NATIONAL MORALITY IN HAWTHORNE’S THE SCARLET LETTER Since the beginning of time, man has gathered himself in communities in order to better facilitate the needs and interests of individuals. As institutions developed to govern these communities, the idea of a “collective good” emerged. Central to the idea of a collective good is the responsibility of the community in forming a sense of national morality. Should this morality come from the government or religion? Perhaps, …showed first 75 words of 1678 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1678 total…the Puritan theocratic state, and paves the way for Hawthorne’s transcendentalism. Dimmesdale judges Ledbetter-11 himself and then determines the appropriate punishment just as Hawthorne advocates. Hester follows the same self-judgment and sentences herself with retribution of a life filled with charity. Moreover though, Hester Prynne is the embodiment of the purely American dream of life in the new world’s wilderness, and the self-reliant action that is necessary to attain such an ideal (Carpenter, 47).