...November 2014 Power of Guilt In modern society, concealing guilt is often given a negative connotation, however, the implications that are associated with guilt and sins are human creations. Guilt, the result of shameful mistakes, is associated with infirmity, cowardice, and self-centeredness due to the fear of exposure. These three mesmerizing works, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Pie” by Gary Soto and, “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, address the theme of guilt and the consequences of concealing one’s guilt. The Scarlet Letter considered one of the most famous of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, is set in the1850s in Boston, Massachusetts. The plot revolves around a Puritan community and a woman named Hester. “The Pie”, written in Fresno, California in 1991, is an autobiographical narrative that illustrates Soto’s sin when he steals a pie from the grocery store and experiences the feeling of guilt along with a few other consequences. “The Crucible” was written in 1953 and exposes the truths about the Salem Witchcraft trials, in Massachusetts. Ultimately, through their respective protagonists’ acts of aggression and violations of boundaries, authors Hawthorne, Soto, and Miller illustrate that the guilt derived from sin itself, especially if concealed from society, can cause emotional and mental torture, leading to everlasting internal punishment, and an increase in remorseful feelings. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne depicts the consequences of concealing transgression...
Words: 1811 - Pages: 8
...Guilt can make you do things that aren’t the best for your situation and make problems worse. These two stories that are a part of this essay are two ideas of what guilt can make you do. In the Monkey’s Paw and the Tell-Tale Heart, their cause-and-effect relationship is that being greedy or selfish can cause guilt and the feeling of suspense from the guilt causes them to do things that aren’t sensible. Consequently, guilt and the reaction to guilt causes complications. In the Monkey’s Paw, the White family was selfish and wish for money. As a consequence, their son was killed causing them to feel remorse. Mrs. White felt miserable and thoughtlessly wanted her son back no matter the cost; even though she saw the consequences to the last wish....
Words: 544 - Pages: 3
...floor. You decide to pick it up. Could this affect the rest of your life? The short story “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe and the song “Tomorrow” by Sixx A.M. bot show that everything you do has consequences. In the beginning of the story, the narrator convinces readers that he isn’t sick. We then find out that he killed a man and started hearing the dead man’s heartbeat in his head which leads him to feel guilty. The speaker in the song talks about the listener’s future and the consequences it will have. The theme: Everything you do has consequences is shown through the symbol of the heartbeat in the short story and the repetition of the word “tomorrow” in the song. Although the theme is arrived in different ways in each sources, they have the same theme: Everything you do has consequences. At the end of “The Tell-Tale Heart”, the narrator talks about hearing the dead man’s heartbeat. Obviously he isn’t hearing an actual heartbeat, the heartbeat is a symbol for the guilt the narrator is feeling. Poe writes, “‘But why does his heart not stop beating?! Why does it not stop!?’”, this supports the theme because it shows that you cannot escape the consequences that your...
Words: 624 - Pages: 3
...Guilt is a cage that imprisons individuals because they are unable to forgive their misdeeds; the only way to free themselves is redemption. In Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, guilt consistently plagues Amir, as he betrays his closest friend, Hassan, when they were teenagers. Now a grown man living in America, Amir receives a call from Rahim Khan, his father’s business partner, telling him to return to war-torn Afghanistan for a final chance of redemption by saving his innocent nephew’s life. Through examining Amir’s tumultuous life, Hosseini suggests that in order to be free of guilt, one must suffer the consequences of their actions, admit their mistakes, and redeem themselves. By suffering the consequences of his misdeeds, Amir takes a crucial step to absolving himself of guilt. After abandoning Hassan and allowing Assef to rape Hassan, Amir begins to...
Words: 664 - Pages: 3
...Hawthorne’s Judgment of Sin and Punishment Based on the Puritan Belief As Seen in “Scarlet Letter” Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Puritan background and his hometown of Salem, Massachusetts strongly influenced his stories and writing style. Many of Hawthorne’s stories hold ties to the past and characterize the Puritan society, including Scarlet Letter. Puritans followed “their own rigorous moral and religious strictures…” , which led many Puritans to believe most people are inherently evil and deserve punishment (Hunt 26). Puritans believed sin’s “penalty thereof is death” (Hawthorne 59). In Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne characterized the Puritan view of sin, the punishment of sin, and how the punishment of sin revealed Hester’s courage, but led to Dimmesdale’s demise. Hester and Dimmesdale committed the same sin and “while Hester’s sin is noticeable to all, Dimmesdale’s sin is hidden”(Londhe 2). The sin itself does not alter Hester and Dimmesdale as much as it altered how the individual copes with sin and the punishment that follows the sin. The Puritan belief system influenced Hawthorne’s writing even though he “took Puritan doctrine and psychologized it”(Barna 3). Hawthorne felt the Puritan belief lacked a tolerance for sin, and “he dwelt on the cruelty of Puritans in his works” (Barna 2). Puritan’s believed everyone sinned and Hawthorne’s Puritan background led him to address sin in his writing. The common belief of the time states that “man is born into his world basically...
