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The Scarlet Letter: A Book Of Guilt And Confession

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The Scarlet Letter, a book of guilt and confession, shows the effect of guilt through Dimmesdale and Hester. Hawthorne illustrates the awful effects of guilt, and freedom through confession. The book can either be seen as a comparison of suppressing or admitting sin, or of Hester and Dimmesdale. The ideas of keeping in and openly admitting sin contrast each other. Guilt is only in society, and cannot be seen in the forest. Society does play a major role on guilt, but guilt is only torturous if kept in secret. Arthur Dimmesdales torture from his guilt comes from his secrecy. The pain from guilt is a universal feeling. Guilty know their wrongdoing and it eats them away. Society has rules and laws to abide by that if broken makes a person feel

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