I don’t know where to begin in this blog post, but I’ll be straightforward and say that I’m glad this book is over. I won’t lie and say I enjoyed it, but I won’t say it was entirely terrible either. Despite, of course, the confusion from the book’s vocabulary, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne gave me an insight to the Puritan Society, showing the treatment and conditions it was like to live in that era. With this, I was able to compare their society with ours, and see just how similar our two worlds can be—despite the major time gap. Because of this, we should be more aware and cautious about what we say or do, in the sense that nobody has the right to judge someone for their actions. After all, this novel was based on history, and history always tends to repeat itself.
In The Scarlet Letter, author Nathaniel Hawthorne demonstrates the influence that public opinion has on an individual as various characters in the book allow it to consume their lives. Take, for instance, Hester, who endures the suffering the community imposes for her sin while Dimmesdale imposes his own suffering because he cannot bear to reveal his sin to the community. Chillingworth hides behind a coat of dishonesty as he refuses to reveal his true identity due to what the public may think. Pearl's isolation from Puritan society and the mocking of the kids leads to a detachment and aggressive behavior on her part. This is all because the characters constantly ALLOW public opinion to dig their claws into their lives and torment them.
This is very relatable to modern society in the way that people nowadays often care about what people think, whether it be through the clothes that they wear to the words that they speak. And for some instances, take Hester from the novel for example, they are willing to suppress the actual truth in order to prevent themselves from being shamed or judged by society. And that’s what I found most absurd in the whole book. If I were to put myself in Hester Prynne’s shoes, I would have admitted to who the father of the child was, despite Dimmesdale telling me I shouldn’t. I was already being judged by society, why not share the blame with the man who is going around being free while I’m being humiliated publically. But I understand that she’s already blamed for committing adultery, she wouldn’t want it to be known that it was done with the priest of the town.
Overall, Hawthorne teaches us not to let the opinion of others influence our lives as he demonstrates the negative effects this causes through the characters. The Scarlet Letter ultimately demonstrates that public opinion is not the most important opinion. What matters most is one's own opinion. The Puritans can be seen as the vehicle to show human injustices, from that time to even now, whether it be the way women, children, and people that are different are treated. Hawthorne wants to show us our failings as the human race.
PS. The photo is an actual representation of my goodbye to the book
PPS. The person from the photo is Rain (Lance) Taganas from 3R :)
-Kathrine Rodas
In The Scarlet Letter, author Nathaniel Hawthorne demonstrates the influence that public opinion has on an individual as various characters in the book allow it to consume their lives. Take, for instance, Hester, who endures the suffering the community imposes for her sin while Dimmesdale imposes his own suffering because he cannot bear to reveal his sin to the community. Chillingworth hides behind a coat of dishonesty as he refuses to reveal his true identity due to what the public may think. Pearl's isolation from Puritan society and the mocking of the kids leads to a detachment and aggressive behavior on her part. This is all because the characters constantly ALLOW public opinion to dig their claws into their lives and torment them.
This is very relatable to modern society in the way that people nowadays often care about what people think, whether it be through the clothes that they wear to the words that they speak. And for some instances, take Hester from the novel for example, they are willing to suppress the actual truth in order to prevent themselves from being shamed or judged by society. And that’s what I found most absurd in the whole book. If I were to put myself in Hester Prynne’s shoes, I would have admitted to who the father of the child was, despite Dimmesdale telling me I shouldn’t. I was already being judged by society, why not share the blame with the man who is going around being free while I’m being humiliated publically. But I understand that she’s already blamed for committing adultery, she wouldn’t want it to be known that it was done with the priest of the town.
Overall, Hawthorne teaches us not to let the opinion of others influence our lives as he demonstrates the negative effects this causes through the characters. The Scarlet Letter ultimately demonstrates that public opinion is not the most important opinion. What matters most is one's own opinion. The Puritans can be seen as the vehicle to show human injustices, from that time to even now, whether it be the way women, children, and people that are different are treated. Hawthorne wants to show us our failings as the human race.
PS. The photo is an actual representation of my goodbye to the book
PPS. The person from the photo is Rain (Lance) Taganas from 3R :)
-Kathrine Rodas