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The Scarlet Letter: Who Is The Greatest Sinner? - Online Term Paper

The Scarlet Letter: Who Is The Greatest Sinner?

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Geoffrey Chaucer once said, “ The guilty think all talk is of themselves.” In the case of Hester Prynne, a character in the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, it is true. Hester Prynne is a middle-aged woman who has committed a sin in the Puritan society and is punished by the society to wear a scarlet letter for life. She was often ridiculed by society for her act in sin and was the center of society ignominy. Her sin was adultery, but that is just a prelude to the other sins that she committed. Hester is guilty of three other charges, lack of repentance, being a poor mother and selfishness. With these sins, Hester Prynne will be proven to be the greatest sinner. ...

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was her punishment, and she was to wear it for life. However, on that day in the brook, “she undid the clasp that fastened the scarlet letter, and, taking it from her bosom, threw it to a distance among the withered leaves (p.198).” In doing this, Hester violated her punishment. How can a person who does not acknowledge their punishment be innocent? Can a person who longs for the day she can escape her punishment be innocent? Hester had long to get rid of the letter for seven long years. On the day that Hester and her adulterer planned to flee, her thoughts of leaving her punishment behind were plenty. She couldn’t wait for the moment when “the deep, mysterious ocean will quench and hide forever the symbol which ye [they] have caused to burn on her bosom (p.222).” After all these years, why would someone want to flee? It could have been for Hester and her lover or it could just be an excuse for Hester to rid her sin. Thus, this brings Hester’s next sin, selfishness.
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The Scarlet Letter: Who Is The Greatest Sinner?. (2008, June 10). Retrieved February 1, 2026, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Scarlet-Letter-Who-Greatest-Sinner/85038

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 6/10/2008 05:39:09 PM
Category: Book Reports
Type: Free Paper
Words: 948
Pages: 4

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