In The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible, you may find similar themes in these novels The Scarlet Letter features Hester Prynne that commits a shameful sin, that being adultery. Related to The Scarlet Letter, In The Crucible concerns a group of girls that are said to also commit a shameful sin, which is witchcraft. However the children lie and say and said that all they did was “dance” in the woods. Even though both these novels have different plots, themes or ideas including, adultery and witchcraft, committing sins, and symbolism of forest and town views are shared both The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible.
The forest and the town was the main common theme in both books. In the forest, the characters found privacy and freedom. In The Crucible the character practiced witchcraft, just like Mistress Hibbons, the governor’s sister in the Scarlet Letter, also was left alone in the forest to practice her witch craft. Not only was the forest a place for isolation, it was the place where the Black Man, or the devil, lived. The forest was viewed as a place where the outcasts wandered in both books. Not only was the forest a main setting in both novels, the town had a huge impact in The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible on the way life should be run. The town’s Puritan society, which was common in both the books, exposed a set life style in which the towns people had to follow in order to be accepted. If the policies were not followed, the character or characters were judged and looked down upon. Hester was viewed as the town’s hussy because of her committing adultery.
The Essay on The Scarlet Letter – Symbols Displaying Character Emotions
Nathanial Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter uses many different types of symbols throughout his book to portray the feelings and emotions of the characters. Hester, the main character of the book, is filled with many feelings, including pride and acceptance, surrounding her sin of adultery. Many of the people around Hester also reflect similar emotions and feelings and are reflected by the author ...
Also John Proctor, a local farmer who lives just outside town, commits adultery with Abigail Williams, one of the girls that were supposedly “dancing” in the forest. In addition to adultery being looked down upon in The Crucible, anyone who practiced witchcraft such as John Proctor, Martha Corey, and other characters, were hanged, too. In order to save their lives, the group of girls who were said to be practicing witch craft in the forest lied in order to be accepted in the society and so their lives would be saved. Instead, they accused of different people in the town practicing witch craft. Similar to this concept, in The Scarlet Letter, Mr. Dimmesdale, the man who Hester committed adultery with, also kept his secret in, in order to save his reputation in the town.
Since he was the Minister of the town, he did not want to admit to the most shameful sin, and instead kept the guilt inside throughout the whole novel. In the end, both books have similarities in the symbolic meanings of the forest and town. Overall, The Crucible and The Scarlet Letter share common themes and ideas. Common similarities included adultery and witch craft. However the main theme that both novels shared was the symbolic value and themes that were associated with the forest and the town. In all, reader might see that adultery, witchcraft and the settings, the town and forest, of The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible are alike.
