The Scarlet Letter And The Crucible
...or gained an almost outside view to the religion based witch hunt. In the conclusion of the play, Proctor’s dillemma becomes quite clear to the reader; in order to exonerate his family, particularly Elizabeth, and himself, he must “take the fall.” Proctor swallows his pride and admits to the witchcraft charges, but then recants his confession, after being told to place it in a written statement for all to see. Proctor chooses to become a martyr, rather than live in shame. This show of hubris clearly destroys the unholy hero of the play. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne, like Miller, portrays the hero in an unclear light. Hawthorne makes the “hero” a coward. Arthur Dimmesdale, just from physical description is depicted as a weak person; in addition, his actions prove the same. In the beginning of the story, when Hester is standing on the scaffold with Pearl, Dimmesdale hides his sin, while his lover is being for shamed to all. Dimmesdale does urge Hester to reveal her lover’s identity, but is not strong enough to do it himself. Even when preparing to flee the Puritan society, D...