From the Moment Courage is Lost

The endurance of disembodied spirit is practic alto modelhery a little smash spectacle then(prenominal) the endurance of the final trice: save its no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy. A slice does what he must in s equatee of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressure-and that is the basis of all last(predicate) morality (JFK 1). Acts of fortitude often go un noniced and m each whiles it be blabs all(prenominal) of what a person has in enjoin to do these roundions. end-to-end history, man has suffered pains of guilt, remorse, and shame. If nonpareil looks at it by dint of any form of religion, ungodliness is detect to be the obtain. so far, is ejaculate the perk up of all despicable or does a pretermit of precautionlessness in a single twinkling lead to the descent of miserable? many another(prenominal) who give up sinned suffer, just as Dimmesdale suffers in star of Hawthornes books. neverthel ess, who is to say his sin and crime is the blood of his suffering? Just wish well many others, Dimmesdale hides his sin from the fill-in of purchase order and lives a normal external life, while on the inner(a) he is tortured and lives each day in evolution pain. In Nathaniel Hawthornes book The Scarlet garner, Dimmesdale goes finished a air of suffering, ultimately ending in his death, which is non caused by his sin, unless quite an is caused and prolonged by his cowardliness and resulting inability to bring clearness.         From the reservoir of the novel, Dimmesdale proves to be lacking in courage, which results in the beginning of his suffering. courageousness implies a firmness of forefront and testament in the slope of danger and extreme barrier. From the atomic number 42 Dimmesdale is introduced into the story, he seems to be lacking that virtue. When the peck of Boston labour Hester up on the scaffold and occupy her to ident ify her mate in sin, she refuses to speak h! is name. At this indorsement, before anything has happened, Dimmesdale has the incur to raise his willing in a time of extreme difficulty and squeal his sin. Instead he tells Hester, If thou facial expressivirtuosost it to be for thy mortals peace, and that thy earthly visitment will there by be made more effectual to salvation, I flower thee to speak step up the name of thy lad sinner and faller sufferer!(Hawthorne 73). Dimmesdale is leaving his fate in the hands of a woman who he knows will non tell. He gives up all responsibility and control of the situation, which in trance, turns into guilt. In this turn of events of cowardliness, Dimmesdale bids a abominable conscience that starts him on his path toward suffering. From the moment of his cowardice he begins to regain the pain in his core and non from the moment of his sin. If his sin is the reason for his suffering, then he would fell much more pain at the time Hester is universe persecuted. As JFK said, a man must do what he seat in spite of personal consequences If Dimmesdale knowledgees in spite of the consequences that follow he would be free internally and would non suffer as greatly. Dimmesdales first act of cowardice to speak come forth and confess, with Hester, starts him on the path of suffering. However his lack of courage in public prolongs his suffering get toim the entire book.         Cowardice is not only a ignominious apprehension of danger except overly submitting to guild put in on a fear of not beingness current and this form of a cowardice leads to the continuation of suffering on Dimmesdales part. Based on Nina Baym The chief key to Dimmesdales character is his dependence on the good opinion of company (68). Dimmesdales actions throughout the book prove Bayms abbreviation of Dimmesdales character to be true. Again and again, he conceals his unknown due to a fear of losing his social status and being disgraced in orderliness. Dimmesdale is so concerned with the! community and what pack think that he chooses to suffer rather than come out with the truth. In this case, his cowardice prolongs his suffering much longer than his sin would have caused him to suffer. An honorable and brave thing to do would be to announce himself as Hesters partner. However, he chooses to remain silent and this proves his cowardice to society. Many are led to pity and feel sorrow for Dimmesdale due to his inner suffering and external weakening. However, it is Dimmesdales first act of cowardice that causes his suffering to begin, and his lack of courage in front of society and his dependence on societys good opinion that allows it to continue. As a spiritual leader, he has plenty of opportunities to publicly confess. However, in his sermons, instead of sharpshoot out and bluntly stating his sin, hi uses symbols to place himself as a sinner. The people, of course, misunderstand him and see his sermon as an act of lowliness and their astonishment of him rises. This, in turn, leads him to suffer greater pain. His lack of ticker in front of his congregation causes this, not the crime for which he is exhausting to confess. afterward one sermon he thinks, He had utter the truth and transformed it into the veriest falsehoodTherefore, above all things, he hates himself (Hawthorne). He realizes what he did and so hates himself thus accelerating his pain. This, and every sermon, adds to his outgrowth pain and torture. His cowardice in the public snapper and his fear of not only losing his social position but also not receiving yieldness is what continues his suffering, not the sin itself. Dimmesdale is agoraphobic matinee idol will not forgive him and so he has not the courage to repent.         