P& P #9 3/31: 14-18

"There is but such a quantity of merit between them; just enough to make one good sort of man; and of late it has been shifting about pretty much" (Austen 210).

-Mr. Wickham as revealed through Mr. Darcy's letter as a bad person, who masks his ugly soul with a visage, a pretense. While Darcy is actually a generally thoughtful person, he actually cares for his friends, which can be seen in his friendship with Mr. Bingley. These two characters are oppisites on a spectrum. And we see that at the beginning of the book, Elizabeth liked Mr. Wickham, and correspondingly she was a very prejudice person, making inferences and judgements without the facts. But as the story continues, Elizabeth becomes aware of Mr. Wickham's true nature, and we begin to see that she begins to fluctuate in her liking of Mr. Wickham and Mr. Darcy. At the same time, she is struggling to cope with the fact that she is actually a prejudice person, "She was still full of indignation [for Mr. Darcy]; but when she considered how unjustly she had condemned and upbraided him, her anger was turned against herself" (200). Thus these two characters are in essence like the modern day's equivalent of the little angel and demons that sit on our shoulders. She is stuck in between choosing the devil, Mr Wickham, or the angel, Mr. Darcy.

Why does Elizabeth not tell Jane about Mr. Darcy's reasoning for persuading Mr. Bingley to break his relations with Jane?

a. Elizabeth believes her sister to be to nimwitted to understand
b. Elizabeth is afraid that Mr. Darcy wanted to keep it private
c. Elizabeth thinks Jane does not care.
d. Elizabeth is afraid that it will only hurt Jane.

P& P #7 3/27: 6-10

"If his own vanity, however, did not mislead him, he was the cause, his pride and caprice were the cause of all that Jane had suffered and still continued to suffer. He had ruined for a while every hope of happiness for the most affectionate, generous heart in the world; and no one could say how lasting an evil he might have inflicted" (Austen 177).

- Here Elizabeth is communicating her anger about Mr. Darcy breaking the union between Mr. Bingley and Jane. This incident just adds to her hate for Mr. Darcy seeing that she blames him for breaking her sister's heart. This only makes Mr. Darcy's situation worse, due to the fact that he admires Elizabeth, but Elizabeth absolutely hates him. And Mr. Darcy, not knowing how angry she is at him, will most likely try to do something to show his affection for her, which will result with her rejecting him, as well as her vehemently criticizing his actions and his personality.

Question:
Elizabeth feelings for Colonel Fitzwilliam are:

I. contempt
II. adoration
III. similar to how she felt about Mr. Wickham

a. I
b. II
c. III
d. II and III
e. none of the above

Pride and Prejudice 6 chapter 2-5

"she parted from him convinced, that, whether married or single, he must always be her model of the amiable and pleasing" (Austen 146).

Here, Elizabeth states that though they have gone their seperate ways, Mr Wickham will always serve as the model of what she finds appealing and nice. And she says this after she was convinced that she had "never been much in love" (144). But if she had not been in love, why does she use him as model for "what she finds appealing and nice"(146). She even said before that "there are few whom I love really love, and still fewer of whom I think well"(131), so obviously she must have had great intimacy for him if she still holds him as a model to judge other people. So obviously she had great esteem for him yet she insists that she was not. And the reason maybe that she is forced to face the fact that she was wrong about him when she first met him. She had thought him to be a good man, but now she has to face the reality that he in many ways is like Charlotte, a mercenary. So instead of facing the truth, she goes into denial and thinks instead that he is just someone that she had fancied.

What does this quote imply about Mr. Collins: "When Mr. Collins could be forgotten, there was really a great air of comfort throughout, and by Charlotte's evident enjoyment of it, Elizabeth supposed he must be often forgotten" (151).

a. Mr. Collins is amiable

b. Mr. Collins is very exciting

c. Mr. Collins is a vexing person

d. Mr. Collins is an abusive husband

e. Mr. Collins is interesting

P and P #5: Ch.21-1

"You wish to think all the world respectable, and are hurt if i speak ill of any body. I only want to think you perfect, and you set yourself against it" (Austen 130).

