Comparing Public Shaming And Bullying In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

In the story of the Scarlet Letter, the heroine Hester got punished by her sin of adultery. She was publicly shamed and she has to wear a scarlet letter throughout her life. Ann Hibbins, who was the wife of the governor, sentenced to death for witchcraft. 400 hundred-years later, with the development of the society, people are being intelligent, and they may not judge others like four-hundred years ago. But, the truth is public shaming and bullying still taking place in our civilized society. Ironically, we can find many similarities for the public shaming and bullying between now and past. Human nature does not change over time.

A few years ago in Ohio, a woman drove on the sidewalk to avoid the school bus. The judge sentenced her to hold the "idiot" sign for 2 days because they couldn't put her in the jail. Her crazy movement poses a danger to the students who might walk on the sidewalk. In the Scarlet Letter, the similar

In my point of view, for that Ohio woman, she was doing the wrong thing in the first place.Moreover, she makes this mistake deliberately. Wickedness does not go altogether unrequited. For society in general, public shaming give her a lesson that she could remember this lesson profoundly and not do the wrong thing again. In our civilized society, she has to be punished, but there will be a better way for punishment besides public shaming. As for Hester, she does commit adultery but it’s not entirely her fault. The punishment she suffered has gone too far. Dimmesdale who should have been punished refused to confess his sin of adultery. As time goes on, with the endeavor of Hester, the scarlet letter changed its meaning. She became a seamstress and helpful to each other. The letter “A” became the symbol of “able”. Public shaming gives them a worse identity, but It would not hinder them to correct their mistakes and be the good