Words: 2200 - Pages: 9
...Estep 1 Chastidy Estep Mr. Horn Eng. 241 14 February 2013 It can be concluded that the consequences of sin is the theme of Nathaniel Hawthorne's, The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne explored this theme by four distinctive levels of sin. Although each level was equally displayed throughout the novel, the communal sin of man's inhumanity to man outranked all else. The primary characters are each guilty of one or more of the following levels of sin; the sin of vengeance, the sin of hypocrisy, and the sin of adultery. In the beginning of the novel, it is revealed that Hester Prynne is guilty of adultery. One of the consequences for her sin is a prison term. Secondly, she had a child, a baby who was conceived from lust rather than love. Hester named this child Pearl, meaning of great value. Thirdly, Hester was condemned to wear the scarlet letter, upon her bosom, for all to recognize her as one who has met with the black man in the forest. Fourth, she was made to stand in public ignominy as the townsmen mocked her.(Bercovitch, S, 1991) Although the magistrates tried to make Hester Prynne reveal her accomplice, she kept his name unknown. As one may have guessed, from the hints given throughout the novel, Arthur Dimmesdale was also guilty of adultery. However, he did not confess his sin until it was too late. Dimmesdale continued his ministry in the church, as a hypocrite, concealing his sin. Nevertheless, his guilty conscience drove him to a manic-depressive state of mind. Dimmesdale...
Words: 1290 - Pages: 6
...The darkness is closing in on all sides and breath comes only in short painful gasps. The same words repeat; they are inescapable. They think in an eternal loop, ‘It’s my fault. It’s my fault. It’s my fault.’ Guilt is one of the most destructive forces in the universe, rated just above bullets and just below nuclear weapons. It eats away at the mind, and brings even the strongest of humanity to a screeching halt, for nothing can hurt someone quite like themselves. The Poisonwood Bible, a novel by national humanities award winner Barbara Kingsolver, presents a poignant example of the effects of guilt and its sister, blame. In this novel, Kingsolver indubitably exposes the fact that not only can guilt be placed upon those who need not be guilty,...
Words: 1126 - Pages: 5
...many, the most vital concept is the feeling of guilt. There are many instances that show the power guilt has played on the main characters, but there are three examples that show it the best. Firstly, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are overwhelmed by the visions of blood after the murder of King Duncan. The blood is seen as the guilt they cannot overcome. Secondly, the Ghost of Banquo indicates the remorse Macbeth feels over killing his good friend. Although Banquo’s ghost may not exist, Macbeth’s guilt is making him see it. Lastly, Lady Macbeth begins sleepwalking, and then later commits suicide, all because of the burden of her guilt. The guilt is the consequence both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth will have to live with until they go to their graves. Once Macbeth and Lady Macbeth accomplish their quest to kill King Duncan, their feelings of guilt become conspicuous. The blood from killing King Duncan indicates their guilt, and they begin to feel that the murder will stain them and that they will be unable to be washed clean. The blood covers their hands, bodies and clothes, and as they try to wash it away, their guilt and pain becomes evident. “Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas in incarnadine, Making the green one red." (Shakespeare, Act 2, Scene 2) The blood smeared across Macbeth’s hands from the awful crime he committed expresses the guilt he feels. He killed a man so he could have a better...
Words: 837 - Pages: 4
...The Positives and Negatives of Guilt and Shame Guilt and shame has an important effect on everyone’s life in one way or another. Guilt and shame is all around us. Everyone makes their own decisions in life. Sometimes bad decisions don’t have guilt or shame to follow, but most of the time it comes back in the end. Charles Dickens uses the guilt and shame concept through many to show how a huge effect can never truly and completely go away as seen through Magwitch, Joe and Pip. To begin with, Magwitch is a character that tries not to look at his guilt and shame by looking at the bright side of things and not think about his guilt and shame. For example, in Charles Dicken’s book, Great Expectations, Magwitch responds to Pip’s arrival with food...
Words: 872 - Pages: 4
...He is desperately searching for a way out because the effects of what he had done are greater than what he had anticipated. His first tactic is to get rid of Hamlet because Hamlet seems to be the only one confronting him, thus bringing on guilt. Then he looks to justify his actions, by recollecting past victories as King, boosting confidence instead of setting aside pride, and justifying the action with purposeful intent, but ultimately cannot relieve the guilt as he says, “stronger guilt defeats my strong intent” (3:3:44). He describes the severity of his actions by stating, “my offense is rank”...
