Sin: An Unfair Burden? All cultures and religions have a unique way of dealing with the problem of sin and the treatment of their sinners. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne intentionally reveals how societies which alienate sinners unfairly burden them with shame and guilt. Hawthorne accomplishes this by employing descriptive and vivid diction to show his omniscient point of view, the strong symbol of the scarlet letter, and characterizing a shamed and rejected Hester …showed first 75 words of 928 total…

…showed last 75 words of 928 total…oncept that this society unjustly judges sinners which causes them to be burdened by alienation and shame. In Hester’s case, the pain of persecution and her inner turmoil stay with her forever. Hester’s plight through constant judgments do make her stronger in some aspects, but over time the society chips away at her heart and forever engraves it with a burning, remindful “A”.