Guilt is, in the mind of many, is the most powerful emotion that the human is capable of possessing. Guilt can drive people to commit acts they would think of as being inconceivable when not "under the influence" of this dreaded feeling. And where does this emotion come from? The most common and obvious of the causes would be not confessing a wrong doing, or lying about such an act. "Be true! Be true! Be true! Show freely to the world, if not your worst, yet some trait whereby the worst may be inferred!" (Hawthorne, ) This quote is a wonderful example of how Hawthorne shows the power guilt has over people. Hawthorne shows the effects of the progression of guilt through the characters and plot of The Scarlet Letter. Each of the characters endures the battle of attempting cope with the consequences of not confessing their sins, especially...