Scarlet Letter Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Weak and Yet Caring “[People] have to make mistakes; [it is] how [they] learn compassion for others” Curtis Sittenfeld, a Stanford University graduate, and American author, describes an important understanding in society, that human’s will make mistakes, nevertheless, these errors bring people together and can lead to bonding and sympathy. Often people hide their sins from the judgment of the world. The weight of the secret will either weigh them down, or inspire them to support others through the same trials. The Scarlet Letter, a Puritan-period novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, displays this theme through the life of protagonist Arthur Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale works as the Reverend in Boston, Massachusetts, during the time of Puritanism. Dimmesdale fathered an illegitimate child named Pearl with her …show more content…
Hawthorne uses specific words to create a dark tone associated with Dimmesdale’s sin. The author uses words such as unutterable, torment, speckled, and iniquity. The vividity of the word torment helps the reader visualize the horror of the pain Dimmesdale goes through, and yet he has too much spinelessness to confess. In addition, during the rising action, Hester Prynne decides to find Dimmesdale as he walks in the forest to reveal Chillingworth’s identity as her husband, and his role in tormenting Dimmesdale. Hester decides to break her promise to Chillingworth by telling the Reverend, as she sees Dimmesdale’s agony that results from Chillingworth’s tireless torment. His physical state has progressively gotten worse, and when she sees him approaching, he looks “...haggard and feeble, and betray[s] a nerveless despondency in his air” (170). Dimmesdale had become gaunt and sickly from the turmoil inside him. Not only can Dimmesdale not confess to his weakness, but he lacks the strength to go on or even hide his physical

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