Both of Hawthorne's works had a strong Puritan based influence. In The Scarlet Letter, the narrator guides the reader through a scene in which protagonist Hester Prynne is about to be subjugated to public scorn for committing the sin of adultery. The women are quite vocal in the crowd that gathers outside Hester's prison door. Two of the women in particular had a certain disdain for what they perceived to be lenient punishment of the crime. Hester has been ordered to wear the letter “A” on her chest as a sign of her adultery. In the eyes of these women however, that was not enough. “At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne's forehead.” (1360) The other woman, who was described as being ugly, had even less mercy. “This woman has brought shame upon us all and ought to die. Is there not law for it? Truly there is, both in the Scripture and the statue-book.” (1360) The two quotes tell the reader about the society Hester lived in. The women wanted nothing less than a strict interpretation of the Bible, which calls for putting an adulterer to death. The second woman even mentions Hester bringing shame upon everyone in town, indicating that the community was very much involved with whatever an individual was doing, whether it was good or bad. The stringent norms of the society Hester lived in were shown very early on in the novel.

Parson Hooper is the protagonist of “The Minister's Black Veil.” The opening scene in this short story gives the reader a good idea on the Puritan sect that Hooper delivers his sermons to. When Hooper came into the church wearing a thin, black veil over his face, the congregation immediately had a problem with it. The physician of the village was even taken aback by this mysterious veil. “Something must surely be amiss with Mr. Hooper's intellects…the strangest part of the affair is the effect of this vagary, even on a sober-minded man like myself. The black veil, though it covers only our pastor's face, throws its influence over his whole person, and makes him ghost like from head to foot. Do you not feel it so?” (1283) This quote shows that the congregation as a whole disapproves Parson Hooper's decision to mask himself with the black veil. They feel uncomfortable, especially since Parson Hooper is the minister and is supposed to embody the written word of God, not cover a “secret sin.” Hooper has effectively isolated himself from the rest of the community with the black veil.

Defying the norms of society did more than just damage Hester Prynne's reputation. Her state of mind was certainly affected as she spent three months in prison before being released back into the community, where she would only be further persecuted. But Hester's act of marital unfaithfulness hurt others as well. The first person the reader finds that is hurt by the violations is Hester's husband, Roger Chillingsworth. He character is based upon the revenge he seeks for being betrayed by his wife. He is portrayed as a physician, and he has every intention in torturing whoever fathered Hester's child. The father of the child is eventually revealed to be reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Throughout most of the novel, Dimmesdale is suffering because he knows that Hester has taken all of the blame for a sin that take two people to commit. His internal battle begins to damage his health, both physically and mentally. It is obvious that Dimmesdale wants to confess his sins, and he even tries doing so indirectly. During one scene of events, Dimmesdale prods Hester on the scaffold as to who the father of the child was. He knows he can be caught if she decided to say his name, yet she holds back. “I charge thee to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow sufferer!

Be not silent for any mistaken pity and tenderness for him; for, believe me, Hester, though he were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart throughout life.” (1369) Dimmesdale is almost telling Hester step by step to confess his name. He talks of how it would be better for him to stand on that pedestal of shame beside her, rather than above her from a high place. He was already worried of having to hide this sin for the rest of his life and because Hester didn't confess, that exactly what he had to do. Once Dimmesdale is able to confess his sin at the end of the novel, the burden of sin that was upon his heart was lifted. Dimmesdale collapse and dies on the spot. Not only has Hester hurt herself by committing such a sin, but she has hurt her daughter.

Children of the town are taught not to play with Pearl, thus isolating her as well. “Pearl was a born outcast of the infantile world. An imp of evil, emblem and product of sin, she had no right among christened infants.” (1383) Pearl had already been placed in a position of isolation from the very beginning. Society undoubtedly looked at her as if she had tainted blood because they believed she was brought into Earth through evil. Hester also feels isolated from her partner in this crime, revealed to be Minister Arthur Dimmesdale, because she can't show her love for him. If she did show her love for him, then the townspeople would find out who the other adulterer was.

Hawthorne's short story is a great example on how one must carefully chose his method of sermon. Parson Hooper decided that he would use a black veil to show his congregation that there were secret sinners amongst them, hiding their evil behind a smile. The veil was supposed to be a separation of the pure from the impure; instead it separated the minister from society. The congregation began to focus its attention onto the minister instead of themselves. The veil would hurt Hooper's ability to deliver sermons effectively, and it would hurt society in that their minister insisted that he remain separate from them. “I don't like it…He has changed himself into something awful, only by hiding his face.” (1281) This is the voice of an old woman in the congregation. In this Puritan society, it is evident that change is not necessarily welcome, especially not in this case. She doesn't understand the method behind Hooper's decision. She, as well as the rest of society, is left in the dark about the veil. Thus, the congregation is hurt because they can no longer understand what happened to their minister, and the minister is hurt because he has lost control over his sermons.

