Free Essay on Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter - Shades of Truth :: Scarlet Letter essays

Shades of Truth in The Scarlet Letter    No one is perfect and no one is exactly the same. Everyone sins, and that includes telling lies. Most everyone lies at some point, whether it be to cover something up or just make someone feel better. Or it can be both. We as people are very afraid of being judged in a bad way, so if a person does something sinful or shunned upon, they lie about it to keep their reputations protected. This opinion based on anothers life decisions is a hypocritical decision. We don't want it happening to us, however we do it when we hear gossip about others in our community. This is because people are very judgemental. This wasn't just applicable in 1650, or even 1850 when The Scarlet Letter was written, but it is still something that is going on today not only in America, but right here in North Central High School. Though most people know the difference between the truth and a lie, Nathaniel Hawthorne establishes that many people have different perceptions of truth because of denial, reaction to jud gement, and differences in moralities in the epic tale of The Scarlet Letter.    Many people deny their emotions, especially strict Puritans. They sell themselves to God and live for no one or thing else. They are givers, not takers, which is an admirable trait to some, but not Romanticist Hawthorne. In the novel The Scarlet Letter, there are strict Puritans like these. Hester Prynne is one example. She, like everyone in the world, commited a sin. However, it was a considerably bad sin: adultery. Even if the option, which wasn't presented to the reader, that her and Arthur Dimmesdale (her adulterer) were in love, it wouldn't have mattered because she would've felt bad anyway (Even though she didn't love her husband) the same thing would have come from it: complete and utter misery for everyone involved in the sin. This was because she denied HER emotions and went with whatever she thought God wanted her to do. Another example of denial blocking one similar definition of truth is Arthur Dimmesdale. He denied his past to have a better future. However, that didn't s eem to work because he killed himself in the end to stop his melancholy. He denied himself to his congregation and community. By violating the dignity of his position as a minister, he chose to violate it further by not telling anyone.