Life Defined by a Single Moment in Scarlet Letter, Red Badge of Courage

A Life Defined by a Single Moment in Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter, Stephen Cranes Red Badge of Courage, andDostoevskys Crime and Punishment Life freighter be changed by a decision made during a champion moment. Despite the natural gifts of courage or intelligence of a person, a single mistake rear isolate him from the rest of corporation. In adept case this nonify be cause by worldly concern conception. The public believes that this person is morally inferior and singles out that person for ridicule. However, it can also be self-imposed closing off. Either way, that person can non rejoin his society until he has redeemed himself. In Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter, both kinds of moral isolation are examined. Hester Prynne is placed in the publics scorn for her adulterous represent. The scarlet A that she is forced to wear as a penance ensures that no one, peculiarly Hester herself, will forget what she did. Through the publics condemnation of her act, Hester eventually find s her salvation and purges herself of guilt. She becomes a stronger person because of this new understanding and gains the communitys respect for her charity. Dimmesdale, on the other hand, does not face his sin publicly until ... ...no matter how intelligent or extraordinary, can go their entire lives without making a bad decision. In enjoin for them to return morally to the other members of their society, their redemption must contain trusted factors. First, it is not necessary for a confession to be public unless the transgressor believes that it is a requirement for forgiveness. Then the person must believe that the redeeming act is equal to the mistake and that he is cleared of guilt. After he forgives himself, he is no longer morally isolated and returns to society whether or not the society has forgiven him.