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Theocracy And Guilt And Punishment In The Scarlet Letter - Online Term Paper

Theocracy And Guilt And Punishment In The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s venerated psychological novel, The Scarlet Letter, is about the life a woman who is punished by a theocratic society. She is persecuted because she rebelled against the rules of this society. One major concept Hawthorne used in his novel is theocratic domination. The theocratic society dominated all of life with its rules and regulations. Those who were nonsubmissive to their rules would face harsh and humiliating punishment. Guilt and punishment is a system engendered by theocratic domination as a way to control and manipulate the people it dictated over. By placing guilt on people for their sin and punishing them if they were insubordinate to the rules, a ...

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and used fear of sin to dominate the minds and lives of its people. This concept of theocratic domination is presented in the novel in several different forms. It is shown in the actions of town officials, enforcing the laws of the bible and punishing those who go against biblical law. This is shown when they punish Hester Pryne for committing the sin of adultery. Theocratic Domination is also presented by how the thoughts and thinking patterns of characters are affected by the laws and ideals of the society. This is shown in Dimmesdale and how he punishes himself for his sin of adultery because society tells him that this is an evil and unacceptable act. It is also presented in the appearance of the town’s people and the town itself. The town’s people all wore very plain clothing, showing the virtue of humbleness that is often glorified in the bible, and the town is centered around the church building and the jail showing the emphasis on religion and punishment.
Throughout ...

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they think the way the theocracy wants them to think. Theocratic domination is also seen in the strength that its ideals have over its people. This is shown when Dimmesdale returns from the forest. In the forest he feels free and happy because he could forget his sin. However, as soon as he returned to the town again, the guilt that he felt for his sin returned. He thought that he had sold his soul in the forest because he had for a moment forgotten his sin. This shows the great strength that the theocracy has over the minds of the people, and how it influences their thinking.
The theme of guilt and punishment is an important component to theocratic domination. It is the tool of ...

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 1/30/2006 02:41:49 AM
Category: Book Reports
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 2153
Pages: 8

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