Scarlet Letter And Evil Problem Essays - English-language Films

Scarlet Letter And Evil Problem The virtue of truth and the evil of secret sin are clearly illustrated in the novel, The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The three main characters in this novel display their own honesty and sins. Hester Prynne exhibits the essence of truth and pride when she bravely faces the humiliation of the scaffold. In chapter 17, when Hester apologizes to Dimmesdale about concealing Chillingworth's identity, she says, "In all things else, I have striven to be true! Truth was the one virtue which I might have held, and did hold fast, through all extremity...A lie is never good, even though death threaten on the other side (pg. 202)!" It is Hester's pride, which sustains her from the beginning of the novel to the end, when she dies, still sporting the scarlet A on her bosom. Hester's sin is the sin which gives the book its title and around which the action of the book resolves. Adultery, which was prohibited by the Seventh Amendment, was usually punished by death. A woman in the crowd stated, "At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne's forhead...She may cover it (the scarlet letter) with a brooch, or such like heathenish adornment, and so walk the streets as brave as ever (pg. 53)!" Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale shows truth by his occupation. People living in Boston, Massachusetts looked up to and respected Dimmesdale because he was a minister. One of his sins was his inability to publicly acknowledge that he committed adultery with Hester and that he is the father of Pearl, Hester's daughter. However, adultery was not his biggest sin. His biggest sin is hypocrisy. In chapter ten, he speaks of the concealment of his sins, he says, "It may be that they are kept silent by the very constistution of their nature. Or-can we not suppose it-guilty as they may be, retaining, nevertheless, a zeal for God's glory and man's welfare...no evil of the past be redeemed by better service (pg. 137)." While trying to conceal his sins, they take over his conscience and literally confess themselves during his acts of madness. The third main character, Roger Chillingworth, is a pretty innocent man in the beginning of this book. He comes to America to be reunited with his wife, Hester, but soon comes to find out that she has committed adultery. Chillingworth has however committed two sins also. One of them being against nature. He says, "A man already in decay, having given my best years to feed the hungry dream of knowledge, -what had I to do with youth and beauty like thine own (pg. 77)!" Sin, in actuality, begins to take possession of Chillingworth when he noticed Hester on the scaffold. Chillingworth eventually destroys himself. As he is talking to Hester in chapter fourteen when he has realized what has happened between Hester and Dimmesdale, he says, "Dost thou remember me? Was I not, though you might deem me cold, nevertheless a man thoughtful for others, craving little for himself, -kind, true, just, and of constant, if not warm affections? Was I not all this (pg. 180)?" As shown in the novel, each individual character displayed both senses of truth and evil. Some were less severe than others, but still sins. Overall, a lesson of purity is developed throughout the book.

Strengths and Weaknesses of the European Union essays

Strengths and Weaknesses of the European Union essays The European Union is a result of an effort to build a more unified Europe. Fifty years ago, after World War II, Europeans were seeking out a way to prevent another war as costly as this one had been. This would have to be done in both the economic aspects as well as politically. This would be good for Europe in that everyone would benefit from this unification and more powerful as a whole. The major difficulty to this is going to be the cultural differences between the countries themselves. This could lead different countries to feel as if they have to defend their cultures from attacks and could result in a total loss for this union. The start of the European Coal and Steel Community was proposed by the foreign minister of France, Robert Schuman and consisted of six nations Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. The reason for this unification was to group together all of their coal and steel into a joint market. In years following, Rome Treaties established the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community, which extended this common market to all areas of the economies of these nations. In 1967, these three treaty organizations were collaborated into a single governing body called the European Community. In 1993, the passing of the Maastricht Treaty now called this body the European Union. Currently the Union is comprised of 15 countries. There are many strengths that resulted from this unifying of Europe. First off is the unions ability to promote economic progress by collaborating markets and even the establishment of the Euro (new currency that will be standard throughout Europe). Since its founding in 1952, the economic community has shown to be encouraging. The European Coal and Steel Community resulted in a production increase of 75% in the ECSC nations between 1952 and 1960. One of the biggest economic factors of this uni...

English Renaissance Poetry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

English Renaissance Poetry - Essay Example The connection between art and nature in English poetry had begun and later flourished during the Romantic Period, especially with poets like Wordsworth, Shelly, Keats, Byron, Blake and Clare. "According to Ross, the earlier Renaissance, exemplified by the pastoral poets Sidney, Spencer and Breton, tended to see nature as a norm, art as a corruption (Richard Ross' analysis of Herrick, E. in C, XV, 1965, 171-180)1. But Taylor concludes that 'both Nature and Art were necessary to any accurate, complete view of the world'. Nature needs the nurture of man's art. In sixteenth century, word 'art' had a derogatory sense of 'false or counterfeit imitation.' While describing Temple of Venus, Spencer sees art and nature as working partners2: The synthesis of art and nature is existent throughout, but nowhere it is more apparent than in Book VI. Sidney is another poet/writer who made a great contribution in this direction, as admitted by many scholars over the years. Sidney celebrates poet's power in reinventing the nature. It was a peaceful period in history when there were no wars, arts were flourishing and natural ecology was untouched by man, people were good and just and literature was just emerging out of age-worn clichs. People in rural areas literally lived supported by Nature, and these poets were in tune with them, which can be seen by the harmonious poem The Garden of Marvell. The most per SPENCER AND THE FAIRIE QUEENE: The most perfect way art could imitate nature, is shown by Spencer's works. This English epic poem of Spencer published in 1590 in three books, was an allegorical work praising Queen Elizabeth I. In introducing pastoral kingdom to English literature, Spencer seems to have followed the footsteps of Homer and Virgil (Eclogues). As a matter of fact, all Renaissance humanists followed Virgil's footsteps in their veneration of nature, and combined it in various forms of arts. Sidney said "Pastoral was thought to be the humblest type of poetry" (p.943), and Spencer hoped to be the new pastoral Virgil of Renaissance. Pastoral poetry presents an idealistic picture of rural life, where Nature and Art combine together to create an Utopia or Shangri-la. These poets showed enormous understanding and compassion towards Nature and Art both. Usually it is the result of a humanist education and love for nature, which later reflected in the poetics of William Wordsworth. It has love, seduction, death, mourning, nature's ever-caressing and soothing presence, and the art that stems out of imitating the nature. Spencer's view of nature is always considered to have contained 'contradiction'. In the 8th canto of the 4th book, Spencer gives reasons for the decay of nature, while saying the world 'has runne quite out of square'..the heavenly bodies rove at random, even the sun it is feared, in time, "will us quite forsake". Spencer later gives a more harmonious picture of the nature: In sort as they were formed aunciently; And all things will reduce unto equality. (V.ii.32). In later days, pastoral poetry was strengthened by the mighty Shakespeare, while the early Renaissance poets only managed