Shades of Truth in The Scarlet LetterNo one is perfect and no one is exactly the same. Everyone sins, and that includes lying. Almost everyone lies at some point, whether it's to cover something up or just to make someone feel better. Or it could be both. As people, we are very afraid of being misjudged, so if a person does something sinful or is rejected, they lie about it to protect their reputation. This opinion based on other people's life decisions is a hypocritical decision. We don't want this to happen to us, but we do when we hear rumors about others in our community. This is because people are very judgmental. This was not only applicable in 1650, or even in 1850, when The Scarlet Letter was written, but it is still something that is happening today, not only in America, but right here at North Central High School. Although most people know the difference between truth and lies, Nathaniel Hawthorne establishes that many people have different perceptions of truth due to denial, reaction to judgment, and differences in morality in the epic tale of The Scarlet Letter. Many people deny their emotions. , especially the strict Puritans. They sell themselves to God and live for no one or anything else. They are givers, not takers, which is an admirable trait for some, but not for the romantic Hawthorne. In the novel The Scarlet Letter, there are strict Puritans like these. Hester Prynne is an example. Like everyone else, she committed a sin. However, it was a very serious sin: adultery. Even if the option, which was not presented to the reader, that she and Arthur Dimmesdale (her adulterer) were in love, it wouldn't matter because she would have felt bad anyway (Even if she didn't love her husband), the same thing would have come out of it: complete and utter misery for all those involved in sin. It was because she was denying HER emotions and accepting everything she thought God wanted her to do. Another example of denial blocking a similar definition of truth is that of Arthur Dimmesdale. He denied his past in order to have a better future. However, this didn't seem to work as he eventually committed suicide to end his melancholy. He refused his congregation and his community. By violating the dignity of his position as minister, he chose to violate it further by not telling anyone..