-Here, Elizabeth is acknowledging one of Jane's faults, saying that she is to optimistic, and to often looks to find the good in others. But the irony is that Elizabeth is the exact oppisite, she is too quick to judge, and often times to judge others in a negative light: "There are few people whom I really love, and fewer of whom I think well" (131). And Elizabeth prejudice, like Jane's optimism, often time blinds her from the truth. Thus Elizabeth is just as far from the truth as Jane is.

While talking to Jane about "her belief in the inconsistency of all human characters" (131), Elizabeth says, "I have met with two instances lately: one I will not mention, the other is charlottes marriage" (131). Who is Elizabeth refering to when she says "one I will not mention" (131)?

a. Mr Collins

b. Mr Darcy

c. Mrs. Bennet

d. Ms Bingley

e. Mr Bingley

P& P #3 3.20: 11-16

"And your defect is a propensity to hate every body" (Austen 56).

- Here we see Elizabeth states what she believes to be a  defect of Mr. Darcy, saying that he has the propensity to dislike everyone. This view is a very judgemental view of Darcy, showing that Ms. Elizabeth is a person that judges people from first impressions which is very defect that is typical for any age or time. Even Mr. Darcy responds by saying, "And yours is to wilfully to misunderstand them"(56). Jane Austen thus is providing an example of one of the problems with society. This judgemental attitude Elizabeth has could prove to hamper her throughout the book due to her fast judgements of people including Mr. Darcy.

This passage, "Jane and Elizabeth attempted to explain to her the nature of an entail. They had often attempted it before: but it was a subject on which Mrs. Bennett was beyond the reach of reason" (60), serves to show that Mrs. Bennett is

a. very tired

b. very intelligent

c. not understanding

d. not very intelligent

P& P #2 3/19: 7-10

"Had she found Jane in any apparent danger, Mrs. Bennet would have been very miserable; but being satisfied on seeing her that her illness was not alamring, she had no wish of her recovering immediately, as her restoration to health would probably remover her from Netherfield" (Austen 41).

- Here the reader is exposed to one of the strange parts of society in the 1700s. Here Mrs. Bennett shows no grievances that her daughter is ill, but instead finds joy that she is sick due to the fact that Jane is given the opportunity to stay at Mr. Bingley's estate longer. And she hopes the longer Jane stays the more likely she will win over the heart of Mr. Bingley. Mrs. Bennett's strange infatuation in her daughter finding someone to marry is not solely experienced by her, but by the majority of the women in this book. And Jane Austen is clearly outlining how strange this interest women have in getting married through Mrs. Bennett and her eagerness in seeing her daughter become sick in order to spend more time with a man that she hopes Jane will marry.

The book Pride and Prejudice, is a story that challenges commonly held beliefs of the 1700s.

The arthur voices her disbelief in these beliefs through:

I. the protagonist, Elizabeth

II. Mrs. Bennett

III. Mr. Jones

A. I Only

B. II Only

C. III Only

D. I and II

E. II and III

Huck 185-209

"You could see it was a great satisfaction to the people, because naturally they wanted to know. A little thing like that don't cost nothing, and it's just the little things that makes a man to be looked up to and liked. There warn't no more popular man in town than what tha undertaker was" (195).

-The little things often times does bring great satisfaction. Most of the time people do not have time to really focus or pay attention to the small details. So often times we go after those small details or information that somebody knows because it is something that just intrigues us. For example gossip or that small story about something funny that happened that day is often something that people like to know not because it has any great relevance, but its just something to make the day a bit funnier.

"I thought them poor girls and them niggers would break their hearts for grief'; they cried around each other, and took on so it most made me down sick to see it. The girls said they hadn't ever dreamed of seeing the family seperated or sold away from the town. I can't ever get it out of my memory, the sight of them poor miserable girls and niggers hanging around each other's necks and crying; and I reckon I couldn't a stood it all but would a had to bust out and telll on our gang if I hadn;t knowed the sale warn't no account and the niggers would be back home in a week or two"(196).

