The Scarlet Letter
One part of growing up is learning important values that contribute to the person that one wants to become. I find The Scarlet Letter teaches many values which are helpful toward becoming a better person and one step closer to becoming the person that is desired. The Scarlet Letter not only gives you an insight into Puritan times, but it teaches morals and lessons that are very important and are a key part in being a good and well-rounded person. The Scarlet Letter teaches three main values: don't be judgemental, don't hide the truth it will only destroy you, and don't be revengeful.
The first lesson The Scarlet Letter teaches is not to be judgemental. The puritans are very judgmental of Hester. All they think about her is her sin and the scarlet letter. "None so ready as she to give of her little substance to every demand of poverty; even thought the bitter hearted pauper threw back a gibe in requital of the food brought regularly to his door" (112). This shows that even the poor people or the paupers are judging Hester when she is giving so much to them. Even though she is giving them food and clothes they still continue to characterize her by her sin now seven years past. They refuse to see any good she does and they make fun and continue to judge her for her sin. Hester really is one of the most giving, and now moral people after her sin, but no one will recognize this. No one will see the good she does they only see her sin. This should teach people that you should not characterize and judge people by their sins, but that you should characterize and label people according to the good deeds they do. Not to be judgemental is not the only lesson The Scarlet Letter teaches, it also teaches not to hide the truth.
The second lesson The Scarlet Letter teaches us is not to hide the truth. Roger Chillingworth is one key person in The Scarlet Letter. He decides when he arrives and finds out that Hester has had an affair, not to reveal his own identity. Now no one but Roger, and Hester know that they were once husband and wife. When he arrives he finds that Dimmesdale is very sick and consequently he goes to live with him and to help him out. Dimmesdale hasn't been honest either. We find out that Dimmesdale has had an affair with Hester but has not told about it. Roger finds out about the affair and does not tell Dimmesdale that he was once Hester's husband. Instead Roger keeps this inside and becomes filled with revenge. We then slowly see toward the end of the book how Dimmesdale's secret is destroying him and possibly is causing some of his bad health. We see that Dimmesdale even goes as far as to physically punish himself for his secret that he refuses to reveal. "In Mr. Dimmesdale's closet, under lock and key, there was a bloody scourge" (96). By the end of the story Dimmesdale transforms into a small shriveled person who can barely support himself in his thirties. We also see that because Roger Chillingworth does not reveal his identity and that he becomes completely consumed with nothing but revenge. If both these men had just been honest Dimmesdale would not be so quickly deteriorating and Roger would not be wholly consumed in revenge. This lets readers see how keeping secrets can transform them for the worse. The Scarlet Letter not only teaches not to keep secrets but it also teaches not to be consumed with revenge.
The third lesson The Scarlet Letter teaches is not to be consumed with revenge. "But the former aspect of an intellectual and studious man, calm and quiet, which was what she best remembered in him, had altogether vanished, and been succeeded by an eager, searching, almost fierce, yet carefully guarded look. ... There came a glare of red light out of his eyes; as if the old man's soul were on fire and kept on smoldering duskily within his breast...In a word old Roger Chillingworth was a striking evidence of man's faculty of transforming himself into a devil"(122). This shows how revenge can transform people. Roger Chillingworth according to Hester was smart, calm, and quiet. He let revenge transform him into a crazy man who is bent wholly on torturing and revenging Dimmesdale. Hester even goes as far to say that through revenge he is letting the devil work in him. This just shows what revenge does to you. Revenge takes the person you used to be and transforms you into something you never wanted to become. Revenge destroys you.
One way to learn a lesson is to make a mistake and learn from that mistake. While this is a very good way of learning values and lessons there is an easier way. One can look to the examples of others' mistakes, whether fictional or not, and learn from their lesson. This allows the same lesson to be learned but at much less of a price. Seeing that The Scarlet Letter teaches not to be judgemental, not to hide the truth, and not to be revengeful can allow one to learn from these mistakes without having to make them themselves.