The characters in both stories face isolation from society, which is one of the consequences of transgressing the standards set by the community. Isolation plays a major role in the development of Hester Prynne. One of the reasons she is alienated is because she does not reveal the identity of her lover. Hester is forced to live on the outskirts of town with her illegitimate daughter, Pearl. Since Hester spent so much time alone she would contemplate her situation. “From first to last, in short, Hester Prynne had always this dreadful agony in feeling a human eye upon the token; the spot never grew callus; it seemed, on the contrary, to grow more sensitive with daily torture.” (1379) Contrary to the townspeople's belief's, Hester is affected by the large “A” she wears on her chest. She is not proud of her sin, as some of the other women may have felt, but she feels the emotional damage of having to display the symbol. The “A” somewhat distances Hester from her own daughter because she is never able to tell the truth about the letter.

Her daughter, ignorant to the real meaning, would tell her mother that the sun does not shine on the letter displayed across her chest. Hester must feel incredibly lonely if the sun doesn't even want to shine on her. With just one sin, Hester has alienated herself from her family, her lover, and society. Arthur Dimmesdale also feels the burden of isolation in the story. His isolation is of a different kind. Instead of the physical separation that Hester must endure, Dimmesdale is subject to a daily routine of pretending to be free of sin. He has no one to talk to or share his feelings with, except God, who already knows how Dimmesdale feels. The fact that he doesn't immediately confess separates him from his lover, Hester, and his daughter, Pearl. He is also mentally isolated from the rest of society because he can't relate to anyone in the town. Dimmesdale is not allowed to be himself, which affects him until the point of his death.

Parson Hooper knew exactly what he was doing when he isolated himself from his congregation and society by wearing the black veil. He was trying to symbolize the loneliness one feels by keeping a “secret sin” from those close to us. Hooper had realized that one can't rid themselves of a secret sin until the day of their death. “There is an hour to come, when all of us shall cast aside our veils. Take it not amiss, beloved friend, if I wear this piece of crepe, till then.” (1285) By saying this, Hooper means that each person on earth wears their own form of a black veil in their own “secret sin.” His congregation doesn't seem to agree. The curiousness they had about the veil quickly turned into suspicion that Hooper had something to hide. The minister they had known was gone; instead it was some stranger that they could not identify with. His wife could no longer tolerate his self induced isolation.

He does ask for her patience however, noting that the veil would not be on his face for eternity, but would be there for the remainder of his earthly life. She goes as far as to ask her husband to lift the veil only once, yet to her dismay, Hooper refuses. “She withdrew her arm from his grasp, and slowly departed, pausing at the door, to give on long, shuddering gaze, that seemed almost to penetrate the mystery of the black veil.” (1286) This quote makes the reader visualize Parson Hooper's wife as glaring towards the black veil. How could a piece of cloth separate two lovers, supposedly bound together with holy vows? After all, if Hooper's wife could not tolerate the veil, then how could society put up with veil? Hooper's decision to mask his face is the reason he led a life of solitude. “In this manner Mr. Hooper spent a long life, irreproachable in outward act, yet shrouded in dismal suspicions; kind and loving, though unloved, and dimly feared; a man apart from men, shunned in their health and joy, but ever summoned to their aid in mortal anguish.” (1287) This quote by Hawthorne best describes Hooper to the reader. It was practically impossible to find any external faults on the minister, but that only pressed the issue of Hooper hiding some sort of “secret sin.” He was a very gentle human being, yet Hawthorne says that he is unloved. It is clear that Hooper is different, which is why society shuns the minister while he is alive.

The protagonists of the stories underwent a great deal of internal suffering. It is through the suffering that Hawthorne is able to show the growth and maturity that the characters experienced. Hester Prynne was lonely and scared during her isolation. However, upon facing so much discrimination, Hester realizes that true sin does not really lie within her. The society that she lived in, on the other hand, was swarming with sinners. It was their pride that did not let them see their misdeeds. The author provides the reader with evidence of Hester's growth by describing the level the respect she has attained toward the end of the novel. “Women, more especially, ---in the continually recurring trials of wounded, wasted, wronged, misplaced, or erring, and sinful passion…came to Hester's cottage demanding why they were so wretched, and what the remedy! Hester comforted and counseled them, as best she might.” (1473) As time went on, society began to view Hester not as a sinner and adulterer, but as a respected woman. Hester would have never imagined being the “destined prophetess” (1473) of such advice.