- Here the reader is exposed to the loving and compassionate side of Huck. And the reader can get the feeling that Huck for all the hard ships he has encounterd, he is at heart a good kid for he even claims that "the sight of them poor miserable girls and niggers hanging around each other's necks and crying" to be a very strong image that haunts him. So we see that his compassionate side is very strong in his life. This probably is due to him being able to relate with them seeing that he has endured so much at such a young age. His compassion will most likely play a very prominent role in his developement from a boy to a man.

Vocab:

Histrionic: Characteristic of acting or a stage performance; often affected

"Don't ever tell me any more that a nigger ain't got any histrionic talent" (197).

Frock: A one-piece garment for a woman; has skirt and bodice

She said she'd have her frocks and a lot of other traps took out of her room if they was in Uncle Harvey's way" (184).

Huck

It here be the strangest thing that ever happened to me Jim. So I just set up my line to go fishing and was about to lie back when all a sudden I hear someone behind me so- so I turn around and there’s a girl standing there, just staring at me. She mustn’t be older no older than I was. Then she asks me, “Whats your name?” I answer, “Lee Johnson.”

            Then she just starts rambling a bunch of questions like “Where you from Lee Johnson? Why you here? What you doing out here?” And I am just standing there tryin a answer every question. Then I suddenly realize that she be knowing whole lot about me but I don’t know a squat about her. So I decide to ask her a few questions. I start by asking, “What your name be?” And then she says “That ain’t no way to ask a lady what her name is.” So I ask her again. “Excuse me, ma’am, but may I have the pleasure of knowing your name.” And she answers, “Why, my name is Mary Phillip.” And I follow up by asking “Well Miss Phillip may I have the pleasure of asking where you are from?” And she responds, “Only if you would be such a gentleman and walk me back to my house.” So I decide since the fish line probably won’t catch anything for a bit I might as well walk her home and try to find out where we are and get some fresh news.

            So I say, “It would be my pleasure ma’am.” Then she suddenly skips down beside me and grasps my hand. Then we start walking. We didn’t really talk for a while, but the silence was killing me so I decide to just ask her a question: “So why were you in the woods ma’am.” And she says, “That is none of your business.” Then I say, “I’m sorry ma’am for being so nosy, I just wanna know why miss like you would be out there in the woods.” And she replies, “Well if you must know I was looking for berries, but I ended up finding something a lot sweeter.” Then we stopped in front of a small shack. And suddenly she gave me a kiss right on my cheek and says “Thanks you Lee Johnson for such a lovely stroll.” And she justs walks into the shack. Now that is the strangest thing that could ever happen to a person, Jim. To be fishing one moment then getting kissed by a girl the next.

jim

Huck, ghosts be real, I swear it on my life. Ghosts be real as the water all around us be real. I even can tell you a story bout ghosts. Huck it be a story of all stories.

Well it be a dark night wen it happened, laws know why I cudn’t a slept that night and I wish I had. I been a tossin’ and turnin’ for a while when I finally just be getting’ up. I be thinking maybe I just need to get some water. So I rustle outta bed and start walkin’ to the kichun. And as I be walkin’ thur suddenly thur be a light shinin’ in the distance. It were a dim light but it were bright enough to see. Then I be hearin’ a soft singing. I were very interested so I get up close to the window to get me a good look. I saw there be a negro woman leading ten er eleven other negroes. At furst I thought I be dreamin’ but I remembered that this here was real cuz I couldn’t fall asleep. They were just walking through them woods. Their dim light be bobbing up and down in the distance. But aftur a cupple a minutes that light just disappeared. It spooked me real good.

I reckon they probably be ghosts of the negroes that died round that place. First time I ever see a ghost. It be a bad omen to see a ghost. But it be a worst omen to meet one of em. That be reason why the old lady was probably gonna sell me, I reckon. Them ghosts gave me here sum bad luck. So you remember that Huck, yea hear. Ghosts be real, as real as me and you. And they be nuttin’ but bad, bad luck. You stay straight clear of em’ yea hear, or else they be hauntin’ us and be giving us nuttin but chills and rotten luck.

