Time :: essays research papers

Time is perhaps man's worst enemy, beside himself. For countless eons, man has tried to fight the affects of time. For time brings change. They are inevitably linked in the same cosmic chain. No matter what you do, no matter the steps you take, time will always bring change. Time can bring on many types of changes. It can bring on physical change, such as a mountain being destroyed over time by erosion. Or, it can bring on emotional and physiological change, such as an army prisoner of war in a POW camp. But bear in mind, a person's physical surroundings can also serve to speed/slow/reduce/and even counteract the change. Change is not always for the worst. Some changes can be for the better. In THE SCARLET LETTER, Nathaniel Hawthorne, shows that as time goes by, Reverend Dimmesdale changes from a strong, hearty man to a weak and sickly one, but also given enough time (and some encouragement), he re-grows to once again be a strong man, perhaps more so than he was before.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As we first meet Author Dimmesdale, he was a '…young clergy man... His eloquence and religious fervor has already given the earnest of high eminence in he profession.'; (p. 62. 3rd paragraph)* The people loved and respected him. He was thought to be '…a godly pastor,';(p. 48) of Hester. But the people do not know his secret. They do not know the dark sin that he holds in the deep recesses of his heart. This causes him much pain. 'It is inconceivable, the agony whit which this public veneration tortured him! It was his genuine impulse to adore the truth, and to reckon all things shadow-like, and utterly devoid or weight or value, that had not its divine essence as the life within their life. Then, what was he? -a substance?- or the dimmest of all shadows?'; (page 131-123)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mr. Dimmesdale does all that he can in a vain attempt to rid himself of the guilt he hides inside. He whips himself, he fasts, and he even goes to the scaffold in an endeavor to alleviate his guilt. But all attempts fail and leads to more guilt and hence more chastising.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He is not cured from his guilt until he and Hester agree to leave the colony and return to England. 'The excitement of Mr. Dimmesdale's feelings, as he returned for his interview with Hester, lent him unaccustomed physical energy, and hurried him town ward at a rapid pace.