Literature Essay Sample: Importance of Religion in Puritan Society

The importance of religion in Puritan society shows through mandatory church attendance, making it very prominent in everyday life. During the 17th century, a Puritan's life revolves around strict dedication to God. In both novels, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the majority of characters express great commitment to the church. Certain members of the community garner more respect due to their higher positions in the church. Community members often criticize each other due to a lack of knowledge about God and a lower attendance in the church. In both books, the significance of the church gives the people who have a profession relating to the church, like a reverend or judge, the most power, essentially over everything. In The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible, Hawthorne and Miller both help the readers gain a better understanding of hypocrisy in Puritan society by showing the manipulative ways the antagonists of both books take advantage of the church to achieve what they want. 

To begin, in The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne expresses the great overall idea of the contrast between public and private guilt. This directly relates to one’s personal relationship with God and how they convey their sins to society. In The Scarlet Letter, Chillingworth wants revenge specifically on Dimmesdale, the man involved in an affair with his wife. Hester continuously tries to repent for her sins and stays honest by not “[taking] off [her] badge” (Hawthorne 153) of the scarlet letter under any circumstances, even with no one present. On the other hand, unlike Hester, Roger Chillingworth devotes his entire time in this village plotting against Dimmesdale. When confronted about his wrong doings, Chillingworth does not even acknowledge his wrongdoings, replying innocently, “What evil [have I] done [to Dimmesdale]?” (Hawthorne 154), showing his true abominable nature. Therefore, Hawthorne shows that Chillingworth takes advantage of the Church by directly trying to affect the Reverend of the church in The Scarlet Letter. 

Furthermore, Miller shows the antagonist of The Crucible manipulating the church by allowing many innocent people to die. Abigail, in love with John Proctor after their affair, wants to ultimately end up with him. When the opportunity arises after Parris sees the girls dancing in the woods and thinks too much into it, Abigail starts to accuse people of witchcraft. Following her lead, the other girls claim to “[see] George Jacobs with the Devil” (Miller 48) along with many others. By accusing others, it forces innocent people into an ultimatum. They either must admit their witchcraft, or deny it and face the consequences of getting hung. After a while, people in the village realize that they can take advantage of the church by accusing people who have something that they desire. For instance, due to Abigail’s obsession with John Proctor, “[she] wants [Elizabeth] dead” (Miller 60) in order for their married relationship to end. To wrap up, both of these examples show that people in the village use the rules of the church for their own interest.  

To sum everything up, The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible show the manipulative ways Chillingworth and Abigail, the antagonists of both books, take advantage of the church and their religion for their own benefit. In order for Chillingworth to take revenge on Dimmesdale, he wastes his own life, having too much focus on Dimmesdale's downfall. He uses his physician occupation to get closer to Dimmesdale which then psychologically tortures him more, therefore, greatly affecting the church. With Abigail, the main focus of all of the hangings stem from her theories. Abigail persistently accuses many innocent people of witchcraft just to get to her final goal of eventually ending up with John Proctor. She deceives an entire village into believing her and ultimately gets away unscathed. Everything Chillingworth and Abigail do, originates from the ruling Puritan ideal that the church remains above everything else. Roger Chillingworth and Abigail Williams know that in order to make a great enough effect on an entire village, they need to take advantage of the church.