Huck Fin page 129-157

"It didn't take me long to make up my mind that these liars warn't no kings nor dukes, at all, but just low-down humbugs and fraugds. But I never said nothing, never let on; kept it to myself; it's the best way; then you don't have no quarrels, and dont get into no trouble. If they wanted us to call them kings and dukes, I hadn't no objecions, 'long as it would keep peace in the family" (Twain 136).

- The reader is exposed to two con artists in this section, and after a short while Huck realizes this. but instead of calling them out for not being a king and duke as they claim, he instead chooses to keep it to himself in order to keep the peace and "have no quarrels" (136). So we come to see Huck's survival skills come to play. He admittedly is willing to "call them kings and dukes" but he only does this so that the "family" can stay together. So in fact he is using the two con artists as much as they are using him and Jim. We see that in fact that this mutual relationship to use each other plays well when they hatch a great plan where they can tie up Jim during the day in order to claim safe passage through the south.

"And it warn't no use to tell Jim, so I didn't tell him. If I never learnt nothing else out of pap, I learnt that the best way to get along with his kind of people is to let them have their own way"(137).

- Here we one of Huck's influences controlling his actions. In this case his father's teaching about how to maintain peace with Jim's "kind" you must let them maintain their own views. Thus he elects not to tell Jim that fact that they were being used by two con artists for a while. Once again we see that his father has a very large influence on his decision for he even says that  if he "never learnt nothing else out of pap", meaning that he is heavily influenced by what his father has taught him. Yet Jim is his supposed friend that is supposedly knowledgeable on a great many things. So we see that Huck is holding Jim up to two contradictory points of views.

VOCAB:

joggle: Move to and fro

"And by-and-by her waves would get to us, a long time after she was gone, and joggle the raft a bit" (131).

Scow: Any of various flat-bottomed boats with sloping ends

"A scow or a raft went by so close we could hear them talking and cussing and laughing" (130).

Huck Finn 89-129

 "When I got all wore out wid workm en wid de callin' for you, en went to sleep, my heart wuz mos' broke bekase you wuz los', en I didn' k'yer no mo' what become er me en da raf'. En when I wake up en fine you back agin' all safe en soun', de tears come en I could a got down on my knees en kiss' yo' foot I's so thankful" (98).

Here the reader is shown how close Jim and Huck are. Jim is making it very clear that Huck is very important to him. And Huck makes it clear that he also feels an attatchment to Jim: "It made me feel so mean I could almost kissed his foot to get him to take it back" (98). Thus they both share a close relationship, which is odd due to them being polar oppisites contrary to what would be considered a good friendship by their society's standards. Which makes one question what struggles they might face from both society, if they are caught, and internally from their beliefs. 

"Well, I can tell you it made me all over trembly and feverish, too, to hear him, because I begun to get it through my head that he was most free-and who was to blame for it? Why, me. I couldn't get that out of my consicience, no how nor no way. it got to troubling me so I couldn't rest; I couldn't stay still in one place" (Twain 100).

Here the reader is exposed to the turmoil that Huck is beginning to face on his journey. The quote expresses his conscience making him contempt for not ratting Jim out. Yet, only a few pages before he was expressing compassion for him: "It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger-but I done it, and I warn't ever sorry for it afterwards, neigher. I didn;t do him no more mean tricks, and I would done that one if I'd a knowed it would make him feel that way" (98). Thus Huck is split between what his heart tells him is right and what he is taught is right, forcing him to choose between either his heart or society. And it is likely he will face other situations like this where he is forced to choose between what society tells and what he believes to be right.

Vocab:

Bushels: A United States dry measure equal to 4 pecks or 2152.42 cubic inches

"And warnt the cooking good, and just bushels of it too" (116).

Junketings: Taking an excursion for pleasure

"And have such junketings round about and on the river" (118).

Huck fin 3: page 47-66

Quotation:

"Jim knowed all kinds of signs. He said he knowed most of everything" (56).

