Catarina Bernardes Henry David Thoreau once wrote: “Aim for morality: be not simply good; be good forsomething.” Throughout American Literature, many men and women have achieved greatness. Whetherit deals with the forces of good and evil, one restraining oneself from an Equalized society, justifying the value of one’s name, seeking a form of Transcendentalism, the American Dream through romance, oreven individualism, it is proven that many characters, within these works of literature, are substantiated as forms of heroism and achievement. The brilliant write rs who exemplify these morals are Nathanial Hawthorne, Ayn Rand, Scott Fitzgerald, Arthur Miller, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Nathanial Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter. The Scarlet Letter is a classic American novel. In this novel of gothic romance, and mystique, Hawthorne critiques the Puritanical times by displaying the overall hypocrisy. The setting is taken place during the Puritanical time period, whereas sinning holds numerous controversies, and punishments to f ellow Puritans. During this time period, women had a high expectation to remain proper, elegant, and gentile. Hestor Prynne is the protagonist of the story. In the introduction to the story, Prynn e exists out of a Prison, and stands, on a S caffold, before socie ty. Prynne is infam ous for comm itting adultery. In consequence, this sin is a crime that leads to mortification and ignominy for Prynne. However, she still stands dig nified, ignoring the rest o f the villagers. Thro ughout the story, Prynne where’s a Scarlet Letter a on her bosom . At first, Hawthorne leads h is readers to believe that the letter a symbolizes the word adultery. The Scarlet Letter a, howev er, represents the meaning of the word ambiguity, also known as not clearly defined. Not only is the representation of ambiguity reflected on the symbolic meanings in the novel, but it is also displayed through the characters. Needless to say, Hestor Prynne herself is mystical and ambiguous, along with her daughter Pearl, who is the effect to her crime, and Reverend Dimmsdale, who is the link to her crime. Arthur Miller wrote the play, The Crucible. Like the Scarlet Let ter, The Crucible is set during the Puritanical time period. The Crucible, however, is more associated with The Salem Witch Trials, in which women were accused for evoking spells on oth ers. John Proctor, a man who is guilty of infidelity and adultery, gets involved in the controversy concerning the
