In the Scarlet Letter, Hester faces discrimination based on the beliefs about her “crime”-- adultery. In today’s society, people see homelessness as a “crime”, often stereotyping the homeless by associating them with drugs and mental illness. Both adulterers in Puritan society and the homeless in today’s society experience discrimination and undergo the feeling of isolation as a result of being different from normal society. In today’s society, many people discriminate the homeless, much like how Puritan society ostracizes Hester. The homeless are often used as scapegoats for problems in society, such as criminal activity. This is similar to how people in Puritan society blame Hester for any troubles that happen. Both groups face scapegoating because they are seen as different in society, making them easy targets. Nowadays, politicians, as a means of trying to improve society, have been criminalizing the homeless. This in turn stereotypes the homeless and perpetuates the misconception that all homeless people are criminals. An example of this would be the bill in San Francisco that, in order to prevent bike thefts, makes it unlawful for the homeless to own five or more bike parts. This not only criminalizes homeless who make little money off of recycling and selling bike parts, but also continues to put aside that not all homeless are criminals. Furthermore, homeless who try to get jobs to earn money also get discriminated based on stereotypes. When homeless people apply for a job, usually low-wage employers, these companies see the address of a homeless shelter or no address at all and immediately think that the applicants are either drug addicts or have mental illnesses. Many of these people are …show more content…
They both faced discrimination and isolation because society viewed them as “different” for not conforming to the norms of society in their time