Reader Response Essay
             Nathaniel Hawthorne, relative of the cruel Judge Hathorne, set out to write a novel about the consequence of sin. The main theme that I brought from Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, was that there are consequences for negative actions, and doing good can yield positive results. This was exemplified through the actions of the various characters, and how it affected them.
             Hester was a great example on the consequence of sin. In the beginning of the book, Hester was in disarray because her sin was open. She was feeling the consequences of her sin through the community, like when the ministers would write a sermon on adultery whenever she went to church, or how the people would point to her and talk about her whenever she would walk by. Later on, Hester becomes more accepted by the community through her helping the sick, poor, and dying. I think that this also shows the reward of being good, and "helping thy fellow man". Hester also started to stray from the path of good, when she suggested that she and Dimmesdale would run away together, she was discouraged when she found out that Chillingworth planned to follow them. This showed me that just planning to do something bad would lead to more pain. The story of Hester shows that when she has committed evil and sinned, then there have been penalties for her mistakes, but when she tries to make up for her mistakes, she is able to shine.
             Chillingworth, who had been Dr. Prinn, also sees the consequence of sin. Chillingworth didn't commit the major sin in the beginning, but his sin of evil grew to where the consequence was his life. Chillingworth's sin started when he saw Hester in the jail with Pearl, and he made a promise, that he would read the A on her partner's heart. This meant that instead of practicing the Christian ideal of forgiving, he took it upon himself to torture another. By doing this, he committed a sin of...