The Scarlet Letter tells the story of Hester Prynne, a woman who is shunned by her community for a simple mistake that she made.
The Puritan community in The Scarlet Letter would be quite frightening to live in today. You would be judged for everything you do, and anything you did “wrong” would result in punishment.
We like to believe that today, we are “better” than that society. We like to believe that our society is more accepting, that we would never react the way the Puritan community does. And this is true, but only to some extent.
Think of today's society. Are we not expected to act in certain ways in certain situations? For example, take how you can and cannot act in public. There are both written and unwritten rules concerning things such as rudeness, public indecency, and intoxication. And what happens when someone breaks these rules? Sometimes, they are arrested. other times, they are judged. For example, if someone were being extremely loud in public, others may see them as obnoxious. Sometimes, in more severe situations (such as public drunkenness) someone can be humiliated. People would judge them as a drunk, and would probably never let them forget it.
Not only do we still punish people for not following societys rules, but we still hold some very Puritan ideas. Take, for example, ideas about work and its relation to someone’s personal life. The Puritans believed that they should be separated and someone’s personal life should never be brought into work. Isn’t the same true about today? Isn’t it still considered “unprofessional” to mention your personal life at work?
The Puritan community also shunned any people who had ideas that were different from their own - think about how Ms. Hibbins was treated. While today it is true that we are generally more open to new ideas, there are still times where we are not as accepting. Think about, for example, the fight for same-sex marriage. Why do people still fight against it? Because it is an idea that is different from their own beliefs.
The Puritan society portrayed in the Scarlet Letter is a horrible one, and we like to believe that our society has changed. And yet, there are so many similarities between the two. Yes, they may be subtle similarities, but they are similarities nonetheless. If we are not careful, our society could end up turning into something almost exactly like the Puritan community in The Scarlet Letter.
-Daniella Caluza
The Puritan community in The Scarlet Letter would be quite frightening to live in today. You would be judged for everything you do, and anything you did “wrong” would result in punishment.
We like to believe that today, we are “better” than that society. We like to believe that our society is more accepting, that we would never react the way the Puritan community does. And this is true, but only to some extent.
Think of today's society. Are we not expected to act in certain ways in certain situations? For example, take how you can and cannot act in public. There are both written and unwritten rules concerning things such as rudeness, public indecency, and intoxication. And what happens when someone breaks these rules? Sometimes, they are arrested. other times, they are judged. For example, if someone were being extremely loud in public, others may see them as obnoxious. Sometimes, in more severe situations (such as public drunkenness) someone can be humiliated. People would judge them as a drunk, and would probably never let them forget it.
Not only do we still punish people for not following societys rules, but we still hold some very Puritan ideas. Take, for example, ideas about work and its relation to someone’s personal life. The Puritans believed that they should be separated and someone’s personal life should never be brought into work. Isn’t the same true about today? Isn’t it still considered “unprofessional” to mention your personal life at work?
The Puritan community also shunned any people who had ideas that were different from their own - think about how Ms. Hibbins was treated. While today it is true that we are generally more open to new ideas, there are still times where we are not as accepting. Think about, for example, the fight for same-sex marriage. Why do people still fight against it? Because it is an idea that is different from their own beliefs.
The Puritan society portrayed in the Scarlet Letter is a horrible one, and we like to believe that our society has changed. And yet, there are so many similarities between the two. Yes, they may be subtle similarities, but they are similarities nonetheless. If we are not careful, our society could end up turning into something almost exactly like the Puritan community in The Scarlet Letter.
-Daniella Caluza