Comparing The Scarlet Letter and Long Black Veil :: comparison compare contrast essays

Comparing The Scarlet Letter and Long Black Veil The song, Long Black Veil, written by Johnny Cash has many similar elements to The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Both have to do with the sliminess of adultery that ends up hurting the characters in the stories. In Long Black Veil a man is convicted of a murder because he cannot provide an alibi for the night that another man was killed. It turns go forth that the night of the murder, this man had been in the arms of his best friends wife. The man ends up being executed while the woman punishes herself for not saving his life by wearing a long black veil. Long Black Veil and The Scarlet Letter both demonstrate how secrets can destroy ones life. This theme is shown through with(predicate) the sin of adultery, the punishments that the characters go through and the symbolism of the long black veil and the scarlet letter. The original sin of adultery is what starts the events that end up ruining the characters l ives. fetch up hither, Hester, thou and little Pearl...Ye have both been here before, but I was not with you. Come up hither once again, and we will live all three together (p. 133). Though it is never said out in the open, you come to the realization that Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale have committed the sin of adultery and when Hester becomes pregnant, she is convicted for that sin. Id been in the arms of my best friends / wife The man and his best friends wife also commit the sin of adultery and when he cannot give an alibi to a mark because he does not want anyone to know where he was that night, he is convicted for murder and executed. Adultery is what ends up destroying the characters lives because none except for Hester are willing to admit to the sin of adultery. The punishments that the characters must undergo are worsened by the fact that they do not assort the whole truth. Hester has been found guilty of adultery but when she is asked to tell whom i t was that she committed the sin with she refuses saying Never.