True Confessions

Robert A. Heinlein once said, "A long and wicked life followed by five minutes of perfect grace gets you into Heaven.” The punishment imposed on one by others is not as destructive as the guilt that person experiences. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the theme of sin to show how when unconfessed, that sin will destroy the sinner’s soul. First, Hester also commits the sin of Adultery. She immediately confesses and, therefore, …showed first 75 words of 765 total…

…showed last 75 words of 765 total…I had been lost forever!” (252). Although he dies after his confession, Dimmmesdale is finally freed from the guilt of the unconfessed. Although he must now die, he is able to die peacefully because he confessed his sin. In conclusion, guilt can destroy a person, body and soul. Hester Prynne, Roger Chillingworth, and Arthur Dimmesdale are in one way, or another destroyed by the their unconfessed sins. When unconfessed, those sins will destroy the sinners’ souls.