FREE ESSAY ON COMPARISON BETWEEN THE CRUCIBLE AND THE SCARLET LETTER

COMPARISON BETWEEN THE CRUCIBLE AND THE SCARLET LETTER

Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and Arthur Miller's The Crucible are both
distinctly different narratives of the Salem Witch trials. The Scarlet Letter is a novel
and The Crucible is a play. While The Scarlet Letter deals mainly with the sin of
adultery, The Crucible mainly deals with witchcraft. Both have obvious similarities like
the setting and the crime, however, one of the greatest similarities between the two is
the loyalty of the Puritan people to their appointed officials. Whether they were church
or court officials, the public supported them no matter what, because in their theocratic
society, the eyes of the officials were those of God.
In The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne's punishment was assigned to her by a highly
prestigious panel of men from the Churches and Courts of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
All of the townspeople came to see Hester Prynne's punishment because of their loyalty to
the court. They had to see what was going on with the court, because that is what they
held in highest regard.
Now, good Sir, our Massachusetts magistracy, bethinking themselves that this woman is
youthful and fair, and doubtless was strongly tempted to her fall; - and that, moreover,
as is most likely, her husband may be at the bottom of the sea; - they have not been bold
to put in force the extremity of our righteous law against her. The penalty thereof is
death. But, in their great mercy and tenderness of heart, they have doomed Mistress
Prynne to stand only a space of three hours on the platform of the pillory, and then
thereafter, for the remainder of her natural life, to wear a mark of shame upon her
bosom. Ch. 3
Even though they though that the officials' punishment for Hester was too harsh, they
still went along with it because no one dared argue with the court.
In The Scarlet Letter, the townspeople are so loyal to the Good Reverend Dimmesdale, 
that they are completely blinded by the fact that he is the biggest sinner. Everything
that Dimmesdale says gets turned into something else.
They deemed the young clergyman a miracle of holiness. They fancied him the mouth-piece
of Heaven's messages of wisdom, and rebuke, and love. In their eyes, the very ground on
which he trod was sanctified. Ch.11
The members of the congregation were so taken over by Dimmesdale that they thought him to
be holly. They saw in him, the same things they would imagine to see in God. Dimmesdale
had the power to rule over them because their commitment to him was so strong.
In Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible, the courts of the Colony are held above all else.
During the play in one of the many conversations, a debate comes up in which it is
clearly shown that the courts are the most important establishment of Massachusetts.
All innocent and Christian people are happy for the courts in Salem!
But you must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or he must be
counted against it. Pg. 90
In the Puritan age, a person was considered good if they were Christian and innocent. If
they were not Christian or broke the rigid Puritan code, they were a sinner. To be
against the courts was to be a sinner. If one did not agree with their statements and
actions, they were a sinner.
Though they are two very different stories, The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible have
similarities. The high regard in which the court and church officials were held was one
of them. The opinions of the court and the words of the church were all that mattered;
they wee above all else because they were believed to carry the will of God.