The Scarlet Letter Essay, Research Paper

Seven years ago, my brother made a terrible mistake. He slept with a

woman named Hester Prynne, and she became pregnant with a child. I am

talking about the great Reverend Dimmesdale. The problem is that he has not

taken responsibility for his actions for seven years. Hester Prynne was

already married and her husband was away in England taking care of some

business. By sleeping with her, he helped her commit adultery and sinned in

front of God. I am the only other one who knows his secret besides Hester.

It has been a secret for too long and now it is time for him to confess.

This relationship may have been caused by a number of factors. One

factor is that Hester was lonely. Her husband had been away for a long time

and she had no one else to be with. Hester and Reverend Dimmesdale did

not think of the consequences of their actions. They did not predict that a

child would be born, but it happened. They may also have fell in love and

couldn’t wait until Hester’s husband returned. The fact is that it was a

mistake. As a result of their relationship, Hester became pregnant. The

whole town then found out that she committed adultery. She was sentenced

to wear a scarlet letter “A” to humiliate her the rest of her life. She was

shunned by the town and forced to live a lonely life. Meanwhile,

Dimmesdale did not receive any punishment, but he has had to live with the

secret for seven years.

This demonstrates the consequences of sin. There is no decision that

does not come with some kind of consequence. This consequence can be

good or bad, depending on the decision made. In my brother’s case, the

consequence was not good. Outwardly, it seems as if Hester was the only

one to receive the consequences for her actions. But the knowledge of the

secret burns inside the Reverend. Each day he tells me how it tortures him

inside. Yet he refuses to confess and let the public know his shame.

The only way for him to stop the torture is to tell the public his secret.

If not for himself, then he must do it for Hester. She does not deserve to be

alone in her ignominy and embarrassment. She did not commit the crime by

herself. It is not fair for a poor, lonely women to be alone for the rest of her

life. It is also not fair to the child, Pearl. Pearl deserves to know who her

father is and not be lied to her whole life. Pearl committed no crime, yet she

has to suffer the consequence of her mother’s actions. She at least deserves a

father to be by her side.

By telling the town of his secret, my brother will be tortured inside no

more. He will also take some of the shame off of Hester and put it upon

himself. He is one of the well respected members of the community and can

help convince people not to be so hard on Hester Prynne. He can explain

what happened and why it happened. This way people may understand the

situation better and not be so quick to judge. A confession from the

Reverend Dimmesdale may be seven years too late, but late is better than

never.

This solution is the best and only way for my brother to absolve

himself of sin. No matter what he says or does, God will always know what

he did. If he were to run away from the problem, it would still be torturing

him inside. He need to let out all of his emotions and face his fears. The is

the only way he will be able to respect himself. By taking responsibility for

his actions, he also asks for forgiveness from Hester. She deserves an

apology after being put through her shame for seven long years.