Warning: Use of undefined constant referer - assumed 'referer' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 102

Warning: Use of undefined constant host - assumed 'host' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 105

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 106

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 109
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 ...

Want to read the rest of this paper?
Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay
and over 50,000 other term papers

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. ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays.
Write better papers. Get better grades.


Already a member? Login


CITE THIS PAGE:

I Am A Man More Sinned Against and The Scarlet Letter. (2012, December 3). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/I-Am-Man-More-Sinned-Against/102093
"I Am A Man More Sinned Against and The Scarlet Letter." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 3 Dec. 2012. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/I-Am-Man-More-Sinned-Against/102093>
"I Am A Man More Sinned Against and The Scarlet Letter." Essayworld.com. December 3, 2012. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/I-Am-Man-More-Sinned-Against/102093.
"I Am A Man More Sinned Against and The Scarlet Letter." Essayworld.com. December 3, 2012. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/I-Am-Man-More-Sinned-Against/102093.
JOIN NOW
Join today and get instant access to this and 50,000+ other essays


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

Save | Report

SHARE THIS PAPER

SAVED ESSAYS
Save and find your favorite essays easier

SIMILAR ESSAYS
» Scarlett Letter Log Of Chapter
Copyright | Cancel | Contact Us

Copyright © 2024 Essayworld. All rights reserved