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Public Shaming In The 19th Century

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Semester Research In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter, society publicly humiliates Hester Prynne for her crime of adultery. As a consequence of her adulterous act, Hester is forced onto a podium while being scrutinized for her passionate misdeed. Furthermore, Hester is bound to wear the scarlet “A” on her breast as a public symbol of wrongdoing. In today's society, there are a staggering amount of judges that still use public humiliation as a punishment they deem suitable. Despite its appeal to judges in the court of law and the media's apparent fascination with it, public humiliation should not be used as a punishment.
We, as citizens of the United States of America, have the right to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We live in a new era where some punishments such as public shaming may not be socially accepted anymore. Today “In this day and age, biblical punishments are just not appropriate: neither an eye for an eye, nor a tooth for a tooth, or …show more content…

Unlike today, the 18th and 19th century consisted of public shaming which served as an effective punishment due to the lack of long distance communication. However, today in the 21st century, with the implication on long term communication, public shaming is easily broadcasted to many more people than just the local community. Public Shaming began “to fall out of favor in part because America was becoming more populous and Impersonal”(Beato). Public shaming includes many inconsistencies with the severity of the punishment. For instance, when two of the same pictures appeared on the internet, only one picture became famous while the other picture went almost unnoticed. This goes to show that the severity of the punishment is often unknown and in many cases does not serve justice to the

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5. Public trials and executions serve as a deterance of deviant behaviors. These sanctions act as a way to set an example and for people to see what will happen to them if they do the same thing, These sanctions can also be seen as reinforcing boundaries. Although public executions and trials in “town square” are not as common in most countries today, the media is utilized to fulfil the same purpose. When there are high profile cases going on in the United States often tmes the full trial and sentancings are televised so that much of society can see what the repercussions are for defying a social norm.

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Hawthorne uses many forms of rhetoric to portray his characters, but relies heavily on pathos in the instance of Hester Prynne. She’s a member of an inherently misogynistic society, and because she’s a woman, her every act is scrutinized. As punishment for her act of adultery, Hester is ordered to adorn her chest with a permanent scarlet letter. Although the audience is well aware of the atrocity of the sin she’s committed, Hawthorne’s writing sparks a feeling of empathy within the reader. Throughout the novel, the reader is exposed to several clear uses of pathos.

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Alcibiades (450-404 BC) was an Athenian politician and military commander. He was wealthy and born to the statesman Pericles. Alcibiades was one of the main reasons that Athens had lost the Peloponnesian War to Sparta. He was a general during the time of this war occurrence. He acted as a military commander, a politician and a strategic advisor in total.

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Recently, courts and judges have used public humiliation to prevent repeated offenses by the violator and discourage others from repeating the offense. This is an effective punishment in today 's society because the punishment prevents the offender from repeating the offense in fear of being jailed. One judge sentenced a man who crashed his car into someone else while drunk driving to stand outside of the crash site every Saturday from 9 a.m to 5 p.m with a sign admitting his guilt (foxnews). This is an effective ways for judges to handle a problem because it insures justice without the jailing, and is a constant reminder of the man and other drunk drivers that drunk driving kills. Jon Wisser, a Texas judge, believes that any public humiliation

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896 Words | 4 Pages

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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1024 Words | 5 Pages

The punishment that the protagonist of The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne, and that of

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Although the community originally knew Hester as a disgrace, the town’s opinion of her changed over time as she began to do work for the poor and needy. After this shift in the town’s view of Hester, “many people refused to interpret the scarlet [letter] by its original signification” (111). Instead of Hester’s scarlet letter serving as a reminder of her scandalous sin, her peers “ had begun to look upon the scarlet letter as a token . . . of [Hester’s] many good deeds” (111). She became known for her charity and generosity, which caused the civilians to overlook her sinful behavior.

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During the Victorian era, reputation was very important as it was how one was classified. One immoral act or act against the Victorian code of conduct, this would change one’s reputation completely, and would not be able to renew themselves. Respect and honour was not only valued in one’s eyes, but also in the eyes of the Victorian society. Maintaining one’s honor and reputation was essential for getting a reputable job and moving up in society.

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“Hester Prynne’s Case: Justice Then and Now” The Scarlet Letter, a book written by Nathaniel Hawthorne during the mid-1800s, is about an adulterous woman’s life in Boston; during the early mid-17th century in New England, the Puritans already had imposed strict laws for the people to acquiesce. Many centuries later, penalties for adultery became less severe; in fact twenty-nine out of fifty states of America don’t federally admonish their residents for adultery. If Hester Prynne, the adulterous from the novel, lived during the late nineties or the third millennium— now a more liberal society— she could have had a more lenient punishment or could have gotten off scot-free without having to endure the punishment and shame she endured during the 1750s.

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Should Public Humiliation Be Used As A Punishment For Crime? In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses public humiliation to shame a puritan women named Hester Prynne for her sin of adultery. To punish her for her sin, the puritan officials of the community force her to wear a scarlet letter “A” upon her chest to publicly shame her and so that everyone in the community can mock her for her sin. Public humiliation is still used by people and by the government in some ways as a punishment.

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719 Words | 3 Pages

Even though the Puritans may have designated the letter as a representation of sin, Hester’s renewed sense of pride does not want society to define the A for her. Rather Hester wants to define it herself and by doing so she develops responsibility and power over her own actions. Because Hester has the power to change who she is, she also has the power to change what the Scarlet Letter represents. By letting the letter be “embroidered with gold thread” readers are able to see how for Hester sin is not something to be fearful of; furthermore, it allows one to see how Hester has developed into an independent individual who accepts who she is and the situation she is presented with. Hester’s lover unfortunately

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209 Words | 1 Pages

Public humiliation has been a way to punish those who have committed a crime, and has lasted for decades. Some may argue public humiliation needs to be done away with, while others see it as an effective way to punish a criminal. The humiliation lasts for your whole life even if it was only one mistake. For instance, in the case of someone being convicted a sexual predator they have to tell everyone in the neighborhood that they committed that crime. Many people who experience something embarrassing will never attempt it again.

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825 Words | 4 Pages

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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1290 Words | 6 Pages

Re-integrative shaming is the disapproval of the deviant act without condemning the offender. In this way, the offender is not stigmatized and efforts are made to forgive and welcome the person back into the community. This process has been demonstrated to work well in Africa, and perhaps, at a more personal level, between many American parents and their children (Braithwaite, 2000). Re-integrative shaming has been shown to reduce

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The way in which professionals communicate continues to change and adapt to new trends and technologies. Being an effective communicator is a key element of being a successful professional. English 332 is a course designed to help develop professional qualities, specifically writing and communication skills, for current students. It is important for the Professional Writing Committee to keep up with current trends in the workplace and consistently obtain information regarding the ways in which professionals communicate. This report is meant to supply the Professional Writing Committee with relevant information regarding communication in the workplace now, so that the course can provide students with the tools and skills that they need in order to succeed once they enter the professional world.

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