Consequences Resulting from Decisions
             With every decision or action that is made, comes an outcome. One's principles can have an impact on how the person lives his or her life. As Hester Prynne did, one can choose to follow principles that are true and bear their consequences. Another choice is to hold back principles because of the consequences involved, such as Arthur Dimmesdale. Lastly, one could do as Roger Chillingworth did and ignore the principles in order to secure revenge. Whether or not a person acts on principles, the path he or she chooses to take has consequences involved.
             Hester Prynne was the one character of The Scarlet Letter that stuck to her principles from the beginning and dealt with their consequences. Her strongest principle was to remain loyal to the guilty man, Dimmesdale, because she still loved him. 'Speak out the name! That and thy repentance may avail to take the Scarlet Letter off thy breast' (64). Hester knew that if she just revealed her secret lover's identity, she would not have to bear the shame alone and would not have to wear the red A. Bravely, Hester does not give the name of the man so that his reputation does not become ruined and chooses to face the punishments alone. Another principle was to repentance, which was done in the form of charity work so that she could show others she was truly sorry for her sin. However, charity work did not wipe Hester clean of her sin and she was still looked down upon by everyone, including the poor. "The poor, whom she sought out to be the objects of her bounty, often reviled the hand that was stretched forth to succor them" (78). Even though Hester tried to help the poor and make them garments, all she obtained in return was abusive language. One last principle was to leave the New World with Pearl and Dimmesdale in order to escape their misery. The consequences of this idea would have gave
             them...