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How Does Nathaniel Hawthorne Use Public Humiliation In The Scarlet Letter

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Public Humiliation Taken to the Next Level
In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne, a participant of adultery, stands on a scaffold for three hours in front of her fellow townspeople as punishment. Hester Prynne has to also wear the scarlet letter “A” on her chest for the rest of her life. Still to this day, judges sometimes use public humiliation to punish civilians for their crimes. However, public humiliation should not continue to be used as a legal punishment.
The shaming of one's actions can cause panic to the public. Neighbors in a community would fear the worst if they realized they were living in an environment with a criminal. For example, if a neighbor is living near a civilian, who robbed a store, the neighbor would be …show more content…

When a criminal is publicly humiliated they feel as if it's them versus the world because it their actions being brought to people's attention to recognize. The thoughts of other usually takes a toll on a person and they can start to feel overwhelmed. Feeling like this brings them to a place where they feel as the scapegoat. Feeling in distress, results in overload of anxiety, sorrow, and pain that the public should not endure. This can cause a criminal's self-esteem to lower due to the constant reminders of one’s offense. They will not look at themselves the same way they use to, they will see themselves as the way society portrays them to be. For example, if a civilian had to stand outside and hold a sign that said “ I am a idiot because I was speeding in a school zone” just because he or she were speeding does not make them an idiot. If humiliation is brought to everyone's attention he or she could possess a “feeling [ of being] locked out of the possibility of human connection (p.5)” (Hartling & Linder 384). People are being publicly shamed have insecurities with themselves and possibly

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In his novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses rhetorical devices such as imagery, symbolism, and foreshadowing. Foreshadowing, is used to reveal Pearl’s father to the reader. Hawthorne reveals that Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale is Pearl’s father, through Dimmesdale’s relationships with the other characters as well as his words and deeds. Throughout the novel, it is clear to the reader that Pearl and Dimmesdale have a unique relationship. As Dimmesdale, on behalf of the other ministers, attempts to convince Hester to reveal who Pearl’s father is, he gives a moving speech that impacts all his listeners: “even the poor baby, at Hester’s bosom, was affected by the same influence; for it directed its hitherto vacant gaze towards Mr. Dimmesdale,

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Hawthorne uses chapter twenty-two, “The Procession”, to put all the pieces of the puzzle of the conflict together. This is where the reader remotely begins to understand how the ending of the novel will come to an end. To reveal the conclusion to the reader, Hawthorne uses rhetorical devices such as, irony, simile, and diction. To expose the irony in this chapter, Hawthorne writes of Dimmesdale’s sermon. As Dimmesdale speaks, “if the auditor listened intently, and for the purpose, he could detect the same cry of pain.”

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Character Foils In The Scarlet Letter Those who contrast each other make for engrossing storytelling. Nathaniel Hawthorne demonstrates this truth often in his romantic narrative, “The Scarlet Letter”.

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In Dan M. Kahan’s article Shame Is Worth a Try, he argued that shame can be used as an effective alternative method to punish law-breakers instead of sending them to jail. Kahan explained how shame works by giving several examples of shaming punishment, such as wearing disgraced signs or putting on embarrassing stickers. He stated that shame hurts people’s reputation as well as financial income and that is why it works as an alternative way to punish people. Nevertheless, he then brought up some opposing ideas held by courts and judges and the reason why shame does not work as effectively as expected. He explained that shame may fail short as a punishment in that it does not hurt as much as jail sentence, it can be easily abuse and it is rather

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In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hawthorne ultimately concludes the book by using rhetorical devices. The inevitable fate of Roger Chillingworth, Hester Prynne, and Reverend Dimmesdale eventually clash and a fatal disaster occurs. Chillingworth's evilness has met up with him. As all is revealed to the public, one’s intuition is proven to be more powerful than expected. As they all gather at the public square on Election Day, Hester and Pearl observe from afar as the parade goes by.

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When you think of a Puritan society, what comes to your mind? Perfect, flawless, and a religion based on following God? Well, that is what it says on paper, but is it really that perfect? Throughout the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne jabs at the Puritans in an attempt to portray just how flawed they really are. After reading the book, you want to think that Hawthorne is telling the story of sinning in a Puritan society.

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Although publicly admitting to sin can be a challenging task, time will heal the initial pain. Hester Prynne, of the Scarlet Letter, lives this lesson as she commits the sin of adultery. Her punishment for the sin is to wear the letter “A” on her bosom until she is allowed to remove it by the Puritan authorities wishes. Initially, Hester feels guilt and shame as she wears it. As Hester’s character grows in strength, she overcomes the letter’s original purpose of punishment.

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The exploration of societal pressures. Life can be separated into two equal parts totally independent from one another. The inner self, being the innermost thoughts and feelings of the individual, and the outer self, how the individual decides to conduct itself around the others in society. Often times one of these parts takes control of the other, suppressing its partner. The suppression is often not of equal frequency because of the obligation humans feel to be liked and to fit in causes the outermost self to be given the most thought and worry.

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This torment can be so much worse than death, whether it be hanging from the noose in The Crucible or being hung by one’s entrails in Halo 2. Hester even begins to lose her identity in the story, the scarlet A consumes her and soon that’s all anyone notices when they look at her. The same happens with Thel ‘Vadam, except he completely loses his identity and is only referred to by his rank of punishment, the Arbiter and never again by his name. Furthermore, in all three examples there is use of a public demonstration in one way or another. In The Scarlet Letter Hester must stand up on the scaffold in front of the townspeople while she bears the A on her chest.

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However, public humiliation should still not be used as a punishment for a crime or wrongdoing. Public humiliation is not as effective as it is intended. The intention of the punishment is to embarrass the criminal so that it will deter them from continuing

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The preceding section describing the manner in which federal agencies are organized to combat computer crime discussed each agency in separate terms and characterized the strategies of any single agency as independent and separate from those of the other agencies involved in the fight against computer crime. The attempt to classify these agencies in independent fashion is intended not only to help the reader understand the different roles of each federal agency discussed, but may be viewed as an indication of the historically “piecemeal” nature of law enforcement actions at the federal level. Fed- eral law enforcement agencies have a long history of failing to coordinate and cooperate not only in the relatively recent fight against computer

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Literary Devices in The Scarlet Letter Literary devices are often used to capture a reader’s attention in a text. Nathaniel Hawthorne used many different types of literary devices in his book The Scarlet Letter. He uses symbolism to give hidden meaning to elements in the story, conflict to make the story interesting, and allusion to make references to historical events (ex. biblical references). While reading The Scarlet Letter, the literary devices did not jump out at me, but now as I reflect upon them they help me understand the book well. Literary devices can make a passage have a whole different meaning.

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When Hester Prynne committed adultery she was punished greatly. She was made to stand in front of the town on a pedestal being shamed. Not to mention the scarlet letter A on her chest representing the crime that she had committed “That Scarlet Letter, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom. It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity” (Hawthrone pg.

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Hester's punishment was a judicial sentence; however, being forced to stand on the scaffold for three hours, and to wear the scarlet letter "A" for the rest of her life. It was socially humiliating. Hester was sent to prison for committing adultery. Hester was forced to live with the consequences by wearing the scarlet letter "A". Hester is physically and emotionally reminded of her sin, while wearing the scarlet letter "A".

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