"The Scarlet Letter", by Hawthorne and how it relates to the quote from Young Goodman Brown "Evil is the nature of Mankind

Essay by D-Rice DogHigh School, 10th gradeA+, October 1996

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Evil in the Heart of Man

"Evil is the nature of mankind," says the devil in the supernatural tale of 'Young Goodman Brown,' which is written by one of the first men to publish a book based on symbolism. This man is named Nathaniel Hawthorne, whom is most famous for writing the masterpiece, The Scarlet Letter. This quote that Hawthorne has put into "Young Goodman Brown," reflects his deeper meaning and the whole plot of the fore-mentioned, The Scarlet Letter. In this novel, there are three main characters who commit evil and sinful acts, but each act is at a different degree of sinfulness (i.e. the sins get worse as the story goes a-long). These three sinners [in the eyes of the Puritan community] are: the beautiful Hester Prynne, the esteemed Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, and the cold-hearted doctor, Roger Chillingworth. Like Hawthorne I believe that evil is the nature of man but that there are different magnitudes of evil; some choose to fight it, like Hester, and some choose to give in, like Chillingworth.

Hester Prynne, a strong willed and brave woman, in respect to the two additional people, has committed the least amount of sin in the novel. In the eyes of the Puritan community, though, she has committed one of the worst possible sins that can be imagined: adultery. Though, in their eyes, she is horrendously corrupt, it is not truly her fault. Hester is the victim of her husband, Roger Chillingworth's (formerly Roger Prynne) stupidity by sending her to New England by herself, while he remained in Europe. Chillingworth even admitted that it was his fault when he voiced "It was my folly! I have said it. But, up to that epoch of my life, I have lived in vain."(Ch.4, p. 68) Hester is also...