As a religious leader, one would expect Dimmesdale to have a close dealinghip with theology, except his fear of beau ideal and his possess inability to forgive leads him to retaliate himself. Dimmesdales p osition as the communitys pastor keeps him from exte! nding his and his congregations tenderness to Hester. His cowardice does not purge allow him to forgive Hester publicly. After several years pass Hester lock in does not receive forgiveness from Dimmesdales congregation. If she entered a church, trusting to share the Sabbath smile of the Universal Father, it was her mishap to ensure herself the text of discourse (Hawthorne 88). This shows that because Dimmesdale, as a public leader, does not forgive Hester, his congregation can not forgive her. Dimmesdale is then led to believe that he, if he were to confess, will not be forgiven because of the congreagations attitude toward Hester. His own cowardice creates this. The sin itself is not unforgivable, but his cowardice and his position reconcile it so. This adds to his suffering because it leads to his self-loathing, which makes him tortue himself mentally. His sin is a past event and does not lead to his suffering. If it did he would take action to be forgiven for it. Baym states, A religious person who believed himself a sinner would surely be deeply, even obsessively, concerned with his relations toward God(72). If Dimmesdale, a religious leader, truly believes his sin is the source of his suffering, and that he truly is a sinner, then instead of penance he would seek a better relationship with God. Dimmesdales idea of God is that he is a vengeful God. In Edwards speech, Sinners in the hands of an groundless God, he explains this insure of God. The God that holds you over the pit of hellabhors you, and is dreadfully create: His wrath toward you burns like implode; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else but to be cast into the fire (81). This shows God as one who looks for mans flaws and sins, in order to shot them into hell. Dimmesdales belief in this God causes him to be horror-struck to confess, especially to God. He fears God will not forgive him, and so he does not allow God the chance to forgive or vindicate him, which le ads him to seek other forms of penalty. Dimmesdale ! begins to quicken to the Old Catholic management of penance to ease his guilty conscience. In Mr. Dimmesdales secret closet, under lock and key, there was a bloody scourge. Oftentimes, this Protestant and Puritan divine had plied it on his own shoulders (Hawthorne 141). By not allowing God to either punish or forgive him, Dimmesdale takes it upon himself to punish. He hurt himself through beatings and begins desist and taking vigils for long periods of time. This leads to the declivity of his physical and mental wellness. zip is responsible for Dimmesdales state of health except his own actions. He never has the courage to receive or ask for Gods forgiveness, so his punishment and suffering continue. Dimmesdales cowardice leads him to fear God rather than trust him. Even in his death impression he talks of his fear of God. I fear! I fear! It may be, that, when we forgot our Godit was thenceforth vain to hope that we could admit here after.(Hawthorne 239). His final spoken communication in life illustrate him as someone who fears that God is unforgiving and fears that he [Dimmesdale] is punished to a life, hereafter, of unhappiness. In his dying moment Dimmesdale still cannot ask for forgiveness. Fogle stated, Even in the guardedly staged scene of Dimmesdales death, where every impulse of twain the author and lector demands complete forgiveness, Hawthorne refuses to grant it (135). This is so, because Dimmesdale never asks for forgiveness and so he cannot be granted it. Having the courage to forgive takes just as much strength as to ask for forgiveness. Dimmesdale can be seen lacking in both cases.         through and through the course of Hawthornes book, The Scarlet Letter, he shows Dimmesdale go through a course of tremendous suffering and unlivable agony, which last leads to his death. Many can argue, especially those who follow the orthodox interpretation that he suffers because he broke heavenly law and commits sin. However, it is not caused by his sin but rather! is caused and prolonged by his cowardice and resulting inability to receive forgiveness. He begins to suffer the moment he does not confess, as Hester has. After his first act of cowardice, his lack of courage and inability to confess to society, continues and even worsens his suffering. to a higher(prenominal) place everything else, however, it is his failure to give, ask, and receive forgiveness that ultimately causes him to suffer. In every single moment, in which Dimmesdale is given the opportunity to confess and does not, leads him to be given the name, a coward.          Work Cited Baym, Nina. Who? The Characters. The Scarlet Letter: A Reading. Boston: Twayne Publishers,         1986. 68, 72. Fogle, Richard Harter. The Scarlet Letter. Hawthornes Fiction: The Light and the Dark.         Norman: university of okay Press, 1964. 135 Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Four classic Americ an Novels. new York: Signet,         1969. Quoteland.com- courage. If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: OrderCustomPaper.com

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