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
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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