“Honesty is the best policy”; “Always be yourself” are common phrases that many parents say to their children and, as common as they are, being honest and being your true self contributes to individual happiness and satisfaction. “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a novel that delves deep into these key themes of honesty and integrity and the consequences of doing the opposite. One of the main characters, the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, is a minister in 17th-century Puritan New England whose health is failing because of his lies and guilt. Dimmesdale commits adultery with a beautiful town woman, Hester Prynne, whose husband, Roger Chillingworth, later returns from Europe. Pearl, who is the product of Hester and Dimmesdale's sin, never knows who her father is. Dimmesdale gives sermons on sin and honesty while hiding his own sin. He is portrayed as a hypocrite and fights internal battles with himself because he deceives people about his true nature. Hawthorne uses the character of Dimmesdale to depict the harsh consequences of not being true to ourselves and deceiving our true nature. Dimmesdale suffers greatly from the consequences of his refusal to acknowledge his sin and is therefore portrayed as a hypocrite because he does not confess his sin. sin continues to act as a highly respected minister. When the reader first learns about Dimmesdale, they do not realize that he is a hypocrite until later in the book. His hypocrisy first appears when Hester is on a platform before the town as punishment and Dimmesdale is called to force Hester to confess who the father is: "Hester Prynne," he [Dimmesdale] says, leaning on the balcony and looking down firmly in the middle of paper......of the truth. At the end of the novel, Hawthorne draws a conclusion from the story: "Among the many morals which weigh upon us because of the poor minister's miserable experience, we put only this one into one sentence: Be true!" Be faithful! Be faithful!" (Hawthorne 246). Hawthorne uses Dimmesdale to represent the consequences of betrayal and lying. He shows the reader that deceiving oneself and deceiving others can only bring harm and agony and that the best way to do things is to always be true to ourselves and others Works Cited Donoghue, Denis. “Hawthorne and Sin.” Gale Student Resources in Context. . Internet. January 21, 2014. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. New York: Signet Classics, 2009. “Themes and Construction: EXPLORE the Novels.” Internet January 21.. 2014