In religion, sin is the thing that makes God see you as unfaithful to him and your religion. In both The Scarlet Letter and “The Devil and Tom Walker” religion and sin are discussed and shown in ways that are both similar and different. Nathaniel Hawthorne painted the religion that people like Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale believe in, to be extremely strict when handling the punishment of sin and just religion in general. It seems that Washington Irving showed more of a disrespect for religion through his characters and the way his characters follow their religion so loosely compared to Hawthorne’s characters was evident
It seems as though sin, in people's minds, isn't as big of a deal as it was before. In the beginning of chapter fifteen of The Scarlet Letter, Hester knowingly sins when going to find Pearl, she realized that she really resented her husband. In this chapter, it really focuses on Pearl’s curiosity about the scarlet letter on her mother’s chest. Hester explained the meaning of it but despite Pearl’s best efforts, did not explain what it's significance to her was. Pearl was extremely observant and she's also questioned why Dimmesdale was holding his chest all of the…show more content… Irving uses the term “the almighty dollar” and it really revolves around a selfish man who commits sin and coerces people into taking a loan that he knows they won’t be able to pay back. He was very materialistic and cunning and he got what was coming to him. He agreed to sell his soul to the the devil out of spite of his wife who had previously goaded him by saying that she was a better bargainer than him. “The Black Man” also appeared in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. This figure is a symbol for the devil and he plays a prominent role in both stories and he effects the characters to such an extent. He agrees to trade treasure for Tom Walker’s soul. He could take it whenever he wanted and eventually he
