Cover
Brandon Bell Re-Write
Peer Editor: Danielle DeRamon she helped me change my thesis and reword
sentences and ideas for the better.
What I need to Work On: Using stronger language; possibly using a thesaurus,
avoiding run-on sentences, checking for spelling and grammatical errors, and
circumventing the usage of ambiguous pronouns.
Changes Hard to make: rewording sentences so they had the same meaning, but
were grammatically correct.
Next time: I will reread what I had written in detail, I would go back through my
essay changing words with a thesaurus, and I will phrase ideas in an organized and
understandable order.
Bell 1
Brandon Bell
Ms. Crawford
English 11H P5
28 September 2012
Outline for Private vs. Public Guilt
I.
Thesis: Throughout the Scarlet Letter, Hester has to bear the Scarlet Letter
for committing adultery, while her partner Dimmesdale only has to face
himself.
A. Topic Sentence: Hester is publically shamed and humiliated for her sin.
a. Sin: She had an affair, and everybody knows about it. “Behold, verily, there is the woman of the scarlet letter: and of
truth, moreover, there is the likeliness of the scarlet letter
running along by her side! Come, therefore, and let us fling
mud at them.” (Chapter 7)
b. Shame: Publically humiliated, but given the opportunity to
repent, and regain the people’s confidence in her. “Individuals
in private life, meanwhile, had quite forgiven Hester Prynne for
her frailty; nay, more, the began to look upon the scarlet letter
as the token, not of tat one sin for which she had borne so long
and dreary a penance, but of her man good deeds since.”
(Chapter 13)
c. Purpose: Shows her the negative effect of her actions, and how
she can learn from it “Nevertheless, this badge hath taught me
– it daily teaches me at this moment – lessons whereof my
child may be wiser and better, albeit they cam profit nothing to
myself.” (Chapter 8)
B. Topic Sentence: Dimmesdale is eaten alive with his own cowardice
a. Courage: Too scared for his reputation to turn himself in
"'People say,' said another, 'that the Reverend Master
Dimmesdale, her godly pastor, takes it very grievously to his
heart that such a scandal has come upon his congregation.'"
(Chapter 2)
b. Shame: Privately tearing himself apart the young minister at
once came forward, pale, and holding his hand over his heart,
as was his custom whenever his peculiarly nervous
temperament was thrown into agitation. He looked now more
careworn and emaciated than as we described him at the scene
of Hester’s public ignominy; and whether it were his failing
health, or whatever the cause might be, his large dark eyes had
a world of pain in their troubled and melancholy depth.
(Chapter 8)
c. Purpose: To eat him alive for not revealing his secrets and
taking the punishment like a man. "Most of the spectators
testified to having seen, on the breast of the unhappy minister a
scarlet letter - the very semblance of that worn by Hester
Prynne - imprinted in the flesh" (chapter 24)
Essay
Throughout the Scarlet Letter, the readers watch private guilt slowly torture
Dimmesdale while Hester’s public guilt slowly changes Hester for the better. Tiger
Woods resembles Dimmesdale with his own private guilt and Mark Sanford resembles
Hester’s public guilt.
Hester is plagued with guilt by being publicly shamed and humiliated for her sin,
but is compensated by learning a life lesson. The book begins with Hester sinfully
cheating on her husband, Roger Chillingworth, and became pregnant which allowed
everyone in her community to become aware of her sin. Hester receives open disgrace
and shame, but is eventually able to regain the people’s confidence. “Individuals in
private life, meanwhile, had quite forgiven Hester Prynne for her frailty; nay, more, they
began to look upon the scarlet letter as the token, not of tat one sin for which she had
borne so long and dreary a penance, but of her man good deeds since” (Chapter 13).
Corresponding to the real world, Mark Sanford, an ex-South Carolina governor,
who came out about having an affair and then stepped down from office resembles Hester
by also having his guilt shown publicly. The reason he resembles Hester is because he
went on with his new life and most have forgiven him. Lastly, Hester is given a message
by her misdeeds, and the purpose of this is to show her the negative effects of her actions,
and how to learn from her own wrong doings. “Nevertheless, this badge hath taught me –
it daily teaches me at this moment – lessons whereof my child may be wiser and better,
albeit they cam profit nothing to myself” (Chapter 8). The external consequences of guilt
may be harsh, but the internal tortures are far more severe.
Letting Hester be publically exploited without taking any fall for his actions eats
Dimmesdale alive, and shows the height of Dimmesdale’s own cowardice. Reputation is
more important to Dimmesdale than confessing his acts of adultery. As a coward,
Dimmesdale would rather see others take the blame for his sin than turn himself in.
"'People say,' said another, 'that the Reverend Master Dimmesdale, her godly pastor,
takes it very grievously to his heart that such a scandal has come upon his congregation"
(Chapter 2). Throughout the novel, Dimmesdale received no public shame from his peers,
but was privately torn apart by his secrets. Through emotional struggles of watching
Hester undergo public humiliation, Dimmesdale’s guilt could no longer be contained;
Dimmesdale grew emancipated to the point that he could no longer live with himself,
even after his secret had come out. Dimmesdale can be correlated with the Tiger Woods
affair, because Tiger did not admit what he had done until he was called out on it, and his
guilt took him to the point where he had to take a break from pursuing his life purpose.
“After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional
golf” (Huffington Post). Finally, the purpose that was taught to Dimmesdale the hard way
was that he should have taken his punishment like a man and not have held his secrets in
for so many years. "Most of the spectators testified to having seen, on the breast of the
unhappy minister a scarlet letter - the very semblance of that worn by Hester Prynne imprinted in the flesh" (chapter 24). Dimmesdale was eaten alive by his private guilt and
tries to save himself at the last minute with a confession, but it was too late for him
because the stress had taken its toll on the minister.
Guilt works in mysterious ways; public guilt will eventually fade away while
private guilt will tear away at the bearer forever. Hester had made the wrong choice, but
she was able to learn from her actions. On the other hand, Dimmesdale could not stand
what he had done and had to suffer the guilt eating him alive. Learn from the mistakes
that are made, and never keep secrets that will come back to haunt and torture the bearer.