Andy Medina
AP English
Mr. George
Final Essay on Sin
2/23/08
Topic 1
“Yet it was his duty to confess, to suffer public shame, and to make public atonement. There was a God who called upon men to tell their sins to earth as well as to heaven. Nothing that he could do would cleanse him till he had told his own sin” (228). After reading The Scarlet Letter, The Crucible, and The Picture of Dorian Gray, do you believe this quotation is true or false?
People deal with sins in a multitude of ways. This includes holding your sin within, publicly sharing your sin, or bearing your sin to God. After reading The Scarlet Letter, The Crucible, and The Picture of Dorian Gray it is evident that dealing with sin is necessary to achieve redemption. If you do not actively search to find a way to deal with your sin, you will not find redemption. The different ways that a sinner deals with sin is demonstrated in the process that Abigail Williams, John Proctor, Reverend Dimmesdale, Hester Prynne, and Dorian Gray all go through. Those who did not seek redemption did not meet a good end, as exemplified by Dorian Gray and Abigail Williams. Those who actively sought redemption found it and ended up at peace. It seems that those who found their redemption were drawn to seek redemption. The only way to find redemption is to seek it, and those who do seek redemption are almost always successful.
From the three novels there are three people who committed a sin and sought redemption. In The Crucible, John Proctor, a married man, committed the sin of adultery with Abigail Williams. He is one of those who sought their redemption throughout the novel. John makes a bad decision and is conscious of his action, but he actively seeks redemption. He first deals with his sin by being open with the public by telling his wife, Elizabeth. This is a valid attempt to try and find peace within himself, but his sin continues to follow him. Abigail continued to accuse more townspeople of witchcraft. He had to act to save those who were falsely accused. He next tells the judge about his affair. He does this because he thought that this would help him in his process of redemption, while also trying to save those who were falsely accused by Abigail and the other girls. His guilt continues to build until he goes so low as to even give a false claim of witchcraft against himself, thus tarnishing his own name. He realizes that giving his name gives him life, but not redemption. He asks Elizabeth if she would think less of him, and she responds, “I cannot judge you, John, I cannot” (Miller 138). This is where John realizes that no matter what he says or does no one can judge him but God. Reverend Hale tries to convince John that it is not worth his life, and that he cannot hang. John responds by saying, “I can. And there’s your first marvel, that I can” (144). John comes to the realization that with his death he gets rid of his public judges; they do not matter. God is the final judge, and He awaits John through his death.
In The Scarlet Letter there are two characters who actively seek redemption. In the end it is evident that their efforts were worthwhile. Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale both find redemption form their sin of adultery. Hester Prynne’s sin of adultery is known to all because she has a child out of wedlock. She is forced to wear the scarlet letter ‘A’ as a reminder of that sin and as a symbol to everyone else. Her sin is known publicly, but it does not really help her along her path to judgment as much as opening herself up to God. At first, she does not face her judgment through God. She always dealt with her sin publicly, and for seven years she had to deal with the constant punishment of the townspeople. Only after being prompted by Dimmesdale does Hester seek forgiveness from God. Dealing with her sins publicly helped her overcome the evils in her past and find redemption, but it was not complete until she found peace with God. After she makes peace with her sin she continues to wear the ‘A’ as a reminder of her sin and lives a good life. She counsels those who are in need, especially women, and is buried in King’s Chapel which was the place where only the venerable were buried in Boston. This shows how much change that her redemption brought in her life. She went from the model of sin, to being buried in one of the most respected places in Boston.
Reverend Dimmesdale’s redemption is different from Hester’s. In fact, it is the exact opposite, but the result is still the same. Dimmesdale is the town priest, and is highly respected and loved by all the members of the town. He is the man whom people seek to solve their issues and help them with their sins, but this is ironic because he does not fully understand how to deal with his own sin. He starts by privately dealing with his sin with God. No one knows of his sin and he is tormented by the fact that he must watch Hester suffer under the public eye while he is still seen as a good man. Seeing Hester deal with the people continues to torment him. He believes that Hester is better off with her sin being in the public eyes, “Happy are you, Hester, that’s wear the scarlet letter openly on your bosom! Mine burns in secret!” (Hawthorne 173). Dimmesdale continues to suffer with his sin until he shows his sin publicly. Everyone is in shock, including Hester. She does not know what to do with her future, but Dimmesdale shares key advice that helps her to reach her redemption: “He hath proved his mercy, most of all, in my afflictions. By giving me this burning torture to bear upon my breast […] Praised be His name! His will be done!” (229). This is coming from a man who went through both ways of dealing with his sin, and his advice is to understand that God has a plan and it will be done.
These three people were all successful because they pursued redemption. There is much to learn from their success. John Proctor, Hester Prynne, and Reverend Dimmesdale are examples of people are drawn to confess their sins, and because they continuously sought to find redemption they found it by the end of the novels.
