Weaknesses of Puritan Society-Free-Samples-Myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Weaknesses of Puritan Society. Answer: The Puritans were the Reformed Protestants who aimed at purifying the Church of England of the impacts of the Catholicism in the 16th and the 17th century after the ascension of Elizabeth I of England. The stern laws and regulations that governed the Puritan society was formulated based on the scriptures. However, there were flaws with the judgment that was given to the defaulters of the law. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne has helped in the proper understanding of the different aspects of the hypocrisy and the sternness of the laws that governed the Puritan society. Apart from the praises made by Hawthornes Puritan blood, the author also undertook ways in order to criticize the regulations and the laws of the Puritans ironically. The early Puritans followed John Calvin, a French Protestant reformer, who believed the whereabouts of the world as a conflict between God and Satan. These Calvinists believed that they are redeemed of the consequences of their sins through salvation whereas the others are eternally damned. The author in his novel ironically represented the belief as a biased and unlawful element of the society that gave those Puritans the power of ruling over the society. The discussion is aimed at understanding the rigid and the stern laws and regulations that guide the society and thereby understand the hypocrisy that the society imposes on the life of every individual. On the other hand, the changes in the society brought about by the Puritans are based primarily on the Scriptures and the ideas of salvation that men are required to do. The depiction of the laws and the regulations that are being imposed by the Puritans in The Scarlet Letter has helped in the understanding of the social condition and the mentality of the people that lived in the society at that time. The strong adherence to the Scriptures and the hate that the society bore towards the sinners is the major theme of the work by Hawthorne. The author undertakes the depiction of a purely non-corrupted society. However, there is an irony to the concept, which is portrayed in the novel. The depiction of the purely non-corrupted society is affected by the hypocrisy of the members of the Puritan society and the actions taken by the same. The inheritance of power and misutilization of the same is being portrayed through the depiction of the characters of Mistress Hibbins, who at the bright daylight pretends to be a Puritan but at night joins the Dark Man in the forest away from the society. The rigid rules and regulations imposed by the Puritans on the socie ty had both good and bad effects on the same. It affected the private life of the people. As per the context of the novel, the crisis faced by Hester Prynne has helped in the proper understanding of the order and the repression that was offered by the Puritans while developing the society based on the faith and religion. The novel emphasizes on the appearances and the penance that is being imposed by the Puritan society. It has helped in the understanding of the different flaws in the societal offerings and the manner in which it affected the lives of the people dwelling in the society. The introspective nature of the puritans is also being portrayed as a theme of the novel. The portrayal of the sins and the penance that is being imposed by the authorities helps in the understanding of the different factors of the change that is implemented on the society. The Puritans face great difficulty in hating the sin and not the sinner. To simplify, they are against both the sinner and the sin and therefore imposed strict penance in order to make an example of the sinner in the society. The imposition of the rigid rules has affected the lifestyle of the people and there well being as well. The forced discipline has resulted to alternatives that the members of the society found in the forest away from the strict decorum of the society that adheres the mentioned discipline of the Scriptures. The hypocrisy that is noticed in the work is a result of the strict adherence to the scriptural teachings rather than understanding the importance of the human emotions. The community call s for the blood of the sinners but those who have sinned equally remains silent. It has helped in maintaining the backdrop of the hypocrisy that is created by the author in this novel. The strict imposition of the laws and the rigid regulations has helped in determining the aspects of public appearance and private knowledge, which is perhaps the major theme of The Scarlet Letter. The lovers, Hester and Dimmesdale, plans to escape the community to the forest where such imposition of laws were not prevalent. Society everywhere is a conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members the virtue in most request is conformity. The theme of hypocrisy and conspiracy of the community against the lifestyle of the people has not changed a bit apart from the changes in the structure of the society and its undertakings. There are changes that are evident in the society based on the proper understanding of the emotions of the people, however, the intervention of the same ion the life of t he people is still perceived in the present day. Though there are evident changes in the strict rules and the rigid ideologies of the people, which govern the society, there are certain exceptions based on the mindset of the people. The life of Hester and the price she had to pay for the so called sin of adultery actions has helped in the clear understanding of the different aspects of judgment that the community. The understanding of the mentality of the people based on the strict adherence of the laws that were laid down by the founding members of the society has helped in determining the scenario of the world in which Hester and Dimmesdale survived. The policies and the rigid rules that were imposed on the community that lived in Massachusetts Bay Colony have greatly affected the lifestyle of the people. The private life of the people was made public and prosecuted based on the laws that were forwarded by the Scriptures. This conformity, whether they agreed or not, were followed and they were thus compelled to follow the order of the Puritans. This resulted to a deviation to the sins that were forbidden in the community. The hypocrisy in the community was perceived through the alternative actions that were un dertaken by the inhabitants of the community in order to gain over their liberty of the actions. The presentation of the various aspects of the social reformatuion that is being undertaken by the Puritans is portrayed in the novel The Scarlet letter. The alienation of the community and the rigid rules and regulations enforced by the authorities has helped in the understanding of the mentality of the people and their concept of judgment that the sinners are penalized with. The rigid regulations and the public prosecution affected the private lifestyle of the people, which led the people to search for other alternatives to fulfill their emotional standpoints. The determination of the Gods Elect and the judgments that are being made by the Puritans based on the Holy Scriptures has helped in understanding the holistic approach of the Puritans