True Confessions
Robert A. Heinlein once said, "A long and wicked life followed by five minutes of perfect grace gets you into Heaven." The punishment imposed on one by others is not as destructive as the guilt that person experiences. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the theme of sin to show how when unconfessed, that sin will destroy the sinner's soul. First, Hester also commits the sin of Adultery. She immediately confesses and, therefore, must stand on the scaffold in solitude for three hours and bear her scarlet letters, the actual letter badge and Pearl, to show for it. Both the actual scarlet letter and Pearl symbolize her sin. Although, for seven years she has, been shunned and mocked by the townspeople, they have come to respect her. Through devoting herself to charity and her selflessness, she has gained the respect and the kindness of the townspeople. Hester's scarlet letter has come to represent, "not of that one sin, for which she had borne so long and dreary a penance, but of her many good deeds since" (159). Hester's sin was confessed and she suffered for it on earth, therefore she will be able to spend eternity in Heaven.
He has violated, in cold blood, the sanctity of the human heart" (191). The Pearl kisses him, and "a spell was broken," (251). Had either of these agonies been wanting, I had been lost forever!" (252). Within a year, he died for, "there was no more Devil's work on earth for him to do" (255). When unconfessed, those sins will destroy the sinners' souls. He represents the ultimate evil of the novel. Finally, Dimmesdale commits the sin of adultery. Dimmesdale is "haunted was either by Satan himself, or Satan's emmissary, in the guise of old Roger Chillingworth" (124). an epoch of life more brilliant and full of triumph than any previous one, or than any which could hereafter be" (244). As Dimmesdale puts it, "That old man's revenge has been blacker than my sin.
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Acceptance Essays