In the case of Abigail Williams and Dorian Gray, redemption was never sought or found. They are two sinners who did not work towards redemption, and because they did not search neither found redemption. They tried to avoid the consequences of their sins, but neither of them escapes their final judgment. In The Crucible, Abigail lives in a town where the people “had no ritual for the washing away of sins” (Miller 20). This is obvious through her behavior. Throughout the story she wreaks havoc in the town of Salem. Instead of seeking redemption and admitting her sins, she blames others: “She sends her spirit on me in church […] She comes to me while I sleep” (44). In this quotation Abigail blames Tituba for a sin that she committed, and moments later she changes her story and says, “I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus!” (48). It is evident that Abigail is willing to do anything to save herself from the punishment she should endure for her sins. She continues her treacherous path throughout the book and incriminates many, even those who once were on her side. She cannot runaway from her sins, and her sins eventually catch up to her as it is said that she turned up on the streets of Boston as a prostitute.
Dorian Gray is another character who does not seek redemption, and does not embrace his sins. Dorian is first described as a beautiful young man whom Basil Hallward has drawn a wonderful portrait of. The portrait is the best work Basil has ever done, but he is afraid to exhibit it: “I really can’t exhibit it. I have put too much of myself into it” (Wilde 4). Basil thinks that Dorian is young and beautiful and hopes that he continues to be that way, but is afraid of him becoming corrupt. Basil is afraid of Lord Henry’s powerful influence and the fact that it could corrupt Dorian: “There is no such thing as good influence, Mr. Gray. All influence is immoral […] to influence a person is to give him one’s own soul. He does not think his natural thoughts, or burn his natural passions. His virtues are not real to him” (20). Lord Henry speaks will Dorian as Basil is finishing the portrait and speaks of how Dorian is young and beautiful. Dorian is upset that he will grow old and says, “this picture will remain always young. [...] If it were only the other way. […] I would give my soul for that!” (28). This was a major turning point in his life. He had no idea that his wish would become his reality.
Dorian continues to change as the novel continues. Dorian goes from a young, beautiful man who is innocent to a man who has become corrupted. His actions take a full 360 degree turn. This is evident through his interactions with Sybil. He states he loves her, but he only loves her for what she could represent. She is an actress, and Dorian never saw here for who she was. She was always playing the part of another woman. When she puts on a bad performance he is enraged and says he no longer lover her. She apologizes to him but he pushes her away and watches her cry on the floor: There is always something ridiculous about the emotion of people whom one has ceased to love. Sibyl Vane seemed to him to be absurdly melodramatic. Her tears and sobs annoyed him” (92). He goes from saying she is the love of his life to not caring for her at all. He was corrupted by Lord Henry. His actions lead Sybil to kill herself, and this does not take the affect that many would assume it would. He felt some remorse and did not believe it happened, but his view quickly changed. He was worried about himself and he hoped that he would not get involved in the investigation. He even decided to go out with Lord Henry the night he finds out. He shows how immoral he has become.
After Sybil’s death Dorian looks at the portrait and sees a shocking change. It the portrait has changed due to his guilt. He said the portrait “would be to him the visible emblem of conscience. He would resist temptation. He would not see Lord Henry” (96). This does not last very long. After he speaks to Lord Henry he realizes that the portrait is a gift to him. It would give him “Eternal youth, infinite passion, pleasures subtle and secret, wild joys and wilder sins- he was to have all these things. The portrait was to bear the burden of his shame; that was all” (109). He would change his life since he realized he no longer would carry the physical burden of his sins. Since Dorian was not affected by his sins, he felt no need to seek redemption for them. He continued through his life corrupting others and ruining their lives, while his portrait took the burden of his actions.
Dorian’s life continued on a downward spiral, but he was never physically affected by his sins. His portrait would take the burden of his sins. It grew old and its beauty died with Dorian’s sins. Dorian changed psychologically. His change was noticeable and Basil confronted Dorian about the change, but met an untimely end when Dorian decided to kill Basil. Basil was the only one who had ever been in the same room as the portrait. Dorian killed him and destroyed the body. Dorian continued to live a life of sin until he decided to destroy the only proof of his sins. He wanted to destroy the portrait. When he did so he died, and all the changes on the portrait are transmitted onto his body. Through his death it is obvious that he did not receive redemption. He never sought redemption.
Redemption is not an easy place to reach, but it is not impossible. There are plenty of examples of people who sin, seek redemption, and reach it. These people include John Proctor, Hester Prynne, and Reverend Dimmesdale. They continuously sought redemption, and did not give up on their search. They were sorry for their sins, and felt a need to find redemption for their sins. Their redemption processes were different, but they all reached the same goal. Those who did not find redemption, like Abigail Williams and Dorian Gray, did not ever search for redemption. They did not feel the need to find forgiveness, so they did not seek redemption. Those who want to be forgiven seek redemption, and they are almost always successful. The secret of redemption is continuously trying to better oneself, and the three characters who reached redemption did so. Redemption is important to reach if a person has sinned, and if a sinner does not seek it they will never find it.
Works Cited
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter New York: Bantam Dell, 2003.
Miller, Arthur. The Crucible New York: Penguin Group, 1976.
Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray New York: Barnes & Noble Classics 2003
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