- Here Huck is saying that Jim is very skillfull with accomodating symbols to whether they are good or bad luck. Thus Jim will play a key role in foreshadowing what will happen later on in the book because of his ability predict luck from objects or actions. Thus when ever Jim talks about their luck the author is most likely hinting to a future event.

"And he said that handling a snake-skin was such awful bad luck that maybe we hadn't go to the end of it yet. He said he druther see the new moon over his left shoulder as much as a thousands times than take up a snake-skin in his hand" (63).

-Here we see one of Huck and Jim's superstitions, relating to snake skins. They believe it be bad luck, to such an extent that it is one of the worst among all of the bad luck omens. And Huck goes on to say that Jim said that he reckons they "hadn't go to the end of it yet" (63), thus foreshadowing that something bad is to happen later on in the story. And most of the time when it comes to omen and symbols of luck we see they play true. An example of this is with the birds who fore told of rain. Thus something bad is going to happen to Jim and Huck.

Vocab:

Lolled: Hang loosely or laxly

"We lolled on the grass" (53).

Abreast: Being up to particular standard or level especially in being up to date in knowledge

"I see a bunch of smoke laying on the water a long ways up- about abreast the ferry" (47).

Huck Finn 1: 9-27

Quotations:

"So I went to him that night and told him papa was here again, for I found his tracks in the snow" (26).

- The reader is exposed to a boy that is trully wiser than his age would suggest. We see that when it comes to street sense, specifically pertaining to survival, Huckleberry is clearly prepared suggesting that his prior experience with his father was very abusive. Yet we see that there is still  has that child like mentality: "We played robber now and then about a month, and then I resigned. All the boys did. We hadn't robbed nobody, we hadn't killed any people, but only just pretended" (20). Thus the reader can expect later on in the book that he will respond to different situations with a maturity regarding survival but at the same time be dictated by his child like attitude leading to the two conflicting with each other when he tries to make decision.

"She told to pray every day, and whatever I asked for I would get it. But it warn't so. I tried it. once I got a fish-line, but no hooks. I warn't anygood to me without hooks. I tried for the hooks three or four times, but somehow I couldn't make it work" (19).

-Here we see Hucklebee's child like mentality. For all his maturity he still has the curiousity of any normal child, who at the same time thinks like a child. An example of this is when he quickly denounces prayer after he sees nothing to gain from it: "so at last I reckoned I wouldn't worry about it any more, but just let it go" (19). This child like thinking will play role in how he chooses to live his life, at same time as his mature, survival instincts do.

Vocab:

Ambuscade: The act of concealing yourself and lying in wait to attack by surprise

"So I was on hand next day, Saturday, in the ambuscade" (21).

Betwixt: In the interval

"So he set down on the ground bewict me and Tom" (13).

William Lai

AP American Literature- Mr. George

February 24, 2009

Final Essay on Sin

Confession

            Confession is often times the most embarrassing and humiliating thing anybody can experience. It is the epitome of retribution, the ultimate payback; this constitutes the difficulty behind admitting to one’s mistakes or sins. It is said that it is a sinner's “duty to confess, to suffer public shame, and to make public atonement. There was a God who called upon men to tell their sins to earth as well as to heaven. Nothing that he could do would cleanse him till he had told his own sin” (Wilde 228). Therefore confession is vital for the washing away of sin. Confession can ultimately take place in many ways, whether it is confession to another person or self-punishment, as long as the sinner deals with the fact that they have sinned. Confession is a voluntary process that is based on one's choice to admit and recognize the fact that one has sinned and that is what God calls upon men to do.

