Often in Society people are criticized, punished, and despised for their individual choices and
flaws. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author attempts to show the
way society casts out individuals simply because their ideas differ from the common values. Two
main characters in the novel that are alienated by society for different reasons include Arthur
Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne.
Arthur Dimmesdale alienates himself in the novel both socially and spiritually. He knows
he cannot let his secret out about Pearl, …showed first 85 words of 596 total…
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…showed last 85 words of 596 total…in the
labyrinth of mind”, is so detached from herself that she feel that she is not the same person. She is
not only alienated from other people but she can not even turn to herself for support. This
self-alienation is most damaging to her because she is going through the stage in her life of finding
out who she is and the scarlet letter interrupts this. She is not only forced to stop her
development, but take on a whole new path in life.
