In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne demonstrates the need for humans to respect the laws of nature and conscience, rather than the laws of man, to achieve happiness. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The laws of nature, applied only by human consciousness, govern each individual. Humans learn these laws by directly experiencing and interacting with nature. When left alone on the beach, Pearl pelts the little birds with rocks for fun. However, when she hurts one, “she [complains] of having harmed a little being as wild as the sea breeze” (160). Pearl learns an important lesson about good and evil using nature and her own conscience. The remorse she feels leaves a lasting impression far more powerful than the punishment of authority. Nature provides clear examples from which children can learn and base their morals on. By learning from nature, children can use their conscience rather than the rules of authority to learn the difference between right and wrong. Left alone in the forest, Pearl interacts with various animals who accept her because they “all recognized a related wildness in the human child” (185). This “wilderness” refers to the natural environment of Pearl’s childhood, free from the pollution of civilization. Unlike most people, Pearl grew up in ideal circumstances where only her conscience shapes her decisions and actions. Ostracized by the Puritan community, the rules of civilization do not apply to her and she can live according to the laws of nature. This explains his constant “aliveness of mind” and his absence of the disease of sadness, which almost all children…inherit” (166). Pearl's ability to live according to the laws of nature ensures a solid moral foundation as well as happiness, without the unnecessary involvement of authority. Pearl's healthy development resulting from her interaction with nature illustrates the importance of the laws of nature in shaping human beings. The laws of nature provide children with an environment in which to grow and develop freely. Choice allows children to form beliefs that they will follow throughout their lives by avoiding the disparity between their natural instincts and society's norms, leading to feelings of inadequacy and self-hatred. The laws of man, imposed by authority, govern all people existing within civilization. Civilization encompasses the cultural, religious, and social systems of a group of people. Humans learn these laws by growing up in a community that enforces the rules and punishes those who disobey authority. Dimmesdale suffers from a tormented conscience over having remained in the Puritan community after transgressing its laws. He ironically questions Hester about the identity of her adulterous companion during her public mortification on the scaffold. This leaves him with a perpetual feeling of hypocrisy that consumes him and ultimately ends his life. After his conversation with Hester in the forest, Dimmesdale feels like committing various sins. These animal impulses "[grew] from a deeper self than that which opposed these impulses", revealing Dimmesdale's true nature. His encounter with nature awakened the sleeping troublemaker at the minister's house. Like Pearl, Dimmesdale needs to run free and have only nature and his conscience to guide him. However, due to a childhood under the influence of the laws of man, Dimmesdale losthis true self. He tries to conform to the ideal of a godly minister, a God-fearing and worshiping man. However, his affair with Hester and his reaction to his encounter with Nature show the fiery and uncontrollable side of his character. Dimmesdale suffers from chronic mental illness because he thinks he's a rule-abiding man. This failure to meet the community's expectations of a minister causes his "positivity and liveliness" to suffer." Although he won the admiration of his parishioners as a gifted orator and a model Puritan, he focuses on its flaw. Humans are obsessed with their imperfections but take their positive attributes for granted. Humans follow the laws of nature by moving away from civilization and the corrupt laws of man. both autonomy and independence, which frightens many people. The Puritan community forces Hester and Pearl to live according to the laws of nature by ostracizing them for Hester's sin, even though "mother and daughter have each other. held together” the same circle of isolation from human society, “this isolation has radically different effects on Hester and Pearl. Hester, who has been a part of civilization since childhood, is physically separated but emotionally and mentally attached to the laws of man, causing her lifelong pain and anguish. Hester endures constant torture because "man had marked [her] sin by a scarlet letter, which had such powerful and disastrous efficacy that no human sympathy could reach it." » The laws of man, and not the laws of nature, continually punish her. The laws of man instilled distorted values ​​in Hester from a young age, as they do in all humans. These principles include valuing the opinions of others and emphasizing adherence to standards set by the community in which a person lives. Even when kicked out of the Puritan community, Hester still lives by these laws because humans follow the values ​​that were instilled in them as children. This explains his suffering and Pearl's joy in the same natural setting. Isolation from the laws of man allows Pearl to grow and prosper because she has never been part of civilization. Nature and his intuition have shaped his values. Pearl "couldn't obey the rules" and this unruly nature reflects the free-spirited environment in which she grew up. The values ​​that children learn during their childhood will accompany them throughout their lives. The morality that civilization transmits to children contradicts human intuition and therefore guarantees misfortune. Happiness comes with self-acceptance and unhappiness comes with self-hatred. Humans achieve happiness by following the laws of nature and not the laws of man. The laws of man ensure unhappiness because they force people to idealize an unattainable model of perfection. The community holds its preacher Dimmesdale on a pedestal and attempts to emulate his godly behavior. Although revered by his community, Dimmesdale, the supposed embodiment of spiritual perfection, committed adultery. The individuals society admires are no closer to perfection than their followers. This hypocrisy reveals society’s unrealistic value system. Human nature resists conformity, as the lives of Hester and Dimmesdale show. It is only in the forest that Hester and Dimmesdale experience happiness since they committed their sin. The forest environment had "the exhilarating effect - on a prisoner who had just escaped from the dungeon of his own heart - of breathing the wild and free atmosphere of an unredeemed, unchristian and lawless region" . The forest represents a sanctuary governed by the laws of nature. In.