The Bearer Of The Fruits Of Sin :: essays research papers

The world of Puritan New England, like the world of today, was modify with many evil influences. Many battalion were able to withstand the temptations of this darker lieu of the spiritual world, but still some fell victim to the hypothetical Satans will. Such offences against God, in thought, word, deed, desire or neglect, atomic number 18 what we define as sin (Schuler 14). In Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter, the reader is able to observe how one and only(a) sin devastates three lives. Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth are alone guilty of succumbing to temptation, anger, and desire, causing all to fit the definition of a sinner. Yet, Chillingworths iniquities raise him up above Hester and Dimmesdale on the level of diabolic good turns.From the very(prenominal) moment Chillingworth is introduced, he is deceitful towards the Puritan society. Chillingworth appears in the novel, seeming to realise nothing of the scene at the scaffold. He asks of a townsperson who is this woman? and consequently is she here to set up to public shame? (Hawhtorne 67). Yet, we find in the next chapter that he indeed knows who Hester is, because Chillingworth is the lawful husband of her. He decieves the people of Boston to avoid the humiliation his wife brought upon him. In this respect, Chillingworth sins against the eight economy, You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour (Schuler 26). Now, one could state that Hester as well sins against the 8th commandment. She never reveals the name of her daughters develop. And it is stated that one must always tell the truth. Yet, it also states that one must slip away a secret whenever asked to do so, and not say anything to damage some others reputation (Schuler 27). So Hester, in accompaniment, did not sin. She never denies that Dimmesdale was the father of Pearl. She also could not admit the truth because she would break a augur to Dimmesdale and damage his reputation. Dimmesdale also may be a ccused of this crime, but likewise, he never outwardly states that he was not the father of this child, he however chooses to remain silent on the matter. While Chillingworth is guilty of breaking the eighth commandment, he also breaks the fifth commandment You shall not kill (Schuler 24). It fact that Chillingworth did not directly kill anyone in the novel. Nevertheless, a serious act of anger or hatred is considered a sin under this commandment (Schuler 25).