The sins of one generation live through successive generations. ... The novel resolves with Hepzibah walking away from her cursed house, suggesting that she will have a brighter future, come to terms with her family's cursed past, and eventually forget the past. Hawthorne may have been suggesting that he too hoped to come to terms with the sins of his ancestors and forget his cursed past. ... The descendent of a witch trial judge, Hawthorne suffered from the guilt and shame of the sins of his ancestors. By understanding Hawthorne's past and his family, the reader can better understa...

• Word Count: 646
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The people of Puritanistic faith claim to be the ones raised in good nature and proper upbringing, as not to lead to such a sin as adultery, as Hester had committed. ... The idea of predestination is a "predetermined fate" and it seemed more that the people of the town were more interested in deciding Hester's fate for her now because of her sin. The sin was committed between two adults but the town seemed to strangely get twisted along into it and travel with Hester throughout the novel. If this had been done in today's society, Hester would have had much more privacy, and...

• Word Count: 568
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

The court needs to look beyond prior judgments and events of the past and see the truth which I will prepare before you. ... God does not acknowledge those who sin against him and will see to that they be the ones who suffer. Does God reach down and grab those who have sinned and pardon them? ... He sinned against God. ...

• Word Count: 360
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

Hester was a social outcast because of her past and the mistakes she made, and because of this, she would cause such an upheaval that it would cause a pastor to reveal a life-altering secret. ... Hester and Dimmesdale are the Adam and Eve of the town who commit the ultimate sin by eating the fruit of adultery. Their experience allows the townspeople to see how it is to really be human and that committing sins is a forgivable part of human life. ... Sin, rather than power, is the basis of The Scarlet Letter and donates to the message that perfection is not achievable by a set of rules that is e...

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

The Crucible The Crucible is a story which is an understanding of the Salem witch trials, and history implies that innocent people were punished and executed if they were convicted of being a witch. However, witches and witchcraft were often blamed for unknown phenomena, and deeply religious peo...

• Word Count: 293
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

Arthur Miller wrote this book to bring back the past of the Salem Witch Trials so that people could see what it was like, or at least read what it was like during that time. ... Hiding sin is also a huge subject matter throughout the book. John Proctor hides his sin for the duration of the book with what he had done and how he had felt about Abigail. Countless people hide their sins because they don't want others to think bad of them or look down on them. ...

• Word Count: 700
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

A life in which doing anything for your own pleasure was considered a sin. The play opens with children dancing in the woods, an obvious sin according to the puritans. ... Nathaniel Hawthorne's grandfather was a judge in the Salem witch trials and Hawthorne was always haunted by his family's past. ... There have been many other examples of hypocrisy in religion in the past as well as the present. ...

• Word Count: 909
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

In response, the reverend says, "Thou, too, hast deeply sinned! ... He looks past the reason for her situation and recognizes the good in the adulteress. ... It literally symbolizes adultery, sin, and Hester's struggle to gain self-worth and pride. ... At the end, when many claim that they see it on Dimmesdale's chest, the letter becomes a representation of his sin. ... The scaffold scenes are most important, as it represents the harshness of the Puritan society and the atonement for sin. ...

• Word Count: 1296
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

She also tells Proctor that he "takes [her] sins upon [him]" (137).  Even though Proctor insists that the sins are his blame, she tries to persuade and help him to redeem himself. ... When the seed of forgiveness flowers, the chains of reputation dissipate and save Proctor from his sins. ... " (140) He opposes mentioning names because he can only "speak [his] own sins; [he] cannot judge another" (141). When John Proctor relieves himself from the guilt of his past sins, he is able to recognize the power of individualism and self-worth, which gives him the courage to ...

• Word Count: 1588
• Approx Pages: 6

His one and only sin being Adultery. ... This is an example, of Procter proving to not be either, self- serving or destructive, yet he has sinned in the past, so he has a lot of good deeds to do to redeem himself properly. ...

• Word Count: 653
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Abigail must have been quite the charismatic woman, able to pull together the other girls, even after they had realized their sins. ... No person, past, present or future, is able to completely be without the feeling that they need to get back at someone. ...

• Word Count: 725
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

John's phrasing implies that it Elizabeth is sinning by being cautious of her husband, rather than him who was the one to actually commit adultery. ... The people of Salem use the witch hunt to get revenge on feuds from the past which in reality have nothing to do with witch craft at all....

• Word Count: 1154
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate