In Nathaniel Hawthorn's, "The Scarlet Letter," the main characters undergo tribulations that help highlight the major issues of American identity. Hester Prynne, the woman who commits a sin that forces her into ignominious solitude, uses her crime as leverage for her own personal development. Arthur Dimmesdale, believed to be a pious reverend, is provided as an example of conformity. He rejects his sin and is constrained to what the puritanical society believes to be as orthodox. And Pearl, who is the offspring of Hester and Dimmesdale, is unlike either of the two. She does not face the dilemmas of her identity clashing with society's view of her. Instead, she is the product of individuality due to her growing up in solitude along with her mother, because of this, she is not tainted by the puritanical ways. Through these characters, one will see how each individual sheds light on American issues. They will see how one can make a difference by going against the status quo, how a person who strives for perfection and conformity can lead to a downfall, and how one who is not conformed, can elucidate major flaws in a society. .
Hester Prynne holds herself with dignity although she wears and infamous title and lives in a world of public shame. She is sentenced to the scarlet letter 'A' which is known for "adulterer." This badge of humiliation serves as a constant reminder of her sin. Although this title is meant to bring shame upon Hester, she ultimately uses it as leverage for her greater good. Hester is given the opportunity to leave town and start a new life for her and her child, but she chooses stay for this "had been the scene of her guilt, and here should be the scene of her earthly punishment" (Hawthorne 74). She believes that "perchance, the torture of her daily shame would at length purge her soul, and work another purity"(74). This proves that Hester does not want to be who society deems her to be, but rather through the acceptance of her sin, she will become something better than that of what she was.