The Scarlett letter and The Crucible have many similar themes. Three of these themes are religion, vengeance, and sin. The authors of these works used these themes to express the extreme situations that occurred during the late 1600s, and in a certain way to mock the Puritan lifestyle.
             One of the most important aspects of every Puritan's life was religion. The 10 Commandments were to be followed, and when a person violated them, strict consequences were put in to play. In The Scarlett Letter, Hester commits adultery. She is publicly humiliated for this and is known throughout the town for this. In The Crucible, the idea of worshipping false gods is the issue. The people who have "committed" this act are harassed by the rest of the town and also publicly shamed. The Church was threatened by these offenders of the commandments and did what it could to stop them. They sometimes accused the wrong people, yet to the church, it was more important to be overly strict than to be the opposite. Abigail (The Crucible) was so afraid of being convicted, that she began randomly accusing others of witchcraft. Extreme penalties were imposed because although they had no proof, the corrupt church did not want these people potentially around.
             Another recurring theme is vengeance. In The Scarlett Letter, Chillingworth vows to find the father of Pearl and take revenge. This is one of the first things that happens in the book, and the rest of the book is sort of built around this idea. In The Crucible, revenge was taken by Proctor. Abigail wanted his wife to die because she wanted Proctor to herself. When he then was put to death, in an odd way he was taking revenge on her, costing him his own life.
             Probably the most prominent theme in these works is sin. Sin was frowned upon by the Puritan culture and when it did occur, it was done publicly. Hester Prynn (Scarlett Letter) wore the letter "A" on her shoulder, for adulterer...