This paper contains three essays pertaining to the Scarlet Letter.

1)Though Nathaniel Hawthorne's ancestors were Puritans, he did not share Puritan beliefs and values, and wrote the Scarlet Letter to denounce those values.
Puritans believed in a theocracy where the church and state are combined into one. This later proved illogical as it interfered with civil rights and essentially one's independence. Puritans were also a very judgmental people, who enjoyed public exposure of sins and those who disagreed with their beliefs. Hawthorne portrayed this aspect of Puritanism by constantly exposing Hester to public condemnation for her sin of adultery and by p…