Bojorquez Montemayor 1

Jaza Bojorquez, Maya Montemayor

Cooper, Whipple
AP Language, AP U.S. History
30 December 2016
Guilt in Literature and History

In the 18th century, the Romantic era was in full swing, and the gothic motifs were often

seen in American literature and architecture but were also reflected in historical events. The

gothic motifs of the Romantic era reflect a transformation in the American consciousness

through the motif of guilt. Guilt can be seen in the Second Great Awakening as well as in The

Scarlet Letter, and “The Raven.” These ideas are expressed in our diorama, reflecting this motif

within the Second Great Awakening and the works of literature mentioned before.

The motif, guilt, can be found in many historical experiences especially during the

Romantic era of the United States. Guilt inspired the spiritual transformation in the Second Great

Awakening. The Second Great Awakening was a spiritual revival in the 1800s that was inspired

by the idea of perfectionism. This idea of people having to be perfect, led to many social reforms

and that the individual could achieve salvation through their own efforts. Guilt felt under this

new spirituality drove many who had not gone to church in the past to attend regularly and to

become followers in the new church sects. The spiritual revival was so emotional, because many

found comfort in participating with the church to help achieve their goal of perfection. An

example of this can be seen in a hymn they would sing to children to live a life away from vices,

where it states “He spake my sins at once forgiv'n, And wash'd my load of guilt away, He gave

me pardon, peace, and heaven, And thus I found the good old way” (HYMN 15 L.M.). This

quote shows how guilt inspired the community to be more spiritual, including the children. This

also demonstrates how God can forgive and remove their guilt if they follow him. People’s guilt

lead to the beginning of the Second Great Awakening and a new spirituality.
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The motif, guilt, can also be found in The Scarlet Letter, especially in Mr. Dimmesdale’s

actions and thoughts. In The Scarlet Letter, as Mr. Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold, in a “vain

show of expiation,” he feels like the universe was “gazing at a scarlet token” on his “naked

breast, right over his heart” (Hawthorne 125). And in that spot, above his heart, there was a

constant “gnawing and poisonous tooth of bodily pain” causing him to shriek aloud (Hawthorne

125). This explains how Mr. Dimmesdale was guilty of his sins, and it drove him insane to the

point of physically hurting himself. This internal guilt was weighing on him, as well as creating

fear of what others may think about him. Hawthorne’s use of tone words like, “expiation,”

“naked breast,” and “gnawing” shows how Mr. Dimmesdale is vulnerable to the rest of the

world, because his guilt has taken over his life.

“The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe also provides an example of guilt in literature. At the

end of the poem, a Raven flies into the speaker’s house, and as the speaker asks questions the

raven only replies by saying ‘nevermore.’ But as the raven is flying, it sits “on the pallid bust of

Pallas just above [the speaker’s] chamber door” and the light above the raven “throws [its]

shadow on the floor,” and the speaker’s “soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor

[would] be lifted - nevermore!” (Poe). This quote reflects the dark imagery of the poem which

pressures the speaker to go insane by imagining the raven talking. The raven’s shadow

symbolizes the inner guilt the character is experiencing as he continues to fall deeper and deeper

into his guilt over losing his lover.

The artifact we chose to do was a diorama that illustrates the connections between the

Second Great Awakening, The Scarlet Letter, and “The Raven” through the motif of guilt. In the

diorama, we present the raven to be above all of the characters/figures, similar to the imagery in

“The Raven.” Below the raven is Hester Prynne, and Mr. Dimmesdale, from The Scarlet Letter,
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as well as a camp meeting/revival meeting from the Second Great Awakening. Behind the raven,

there is also a lamp to shine a light over the raven to cast a shadow over the characters. This

mimics the scene in “The Raven” when the raven’s shadow casts over the speaker in the poem.

The shadow over the characters in the diorama shows that the internalized guilt weighs upon the

characters, changing them. When the light is off, it shows what everybody else sees, and they are

not confined in darkness. However, when the light is on, it casts a shadow to show that the

individuals dwell in their own guilt as they are stuck in the darkness of the shadow, like the main

character in “The Raven.” This is reflected in The Scarlet Letter when Mr. Dimmesdale

internalizes his guilt too much. This is also seen in the Second Great Awakening because it was

caused by individuals being driven by guilt, rather than to be genuinely moral.

Guilt can be found in history as well as literature from the Romantic era. This guilt also

has caused a lot of consequences. In The Scarlet Letter, as well as “The Raven,” Mr.

Dimmesdale and the speaker’s internal guilt ended up driving them insane. There were

consequences in the Second Great Awakening as well, such as people becoming more religious

as well as women having a greater participation, and the creation of social reforms. Guilt can

reflect a change in the American consciousness and thought, which is seen through the literature

and historical events of the time.

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Works Cited

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Series editor by Luciana Piré, Giunti Gruppo

Editoriale, 2001, Firenze.

“HYMN 15 L.M.” The Camp Meeting Chorister, J. Clarke, 1830. TeachusHistory.org.

www.teachushistory.org/second-great-awakening-age-reform/resources/hymn-youth.

Accessed 30 November 2016.

Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Raven.” The Raven, AP Language, Ms. Cooper, Austin High School,

Oct. 27. Class handout.