Free Essays on Scarlett Letter

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.... Free Essays on Scarlett Letter Free Essays on Scarlett Letter 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....