The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a novel which portrays the message of sin and punishment, through the outcome of an adulterous relationship between Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale. ... When Dimmesdale said, "...methinks, it must needs be better for the sufferer to be free to show his pain, as this poor woman Hester is, than to cover it all up in his heart", he delineates the contrasts between the fact that Hester can deal with her pain publicly, while he is forced to keep all of his emotions inside. ... His reaction, however, is not to palliate his suffering by confessin...

• Word Count: 1174
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Sin can be felt at unnamable frequencies personally or publicly. ... Similarly, eloquently within the folds of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Pearl subtly becomes the epitome of sin and the embodiment of unrelenting evil, using her actions and impish notions as a medium. ... The "elf child" as she is referred to in The Scarlet Letter, is by default and meaning, doomed to sin. ... Only an atrocity bred of evil could fathom such a heartless reaction at an age without knowledge. ...

• Word Count: 975
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography