Of the many literary works I read over the semester, none stood out to me more than The Scarlet letter. Hester Prynne started out wearing it as a form of punishment, then grew to see it as a badge of honor in the end. But what of the puritan society that bestowed this mark upon her? Though they stressed religious piety and complete devotion to a sinless life, they bore their own scarlet letter by way of the Salem witch trials. Thus, it could be said that America itself is like Hester prynne ,in the sense that the killing of innocents as witches branded the very image of puritan society and early American history with a red letter A of sorts. However, just as it did in Hawthorne's story, what the A stands for has changed over time. At first, It could have stood for "Afraid", largely because of the fear of the unknown that fueled such tragic events. In the years following that era, it may have come to stand for " appauling", due to the nature of what took place.Today, this figurative letter our history bears has come to stand for " Acceptance" because we have learned from such mistakes. Over all, I believe that The Scarlet Letter and literary works like it are actually about the marks of shame we bear on ourselves in how we live among each other.
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