Scarlet Letter And Crucible Comparison Essay Research

Scarlet Letter And Crucible Comparison Essay, Research Paper

When the topic of a Puritanical society is brought up, most people think of a

rigorous, conservative, highly devout society. While this may have usually been

the case, this was not always so. The Puritan society was also known not to act

out of brotherly, "Christian love", but to cruelly lash out on those

who sinned or were deemed unfit for society. Two works of literature that

display both aspects of this society very accurately are The Scarlet Letter, by

Nathaniel Hawthorne, and The Crucible, by Arthur Miller. The Scarlet Letter

displays a society that treats two people very differently who commit the sin of

adultery together. The woman, Hester Prynne, admits her sin, is forced to always

wear a scarlet letter "A" on her bosom, and is ostracized from

society. The man, Reverend Dimmesdale, who hides his sin from the world, is

almost worshipped by the townspeople, but is filled with the dishonor of his

action. Hawthorne illustrates how insensitive a Puritan society can be to those

who admit their sinful actions. The Crucible is a play that reveals the story of

the famous witchcraft trials in Salem, Massachusetts. In the story, Abigail

Williams, the orphaned niece of the town?s minister, Reverend Parris, is the

main person who accuses people of sending their spirits on her and the other

girls. What starts as children dancing in the woods leads to the accusation and

execution of many innocent people for witchcraft. The two works of literature,

The Crucible and The Scarlet Letter have very similar qualities, including

setting, difference, and general aspects of the characters, while there are also

specific parallels between characters, such as Abigail and Hester, and Parris

and Dimmesdale. The settings in both The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible are

similar in many ways. The Scarlet Letter takes place around the 1640s, as The

Crucible occurs in 1692. The time period is very important in both pieces,

because it is a time of religious intolerance and a conservative attitude

pervades in New England, where both works of literature take place. This Puritan

setting is also very important in both works of literature. The reason behind

the townspeople persecuting sinners is because of the Puritan beliefs of the

time period. This is the driving force between the actions of the characters.

The setting of a religiously intolerant village is also the main reason behind

the conflict that lies in each plot. The conflicts in both works of literature

are also similar. The same thing, the excessively devout town in which the

setting takes place, causes them both. The conflict in The Scarlet Letter that

occurs between Dimmesdale, Hester, and Chillingworth; is caused by the town?s

intolerance for sinners. Hester?s life is spent in complete loneliness because

of the way the town treats her. Chillingworth, Hester?s past husband, is like

most of the townspeople, because he feels the need to punish and inflict pain on

sinners, especially those who have personally harmed him. Chillingworth tries to

gain revenge on Dimmesdale, the man who commits adultery with his wife. The town?s

desire to seek out and personally condemn sinners is also the source of conflict

in The Crucible. In The Crucible, the townspeople hunt out the witches in the

community as an attempt to rid the town of evil. In both, the conflict is caused

by the town?s self appointed right to rancorously persecute and punish anyone

who is found sinning. The conflict is also similar because both towns are

generally the same. They are both located in the same general area of America,

which causes the people to have similar beliefs and traditions. This includes

the townspeople, and the general aspects of the characters. The general aspects

of characters are also similar in both The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible. Both

have a main antagonist, who wishes to punish sinners. In The Scarlet Letter,

this person is Roger Chillingworth, who wants to gain revenge on Dimmesdale, and

in The Crucible, the antagonist is Abigail Williams, the girl who mainly accuses

the people of being witches. In addition, both works of literature include

ignorant townspeople who contribute to the main conflict. In The Scarlet Letter,

these people are the ones who loathe Hester, but love Reverend Dimmesdale. The

people in Reverend Parris? home while his daughter is sick, and the people in

court in The Crucible are similar to the townspeople in The Scarlet Letter. Part

of this is due to the Puritan setting. This affects the way the people think,

and how they view sinners. One other similarity between the characters are the

similar town figures in each. In The Scarlet Letter, there is a minister,

Dimmesdale, a political figure, Billingham, and one family that the plot focuses

on, which is Hester and Pearl, w

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