Every person who lives up to a decent age would have definitely committed numerous sins and/or crimes. Sin is defined as a shameful offense against "a moral or ethical principle" (Encarta 2005). Sins are painful in the mind, heart, and soul, rather than something physical. Crime is an "activity that involves breaking a law" (Encarta 2005). Crime, in contrast to sin is something that involves a proper system of going against a national law. While sin may be something that is mentally painful, crimes may create physical pain as well. Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, The Scarlet Letter, plays around with the fact of three main characters, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, Hester Prynne, and Roger Chillingworth who commit a sin in their own respective ways. Through the comparisons of Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne, we see the powers of sin, guilt, isolation and concealment at its utmost extreme.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, we...