            Looking to Oscar Wilde’s book, The Picture of Dorian Gray, it is abundantly clear that the redemption of sin lays in confession. In the book, the reader follows Dorian Gray for a period of twenty years observing Dorian live the ultimate life of pleasure and desire. Dorian lives this marvelous life of vanity and pleasure by using his everlasting beauty. By living this vain life of pleasure, his soul has become corrupt. This corruption is shown through the very portrait that allows him to sustain his beauty, making it the gateway to his soul: “the portrait Basil Hallward had painted of him […] was a visible symbol of the degradation of sin” (99-100). Wilde also makes it abundantly clear that this picture is absolutely hideous: “he saw in the dim light the hideous face on the canvas grinning at him. There was something in its expression that filled him with disgust and loathing” (161). Since the portrait is the gateway to his soul, the symbol of his sin, the reader can infer that Dorian must be an awful person with a treacherous past. Throughout his life, Dorian has sinned and fails to recognize or deal with the sin. By not dealing with any of his wrongdoings for most of his life, he lacks the knowledge or how to repent for them. When the effects of his sins finally catch up to him and he seeks a way to repent for his sins, he does not know how. With insufficient knowledge of how to deal with the situation, he chooses to not deal with his sins at all, and instead run away from them. An example of this can be seen when he tries to escape from dealing with murdering Basil.

          Dorian, instead of confessing to others decides to get rid of the body in an attempt to avoid his sin. Instead of getting rid of the body himself, he blackmails his former friend, Alan Campbell, to get rid of the body for him while Dorian tells Alan that he has saved his life. Alan responds, “Your life? Good heavens! What a life that is! You have gone from corruption to corruption, and now you have culminated in crime. In doing what I am going to do, what you force me to do, it is not of your life that I am thinking” (176). Campbell wonders what type of life is he really saving. Can Dorian’s life be saved at all?

Dorian's life is filled with corruption upon corruption, with murder and blackmail topping it all off. Dorian has only known a life where his every capricious desire is met, where every person succumbs to his will. He has lived a life of greed, vanity, and pride. He has never had to truly grapple with his sins, his vices, and his misdeeds. Multitudes of religions preach that life is a time meant to break away from our lives of sinful pleasure. For example, Buddhism says the meaning of life is to end suffering by eliminating one’s cravings and earthly desires. Christianity preaches that the meaning of life is to live as Jesus did, the savior of all humans, the ultimate representation of salvation. Most religions like Buddhism and Christianity preach of putting off worldly pleasures so that you may live life as God intends us, and we see Dorian has failed to do this; thus, it is impossible to save Dorian because he avoids his sin. Looking at The Crucible when characters confess their sins and grapple with them, they actually find redemption.

Oscar Wilde makes it clear that sinners must confess their sin to find redemption through the character Basil Hallward. Basil Hallward is the only moral character in The Picture of Dorian Gray. But like all the other characters, he too has sinned as well. In the book, Basil Hallward worships the portrait of Dorian Gray. Once he realized he was worshipping a false idol, he immediately confesses his sin and tries to find redemption for it. Basil even tries to help Dorian by having him confess to his sin and atone for it: “Pray, Dorian, pray [… the prayer that] was taught [to us] to say […] Lead us not into temptation. Forgive us our sins […] The prayer of your pride has been answered. The prayer of your repentance will be answered also” (162). Thus Oscar Wilde notes the importance of confession.

            In The Crucible, the protagonist, John Proctor, also is looking for redemption for sinning. He soon encounters a problem: where does redemption come from? He believed that redemption came from others, so he first sought forgiveness from his wife. Instead of finding forgiveness, he is met with a coldness “that could freeze beer” (Miller 20). Receiving this unexpected response he is shocked: “I should have roared you down when first you told me your suspicion. But I wilted, and, like a Christian, I confessed! Some dream I had must have mistaken you for God that day” (55). But he is not deterred after he failed to find reconciliation from his wife, and he again tries to seek it from others, with hopes that he might find it through the community.
            John Proctor admits to the community that he committed adultery, coming clean with his sin, but once again it bares the opposite effect he hopes for. He is thrown in jail, accused of witchcraft, and is still burdened with inner turmoil. This unexpected response frustrates him: “I say –say –God is dead!” (119). He nearly gives up his search for redemption and nearly admits to Judge Danforth’s accusation of witchcraft, but he finally finds redemption.
            John Proctor finds redemption through a revelation instigated from Rebecca Nurse’s shock in his agreeing of committing witchcraft:  “Why it is a lie, it is a lie; how may I damn myself?” (140). This sparks the idea that instead of seeking peace from his peers, he should seek absolution from God. When he confesses to God, he finds peace: “There’s your first marvel […] for now I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor” (144). And while Proctor goes to his death, the author makes it clear that through his confession he has been forgiven through Elizabeth: “He have his goodness now” (145).

