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Examples Of Adultery In The Scarlet Letter

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From early on in America, adultery has been forbidden within society. During the beginning of the United States, people were mainly puritans and because of that they were strongly against sin (Turley, Jonathan. "Adultery, in Many States, Is Still a Crime"). Therefore, they made sure to punish them to teach them a lesson. For example, in “The Scarlett Letter”, Hester was branded with the letter A and so she was constantly judged by people around her (Hawthorne) Americans used to punish people based on puritan beliefs but it is no longer conservative like hundreds of years ago and those who commit adultery are now only subject to fines and/or imprisonment (Dimond, Daine. "Committing Adultery? You Could Go to Jail.")On the other hand, Saudi Arabians …show more content…

When puritans established themselves in the United States, they made harsh rules for everything they believed was sin because they wanted to create a utopia. Punishments ranged from death to being branded by a letter that told everyone about the crime you committed for the rest of your life. The book “The Scarlet Letter” is a great example of puritan life and their punishments. Hester, the main character, was branded with the letter “A” for the rest of her life to let everyone know that she had committed adultery (Hawthorne, Nathaniel) She was also isolated and judged which made her life hell. Nathaniel Hawthorne's “The Scarlet Letter” accurately portrayed colonial America under such criminal laws enforcing religious values. There was extensive entanglement between church and state, with adulterers punished for their immorality. In 1644, Mary Latham and James Britton were hanged for their adultery in Massachusetts” (Turley, Jonathan. "Adultery, in Many States, Is Still a Crime) Furthermore, in 2010, “people can still be prosecuted for breaching their marital vows. The laws are some of the last remnants of our Puritanical past, where infidelity was treated as not only a marital but also as a criminal matter. (Turley, Jonathan. "Adultery, in Many States, Is Still a Crime”) However, in Saudi Arabia, crimes are punished based on hadd crimes which are crimes against the …show more content…

The United States is a country that has modernized itself in every aspect, from technology to everyday life. As I said before, Puritans would punish anything that they viewed as sin by branding someone like an animal or even by death. However, as I mentioned before, today in America, the present day punishment for adultery is a fine. For example, Minnesota law states “When a married woman has sexual intercourse with a man other than her husband, whether married or not, both are guilty of adultery and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than one year or to payment of a fine of not more than $3,000, or both.” (Turley, Jonathan. "Adultery, in Many States, Is Still a Crime”). Even though there has been change for punishments of committing adultery in America, there has been none in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has always been a conservative country and because of that they also punish sinner harshly. For example, adultery is not the only crime that is punished harshly in Saudi Arabia. If you steal, the punishment in Saudi Arabia is amputation of right hand (Donaghy, Rory, and Mary Atkinson. "Crime and Punishment: Islamic State vs Saudi Arabia.") Furthermore, if you commit blasphemy which are crimes that insult God, the Prophet, or the religion, acts of homosexuality, treason or murder, the punishment is death (Donaghy, Rory, and

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