Comparing and Contrasting the Crucible and the Scarlet Letter Essay

Comparing and Contrasting the Crucible and the Scarlet Letter

In this essay I will be comparing and contrasting 2 books, The Crucible and The Scarlet Letter. When comparing I will focus on how the two books have a similar theme of pride and dignity. There are obvious contrasts and differences in these books, mainly the settings and crimes being used. Also the emotions being shown in both books are different. The Scarlet letter is showing love, where as though, The Crucible shows lust. Simply put, it is hard to compare both books because the topics are so different but the lessons you learn from them are similar.

In the Scarlet letter we see Hester Prynne being charged of adultery. She has the choice of running away with her newborn Pearl, but instead she faces her punishment and isnt ashamed of what she has done. With her punishment being wearing a letter A on her bosom, Hester walks the streets of her village with her head up and faces her punishment head on. Even with the verbal and physical abuse of her village she is never bad-tempered and rude with them, but instead she is polite and helpful. Eventually the village becomes more welcoming of her because of her cooperation. Hester is able to find her place in the town again, doing her needle work, but also helping people in need. Although Hester isnt as blissful and cheerful as before because of being scorned by the cruel children, she still gets by and raises Pearl as best as she can. This in all shows how Hester has made an example of herself, turning a negative thing into a positive situation.

The crucible has shown pride and dignity in a different way. It was shown through all of the people who stood up for what they believe in even though they were to be prosecuted. A lot of women and some men were accused of doing witch craft or the devils work. A man, John Proctor got accused of it also after trying to spare his wifes life. As readers we dont know the truth of wither on not they did witch craft, we only know what the pleaded. Ironically if they pleaded guilty they were to be set free, but standing by their own truths, they didnt. Of all the lies wrapped up around these events, the only people who knew the truth were the people evolved in the crimes, even if they didnt commit any. Like Hester Prynne, the accused had an easy way out, which was to confess a lie. Instead they were dignified, and told the truth right to death. So the people accused of witch craft and Hester Prynne attitudes and morals were alike in these two totally different situations, heads high with no shame.

There are mainly differences on both of these books. The crucible deals with the crime of witch craft and The Scarlet letter deals with the crime of Adultery. In the crucible there wasnt a definite criminal because we didnt know who was lying or who committed witch craft. The wrong people were accused of the crimes and innocent people we prosecuted. In the Scarlet letter, Hester was the definite criminal and the other person who she committed adultery with wasnt even accused. Something that also stood out to me was that the Scarlet letter dealt with true love between Arthur Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne. Even though in the beginning of their affair, it was just an act of passion, they both later came to realize they were in love and decided to pursue each other; this showed bravery on their behalf. In the Crucible it dealt with lust between John Proctor and Abigail Williams. If there were any, John Proctor never stepped up to confess love with Abigail. She was willing to be with him, while he was more ashamed of this affair. I feel like this affair was more of an attraction for him, one which he wasnt willing to leave his wife, Goody Proctor, for.

Concluding this essay, I have come to realize that the similarities in both books are stronger than the differences. I think the lessons that we learn, which are Pride, dignity, and responsibility out shine the bold differences of the books. It may be hard for people to relate because the themes and crimes are so different. Witch craft is completely different from adultery. One having to do with passion and emotion while the other has to do with beliefs and evil; people will have trouble relating them. Overall when you look back on the books, you realize that morals shown in the books through the actions of the people are the same.