Similarly, Dimmesdale, the protagonist of The Scarlet Letter, also faces the daunting task of finding redemption after committing adultery. But he takes a different approach instead, seeking reconciliation from God rather than from the public. He tried to repent for his sin by abusing himself both mentally and physically. He mentally punished himself through his silence because “he loved the truth, and loathed the lie” (Hawthorne 131), yet the community loved him as a saint. Thus, he loathed his miserable self, for he was the lie that he hated so much. This self-hate drove him to physically punish himself with a whip. These acts of self-retribution did not satisfy him though, because he still felt inner conflict over his sin, which manifested itself as the letter A on his chest.

Dimmesdale finds peace at the end of The Scarlet Letter when he mounts the scaffold with Hester and Pearl confessing his sin to the entire community: “People of New England! Ye, that have loved me! –ye, that have deemed me holy! –behold me here, the one sinner of the world!” (228). After this, he pulls off his shirt to reveal “what has seared his inmost heart!” (228), finalizing his confession. Hawthorne, the author of The Scarlet Letter, shows that the community had forgiven Dimmesdale through Pearl, as she “kissed his lips. A spell was broken. The great scene of grief, in which the wild infant bore a part, had developed all her sympathies” (229). Then Dimmesdale says, “The law we broke! –the sin here so awfully revealed! –let these alone be in thy thoughts! […] He is merciful! He hath proved his mercy most of all, in my afflictions” (229), justifying that one must seek forgiveness from God through confession. Ergo, Dimmesdale confessed his sin to finally find redemption.

Dimmesdale shares a similar characteristic to Dorian, that he too has a symbol of his sin. For Dorian, his sin is manifested in his portrait, and for Dimmesdale his sin is manifested as the letter A on his chest. Both Dorian and Dimmesdale try to hide the symbols of their sins from the public; Dimmesdale hides his under his shirt and Dorian hides his under lock and key on the roof of his house. Although both share similar circumstances, Dorian never finds reconciliation while Dimmesdale does. The reason being Dorian, unlike Dimmesdale, hides his sin, in order to escape its punishment, trying to live a pleasurable, carefree life. Dimmesdale, on the other hand, hides his sin as a means to protect the community and as a way to punish himself and ultimately confesses his sin and shows his sin. Dimmesdale’s confession of his sin played a crucial role in his salvation, justifying the need to admit his sin and atone for it. Both John Proctor and Dimmesdale sought redemption for their sins through confession, either publicly to the community or privately to God. By confessing their sin, they found peace to the turmoil that had stricken them comparably to Dorian who instead never confesses and never finds peace.

            Another character that is similar to Dorian is Chillingsworth in The Scarlet Letter. Chillingsworth’s sin. like Dorian Gray’s sin, is manifested in his appearance. The more Chillingworth sins, the uglier he becomes: “what a change had come over his features, –how his dark complexion seemed to have grown duskier, and his figure more misshapen, –since the days when she familiarly known him” (Hawthorne 102). Thus, it is clear that Chillingworth has committed a horrid sin like Dorian. And like Dorian, Chillingworth does not confess his sin or try to repent it, resulting in his death. Once again, the necessity of confession and the atonement of sin are shown through Dorian and Chillingworth.

It is a sinner’s duty to confess their sin and atone for it. Looking at all the characters from The Crucible, The Scarlet Letter, and The Picture of Dorian Gray, the necessity of confession is blatantly obvious. Every character sinned in the three stories in some way, but all those that confessed their sin found redemption. Those that did not confess did not have to deal with repercussions of their sins in the mortal life, but instead had to deal with their sins in the eternal life. God calls us to admit to our wrongdoings and to atone for them, for “the Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard ‘delay,’ but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).