Adulery and Death Essay -- essays research papers

Adultery and Death   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many novels in American Literature contain the theme of the American Dream and how this dream is corrupted by the sins of adultery. In the novels Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, many of the character’s ideal lives are destroyed through their desire to attain someone that they cannot be with. Through their lust and their belief that anything is attainable, the characters of Hurstwood, Dimmesdale, and Gatsby ultimately pay the price of death through their â€Å"dream†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One thing that all of these characters had in common prior to their affairs was the fact they were all respected in their society. They were not outcasts until they started reaching for an obsession that they could not possible be with.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the case of Hurstwood, his attraction was to Carrie and inevitably led to his downfall. From the first time Hurstwood laid eyes on Carrie he started to ignore his wife. Soon his wife realized that something was going on and decides to file for a divorce, hire a detective, and locked him out of their house. Since all of their property is in her name, Hurstwood was left with nothing. After being kicked out of his house, Hurstwood moved to New York City with Carrie, once there he bought part of a nearby bar. This business started to fall apart and Hurstwood was forced to start looking ...