Words: 760 - Pages: 4
...“Guilt is cancer. Guilt will confine you, torture you, and destroy you as an artist. It's a black wall. It's a thief.” This thoughtful quote by Dave Grohl still holds true today as guilt can affect your state of mind and have the power to negatively alter the way you think without your conscious. This essay will analyse how the titular character in the text, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare struggles to find a way to deal with guilt and how it leads him to dwell on negative thoughts than on positive. As a consequence, his mind becomes entirely obsessed with murder, hatred and depression which affects his judgement and reflects on his actions throughout the novel. In general this text comprehensively uses symbolism of blood, supernatural forces...
Words: 867 - Pages: 4
...Shakespeare to develop the theme of guilt in key scenes in both Macbeth and Hamlet. Guilt is defined as the remorseful awareness of having done something wrong. It was not unusual for Shakespeare to feature a lot of conflicted emotion in his plays, a favourite emotion for Shakespeare to right was guilt and therefore features heavily in his plays; Hamelt and Macbeth included. The use of guilt is often used to make the audience feel sympathy for the character or to change their perspective on the character as a whole; it is also used to drive the plot of the play and to create an atmosphere within the play. Macbeth showcases a lot of guilt to change the tone and atmosphere of the scene and to show how guilt affects religion and beliefs. For example in Act 2 Scene, after Macbeth has killed King Duncan, the audience finds him struggling with the guilt he feels. Shakespeare shows Macbeths guilt through his inability to say ‘Amen’ which would have previously come easily from him. But after killing Duncan Macbeth believes God has turned his back on him because he committed the biggest sin- Regicide- and have gone against the divine right of kings and so would no longer be under the protection of God. Furthermore, in his mini-soliloquy in Act 3 Scene 1 Macbeths says the murder of King Duncan “put rancours in the vessel of my peace”. This shows he is being tormented with a constant reminder of his crime and sins and this can be perceived as guilt coming out by the audience. Another...
Words: 1110 - Pages: 5
...The Kite Runner shows that loss of innocence has devastating consequences on a person’s life. Khaled Hosseini’s, The Kite Runner, demonstrates the way in which the loss of virtue can tarnish a person’s life and have severe ramifications. Innocence can be tainted by traumatic childhood events; however, the person’s ability to move past this experience is determined by their strength and willingness to do so. Many people, who have lost their virtue, possess the mental stamina to move past their experiences and ease the impact it has on their life. Hassan is a character who compellingly reflects this notion. On the other hand, the main protagonist Amir believes he is unable to escape the guilt of his betrayal. It is his perpetual focus on his past that ultimately exacerbates the impact of his tarnished innocence on his life. However as time progresses, the impact his loss has on his life acts as an impetus to recovering and provides Amir with the motivation to move on and overcome the past experiences. At times people choose to chase the loss of innocence and willingly welcome the consequences it brings. Often the ramifications appear devastating to external figures but to individual the effects and desired. Assef evocatively reflects this idea and uses his loss of innocence to impose his corrupt sentiments onto others. Although a loss of virtue can result in severe repercussions in an individual’s life, their internal motivation and strength to overcome its impact allows them...
Words: 1100 - Pages: 5
...In the short story “Kansas,” by Stephen Dobyns, a young man makes a decision during his journey to summer school that destroys his life. On his way back to school, the young man decided to hitchhike on country roads in Kansas. A farmer, who was on a mission to kill his wife, picked him up. The boy debated on attempting to sway the farmer away from his decision of murdering his wife, but instead he promised not to tell anyone; the boy was too afraid of the consequences that would come with stopping the farmer on his mission. The boy was dropped off in town; as he continued his journey to summer school, he listened for gunshots, but left not knowing the result of the situation. He kept his promise to the farmer and did not tell anyone, but the unknown outcome of the wife and her companion haunted him till death. The author, Stephen Dobyns, wanted to express the truth of the price of guilt, he wanted to point out that people have to deal with past mistakes in a way...
Words: 756 - Pages: 4
...the murder of Jews. Browning discussed a transition period for the Battalion where they became hardened by their surrounding and became accustomed to the killing. This transition period was never present in Hoess’ memoire and therefore one must conclude that he never had the same struggles of a man coming to grips with murder. The need to follow orders is also prevalent in both Browning and Hoess’ works but in Brownings’ investigation it is shown that orders did not have to be followed and routinely were abandoned. This idea is never mentioned in Hoess’ memoire and he takes the idea of orders beyond what it really was at the time to justify his own actions. The feelings of guilt clearly shown by the men in Battalion 101 are not present in Hoess’ memoire and where he does describe his own personal guilt it is impossible to verify making it...
Words: 2961 - Pages: 12
