Depiction of Puritan Society in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter In the introductory sketch to Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, The Scarlet Letter, the reader is informed that one of the author's ancestors severely persecuted the Quakers. The latter's son was a high judge in the Salem witch trials, put into literary form in Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" (Judge Hathorne appears there). We learn that Hawthorne is ashamed of their actions and that he views his ancestors and Puritan society as a whole with critical eyes. As a result, both overt and subtle criticism of the practices of the Puritans is applied throughout the novel. Hawthorne's comments must be considered in the context of settler history and religion. They believe that man is a creature steeped in sin, ever since the fall of Adam and Eve from innocence. For them, committing original sin has bound humans to their free will, so that God now decides over their lives. Everything that happens is seen as God's will and providence plays an important role. Through the sacrifice and righteousness of Christ, however, there is a possibility for people to be saved. We cannot know for sure who will be saved, although godly and faithful people are obviously more likely to know. The experience of conversion, in which the soul is touched by the Holy Spirit, so that the believer's heart turns from sin to holiness, is another indication that one is among the elect. What saves people is faithfulness and piety, rather than good deeds. If someone has sinned, public confession is believed to take away some of the burden of this sin. The initial reason the Puritans left their homes was the treatment they faced in their native England. They were brutally persecuted and not allowed to practice their religion, because they claimed that the beliefs taught by the Anglican church were contrary to the Bible. When they arrived in the New World, they faced numerous threats from outside. Their attempt to take land from the Indians caused many clashes and attacks. Furthermore, they had to deal with the wild nature that surrounded them. In these frontier conditions, they needed harmony and peace within the community to survive. As a result, Hawthorne's founding fathers immediately saw the need for

Topic > Depiction of Puritan Society in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter In the introductory sketch to Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, The Scarlet Letter, the reader is informed that one of the author's ancestors severely persecuted the Quakers. The latter's son was a high judge in the Salem witch trials, put into literary form in Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" (Judge Hathorne appears there). We learn that Hawthorne is ashamed of their actions and that he views his ancestors and Puritan society as a whole with critical eyes. As a result, both overt and subtle criticism of the practices of the Puritans is applied throughout the novel. Hawthorne's comments must be considered in the context of settler history and religion. They believe that man is a creature steeped in sin, ever since the fall of Adam and Eve from innocence. For them, committing original sin has bound humans to their free will, so that God now decides over their lives. Everything that happens is seen as God's will and providence plays an important role. Through the sacrifice and righteousness of Christ, however, there is a possibility for people to be saved. We cannot know for sure who will be saved, although godly and faithful people are obviously more likely to know. The experience of conversion, in which the soul is touched by the Holy Spirit, so that the believer's heart turns from sin to holiness, is another indication that one is among the elect. What saves people is faithfulness and piety, rather than good deeds. If someone has sinned, public confession is believed to take away some of the burden of this sin. The initial reason the Puritans left their homes was the treatment they faced in their native England. They were brutally persecuted and not allowed to practice their religion, because they claimed that the beliefs taught by the Anglican church were contrary to the Bible. When they arrived in the New World, they faced numerous threats from outside. Their attempt to take land from the Indians caused many clashes and attacks. Furthermore, they had to deal with the wild nature that surrounded them. In these frontier conditions, they needed harmony and peace within the community to survive. As a result, Hawthorne's founding fathers immediately saw the need for