child was. Hester had to, ”Stand a certain time upon the platform….”(Hawthorne 54). While she endured all the stares and glares of the townspeople, Arthur Dimmesdale could have stood up and took the blame also, however his pride overtook his body. Hester had to deal with, “Shame before the mass of …show more content…
However the lie is always worse then act. Dimmesdale took his lies so far he said, “ at least, they should say of me, that i have no public duty unperformed or ill-performed.”(Hawthorne 136). In this quote he says that he has done nothing wrong, and that everything he does, is always a good deed. Nonetheless, Arthur stills misses Hester, and his sins of lying are destroying him on the inside. He, “ carves the letter “A” on his chest and suffers internal feelings guilt and shamed which eventually diminishes his health.”(Why Arthur Dimmesdale the character who holds the most guilt in the scarlet letter). Arthur longs for her and his shame internally is driving him mad. However if Dimmesdale would have never of committed the sin of adultery, None of this would've

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and stress. Over the course of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, we read about an affair between a married woman, Hester Prynne, and a clergyman, Arthur Dimmesdale, which leaves Hester with a child, Pearl. The novel takes place in the seventeenth century, in a puritan town in Boston. After the affair, only Hester is punished. Dimmesdale does not confess to being the father. However, Hester’s husband, Roger Chillingworth is determined throughout the novel to discover who Pearl’s father is…

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young minister, Arthur Dimmesdale, who must deal with the shame of their adultery. Hester’s scarlet letter A publicly disgraces her every day, whereas Arthur’s sin is hidden from everyone in colonial Boston. Hawthorne shows through Arthur Dimmesdale that when man refuses to accept moral responsibility for his actions he lives in self-deception. Dimmesdale cannot let go of his pride and chooses to live in a lie instead. Arthur knows that God’s calling for him is to the church. Dimmesdale thinks that…

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the evils that emerge from characters when they conceal their sins. As a result, Hawthorne shows how characters such as Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth, and Hester Prynn realize that guilt without confession ultimately leads to negative consequences. Arthur Dimmesdale, a devout puritan minister, is a prominent character who harbors guilt far more greatly than other characters. Dimmesdale is guilty of committing adultery with Hester. However, he does not reveal this to anyone in fear of losing…

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the 1640’s, near the beginning of the colonial period. Hester, the protagonist lives in the Massachusetts Bay colony. One problem that the political climate created for Hester the guilt of the affair the she had with Arthur Dimmesdale, the minister. Throughout the book Arthur Dimmesdale spends a lot of his time carrying the shame, and guilt of the affair. This is a problem for Hester because during that time, those who were in charge of the church, were usually in charge of the government also.”Be…

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for his ancestor’s deeds throughout the novel. He used his characters to convey how guilt and its long-lasting effects are common amongst the human race. In the beginning of the novel, Hester was accused of adultery; therefore, she was imprisoned and ostracized by her town. In the book titled, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne stated, “The chain that bound her here was of iron links, and galling…

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connected by sin. Hawthorne shows how sin affects all of the characters in different ways, and how sin can yield suffering, but it can also make one stronger, depending on how they handle the effects of their sin. Hester Prynne is an example of someone who makes the best of her situation, while Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth both suffer as a result of sinning and they become worse in mind and body. Hester Prynne committed the sin of adultery with Arthur Dimmesdale, so she was publicly humiliated…

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Dimmesdale: The Two-faced Minister In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the symbolism of Arthur Dimmesdale as hypocrisy to criticize Puritan society. As the town minister, Dimmesdale is a religious figurehead and revered by his congregation as the embodiment of the holy will; thus, he represents the Puritan faith. As such a person, he is expected to be of the greatest moral standing and set an example of righteousness but in truth, he hides his own sin. He is expected to be bright and…

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led Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale to commit adultery. No character in the book questions the idea that sin should be punished, and all recognize that sin will be punished, if not here on earth by man, than by God after death.Committing sin is regarded as willfully allowing the Black Man (Satan) to place his mark upon your soul. When a citizen breaks the colony’s law, he is also breaking God's Law. While it is only through confession to the public that a sinner, Dimmesdale, finds peace, this conflation…

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In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses symbolism to demonstrate how the secret sin that Dimmesdale lives with is destroying his life. According to Nan Lei of the Yangtze University in China, Hawthorne made use of symbolism when he came up with the main characters’ name. In the novel, Arthur Dimmesdale’s name is not only the name of the character, but also a representation of what is going on in his life. Lei says that Dim means not bright, hopeful, or good while ‘dale’ means valley. The minister’s…

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birthday, breaking your diet, cheating on a test, or lying to your parents. Even these small acts that can easily occur can cause someone to feel guilty. Guilt can be present in anyone; even Nathaniel Hawthorne used guilt as the main aspect of characters in his book The Scarlet Letter. A married woman, Hester Prynne, and an unmarried reverend, Arthur Dimmesdale, commit a sin of passion while defying their Puritan Boston society. When Hester becomes pregnant, the people in the society condemn her, make…

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