One part of growing up is learning important values that contribute to the person that one wants to become. I find The Scarlet Letter teaches many values which are helpful toward becoming a better person and one step closer to becoming the person that is desired. The Scarlet Letter not only gives you an insight into Puritan times, but it teaches morals and lessons that are very important and are a key part in being a good and well-rounded person. The Scarlet Letter teaches three main values: don't be judgemental, don't hide the truth it will only destroy you, and don't be revengeful.
The first lesson The Scarlet Letter teaches is not to be judgemental. The puritans are very judgmental of Hester. All they think about her is her sin and the scarlet letter. "None so ready as she to give of her little substance to every demand of poverty; even thought the bitter hearted pauper threw back a gibe in requital of the food brought regularly to his door" (112). This shows that even the poor people or the paupers are judging Hester when she is giving so much to them. Even though she is giving them food and clothes they still continue to characterize her by her sin now seven years past. They refuse to see any good she does and they make fun and continue to judge her for her sin. Hester really is one of the most giving, and now moral people after her sin, but no one will recognize this. No one will see the good she does they only see her sin. This should teach people that you should not characterize and judge people by their sins, but that you should characterize and label people according to the good deeds they do. Not to be judgemental is not the only lesson The Scarlet Letter teaches, it also teaches not to hide the truth.
The second lesson The Scarlet Letter teaches us is not to hide the truth. Roger Chillingworth is one key person in The Scarlet Letter. He decides when he arrives and finds out that Hester has had an affair, not to reveal his own identity. Now no one but Roger, and Hester know that they were once husband and wife. When he arrives he finds that Dimmesdale is very sick and consequently he goes to live with him and to help him out. Dimmesdale hasn't been honest either. We find out that Dimmesdale has had an affair with Hester but has not told about it. Roger finds out about the affair and does not tell Dimmesdale that he was once Hester's husband. Instead Roger keeps this inside and becomes filled with revenge. We then slowly see toward the end of the book how Dimmesdale's secret is destroying him and possibly is causing some of his bad health. We see that Dimmesdale even goes as far as to physically punish himself for his secret that he refuses to reveal. "In Mr. Dimmesdale's closet, under lock and key, there was a bloody scourge" (96). By the end of the story Dimmesdale transforms into a small shriveled person who can barely support himself in his thirties. We also see that because Roger Chillingworth does not reveal his identity and that he becomes completely consumed with nothing but revenge. If both these men had just been honest Dimmesdale would not be so quickly deteriorating and Roger would not be wholly consumed in revenge. This lets readers see how keeping secrets can transform them for the worse. The Scarlet Letter not only teaches not to keep secrets but it also teaches not to be consumed with revenge.
The third lesson The Scarlet Letter teaches is not to be consumed with revenge. "But the former aspect of an intellectual and studious man, calm and quiet, which was what she best remembered in him, had altogether vanished, and been succeeded by an eager, searching, almost fierce, yet carefully guarded look. ... There came a glare of red light out of his eyes; as if the old man's soul were on fire and kept on smoldering duskily within his breast...In a word old Roger Chillingworth was a striking evidence of man's faculty of transforming himself into a devil"(122). This shows how revenge can transform people. Roger Chillingworth according to Hester was smart, calm, and quiet. He let revenge transform him into a crazy man who is bent wholly on torturing and revenging Dimmesdale. Hester even goes as far to say that through revenge he is letting the devil work in him. This just shows what revenge does to you. Revenge takes the person you used to be and transforms you into something you never wanted to become. Revenge destroys you.
One way to learn a lesson is to make a mistake and learn from that mistake. While this is a very good way of learning values and lessons there is an easier way. One can look to the examples of others' mistakes, whether fictional or not, and learn from their lesson. This allows the same lesson to be learned but at much less of a price. Seeing that The Scarlet Letter teaches not to be judgemental, not to hide the truth, and not to be revengeful can allow one to learn from these mistakes without having to make them themselves.
2 comments:
I like the way you wrote this, Natalie; the calm/caring tone you use makes this a very persuasive piece. Nice job!
Btw, did you realize that in the lower half of your second paragraph, you left a comment from Mrs. Turner in there? Lol.. just thought I should let you know.
:)
Natalie, awesome job on this essay! I love the lessons you chose to write about. They are definitely important in our world today. Keep up the great work!
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