The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Crucible by Arthur Miller are two very similar, yet different, works of literature that are set in the early seventeenth century in Puritan times. The Scarlet Letter focuses on Hester Prynne and her punishment for adultery, while The Crucible focuses on witchcraft trials. Although the characters in The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible face their situations differently, both works include characters driven by their jealousy and ego, as well as hypocrisy and corruption of the court.    

In both The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible, characters commit grave sins in their societies, and they must find ways to deal with their situations. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne commits adultery, which is considered a major crime in the Puritan society. Hester has a child named Pearl, who is considered a devil child. As a punishment, Hester must wear a scarlet “A” on her clothes and stand on the scaffold for the town to judge. Hester lives her life wearing the “A” and letting everyone judge her for her sin. However, Hester does not let her sin define her. She spends her life raising her daughter by herself and dedicating her time to the outcasts of the town. Eventually, her “A” comes to mean “able” instead of “adulterer.” In contrast, characters in The Crucible use manipulation to try and cover up their mistakes. Abigail Williams, who is accused of witchcraft, blames and points fingers at others to make the court believe she is innocent. Abigail acts as if she is being controlled by Mary Warren by witchcraft, and she continues to act throughout The Crucible. Because she refuses to admit to what she has done, John Proctor dies, his wife Elizabeth is put in prison, and many other innocent people are accused of witchcraft. In conclusion, The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible are different because the characters take different approaches to their situations.

The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible are similar because both works include characters that are driven by their jealousy. In The Scarlet Letter, Roger Chillingworth seeks to get revenge on Reverend Dimmesdale because he is the father of Hester’s child. Chillingworth is Hester’s husband, so he wanted revenge on Dimmesdale for having an affair with Hester. Chillingworth even befriended and moved in with Dimmesdale in order to corrupt Dimmesdale and get revenge. Chillingworth is jealous of Dimmesdale’s relationship with Hester, which fuels his desire to get revenge. Similarly in The Crucible, Abigail Williams desires to get revenge on Elizabeth Proctor because she is in love with her husband, John Proctor. When Elizabeth found out about the affair, she kicked Abigail out of her house, which added to Abigail’s anger. Because she is so jealous, Abigail frames Elizabeth for witchcraft, which the court believes. Elizabeth is incriminated and put in prison, while Abigail flees town. Because Abigail is so jealous and wants revenge on Elizabeth, John Proctor dies and Elizabeth is put in prison. In both The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible, characters are fueled by jealousy, which leads to the downfall of others.

Because of hypocrisy and corruption of the court, The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible are similar works of literature. In The Scarlet Letter, the townspeople and the court prove to be hypocrites when they judge Hester for her sins even though they are sinners as well. The people live in a Puritan society where sinning is unacceptable, so the first thing they do is judge one another when they sin. Also, even though Puritans believe in a perfect society where nothing bad happens, the first things built in The Scarlet Letter were the prison and the cemetary. These symbols are hypocritical of the utopia that Puritans long for because both symbolize death, sin, and sorrow. In a similar way, the townspeople and the court show hypocrisy in The Crucible. Because The Crucible also takes place in a Puritan society, the people and the court do everything they can to make their society perfect. This means that the court is extremely forceful and thorough with any crimes committed, specifically witchcraft. However, this also means that the court is so blinded by their desires of perfection that they accuse and execute anyone who may have played a part in witchcraft. Because of this, many innocent people are executed and incarcerated, which contradicts the Puritan ways. The court proves to be corrupt and hypocritical by condemning innocent people just to keep their society perfect. Overall, The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible are similar because both show themes of hypocrisy and corruption of authority.

 Though the characters in The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible face their situations differently, these works of literature are similar because both include characters with jealousy and themes of hypocrisy. Though Hester Prynne and Abigail Williams both committed sins, Hester owns up to hers and makes a better life for herself, while Abigail ruins everyone else’s lives to save her own. Abigail is also fueled by her jealousy, which is similar to Roger Chillingworth in The Scarlet Letter. In both pieces of literature, the townspeople as well as the court show hypocrisy and corruption by going against Puritan ways. The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible are similar, yet different, works of literature that focus on the corruption of the Puritan lifestyle.