Parson Hooper's maturity is seen in the beginning of the short story. The minister seems to have been enlightened and thus dons a black veil over his face. Laying down upon his deathbed, the minister gives one last, chilling monologue. “Why do you tremble at me alone….when man does not vainly shrink from the eye of his creator...I look around me, and lo! on every visage a black veil!” (1289) Parson Hooper is trying to explain his reasoning for the black veil just one last time before he passes. He asks those around him why they were so fearful of him, when they should have feared God. This quote also shows that the people in the village were quick to hide a sin from one another, but in doing so they forgot that God was witness to whatever that individual was doing. He finishes by saying everyone had a black veil over their face. Symbolically this meant that everyone was hiding a sin from another person, and that those people may feel like they are living a life free of sin when they are trying to fool themselves and those around them. When Hooper dies, the veil is left over his face. This signifies the level of respect he retained while veiled, and that the veil can never be lifted from a person's face while they are alive on earth.

Hester faced quite a difficult battle by remaining in town after committing her sin. She chose not to run away from her problems, and after many years, she is able to make light of all of them. At first, Hester thought of herself being the black sheep of society, having to live in isolation with her daughter. Through the course of the novels events, however, Hester contemplates her place in society and she sees that it wasn't she who was the real sinner. Everyone is society was a sinner, particularly because they all focused on the imperfection of Hester and not their own sins. They felt as if Hester had degraded their community. In reality, the community had degraded themselves for subjecting Hester to such a ridiculous punishment. Pearl also triumphs over the fabrication of sin and evil by growing up to be a successful, young woman. She leaves the society she was born in because there was nothing left there for her. “So Pearl,--the elf child,--the demon offspring, as some people, up to that epoch, persisted in considering her-became the richest heiress of her day, in the New World.” (1473) She was able to grow up free of any constraints that the devout Puritan community could have placed on her. She was free-spirited, like the rosebush which grew by the prison in which she spent the first three months of her life.

Parson Hooper had good intentions when he placed that black veil over his head. He made an effort to show the fine line of separation between purity and evil by leaving that thin veil over his face for the rest of his earthly life. The reader never knows whether or not Hooper has committed a sin, but it is obvious that he wants society to think about their own sins that they keep behind a veil. The plan backfires, but Hooper still remains triumphant. Even though he separated himself from his congregation, he also separated himself from the truly ignorant people of his Puritan society. He dies knowing that what he tried to accomplish was the right thing. He believed it so much that when he died, those around him left the veil over his face as a sign of respect. “While his auditors shrank from one another, in mutual affright, Father Hooper fell back upon his pillow, a veiled corpse, with a faint smile lingering on the lips. Still veiled, they laid him in his coffin…” (1289) This shows that Hooper got his way in the end, not bequeathing to any of his auditors wish of unveiling his face.

Hawthorne not only showed the consequences of having to associate with society after being shunned, but he also showed the growth and maturity the characters experienced through his writing. These stories offer a critical view of Puritan society. Hawthorne depicted society in both stories to focus on the imperfections of another person, so that their own deficiencies may go unnoticed.

Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, explains Hester's choices. She is the reason Hester gets up in the morning, the reason Hester tries to regain her place in society. Arthur is so sorrowful that he can not show affection to his child, Pearl, in fear of losing his spot in society. She serves as a reminder, a reminder of the sin committed by Hester. She is also a punishment towards Hester.

Hester is saddened by not being able to provide Pearl with a “normal” life. A mother always wants the best for her child, but Prynne is not able to provide it due to her past. Townsfolk treat Pearl like a devil-child because of their ignorance forced upon them by the puritan church. Through Hester's hard work and likable nature she eventually is able to provide a new chance for Pearl.

Poe's characters appear to be summarising the overall scheme of the detective fiction genre: Dupin characterises the problem the Prefect is faced with as being "Simple and odd". The basic situations of a detective tale are often of a criminal and very striking nature, be it murder, theft or things alike. Surrounding these events is an aura of the absurd or puzzling, something that makes the case at hand unusual and worth examining.

For the reader who is interested in digging into the fundamentals of the plot, discovering who committed the crime or what may be the hidden clue to solve the mystery is an essential and entertaining part of detective fiction. Dupin, again, gives a hint on how to untangle the woven net of clues. Like the Prefect, a lot of readers tend to think way off the track. While the Prefect has his men practically dismantle complete houses including their surroundings instead of looking in the closest and most obvious spots, the audience seems to be misguiding themselves through increased expectations. The riddles will not always be solved by looking for cavities carved into wooden bedposts, likewise, the riddles will sometimes be solved by focusing the attention to the most apparent solutions.

Like the boy at a game of "even and odd" or like Dupin with his adversary Minister D, the reader should be aware of the "opponent's" (the story in question) quality. Different qualities of writing demand for different strategies of reading: a plain and simple story demands very little of the reader, the solutions may, therefore, be close at hand. More complex stories can contain foreboded twists and truly tense forms of detective writing can afford leaving the most obvious solution to a riddle undiscovered by the reader due to doing what all good magicians do: lure the audience's attention away from the point of action.

Poe manages to completely summarize the methods of detective fiction wrapped up in a detective tale of his own. He even includes some advice for his readers and readers in general on how to deal with this literary genre and makes reading even more enjoyable and less frustrating for those who wish to occasionally play detective for themselves while reading.