Scarlett Letter

1 Pages 245 Words

Punishment has always revolved around the same ideas, to discipline an individual, and
to set an example for the rest of society, discouraging them from following in a convict’s
footprints. Either way, the end result is to set a criminal apart from the rest of society.
Today we publicize the effects of our judicial system to a great extent, whether it is an
open courtroom, or a televised execution, people tend to feel some type of relif watching
the hand of the law in action.
In the begining of the book The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, when
Hester is upon the scaffold in the marketplace in front of the whole town, women in the
crowd are heard gossiping. They remark about the fact that Hester has received a reduced
sentence: "At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester
Prynne’s forehead. Madame Hester would have winced at that, I warrant me…"(49). The
women in the crowd see her as a horrible woman who has committed the ultimate sin.
But they are also threatened by the fact that she did receive a reduced sentence.
This is just like what happens in our society today when we hear of an accused
childer molester, or robber walking away as a freeman. Even as innocent as they may be,
it scares us when they move into our neighborhoods and come in contact with our own
children and lives. It takes them 100 times the effort to win our trust as it would any other person....