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I Am A Man More Sinned Against and The Scarlet Letter - Online Essay

I Am A Man More Sinned Against and The Scarlet Letter

Mayokun Oshinowo

"I am a man more sinn'd against than sinning" from King Lear means that a character feels his/her punishment is greater than his/her sin. This statement can apply to characters in many other literary works, but an archetypical example of this is Pearl, Hester and Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter. These three characters are directly and indirectly alienated or mistreated in some way.

Pearl is an innocent child but is labeled illegitimate because of her mother's affair. According to the town the sin she has committed is being born. She is forced to constantly wonder why the community sees her as a freak and an outcast; more importantly, she wonders why she cannot be ...

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does not deserve to wear an "A" as a symbol of what she has done, especially because a child is involved. Moreover, the Puritan community has sinned against her because they do not give her even the slightest glimmer of hope for repentance or forgiveness. The townspeople permanently brand her with the letter that essentially becomes who she is. Hester is more than an adulterer, she is a mother to Pearl and leads her onto a path where she will not make the same mistakes her mother has made.

The Reverend Dimmesdale is another character who is "more sinn'd against than sinning" because he commits the same offense as Hester, and like her he is punished unfairly. However, while Hester is publicly punished for her crime, Dimmesdale is not. Because Dimmesdale is not publically punished, he feels so intensely guilty that he tries to repent and cleanse his soul. In addition, Dimmesdale stays up all night standing on the scaffold struggling to gain the nerve to admit his wrongdoing. ...

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I Am A Man More Sinned Against and The Scarlet Letter. (2012, December 3). Retrieved January 7, 2026, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/I-Am-Man-More-Sinned-Against/102093

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"I Am A Man More Sinned Against and The Scarlet Letter." Essayworld.com. December 3, 2012. Accessed January 7, 2026. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/I-Am-Man-More-Sinned-Against/102093.

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 12/3/2012 09:41:29 PM
Submitted By: motheshow
Category: English
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 539
Pages: 2

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