Public Humiliation In The Scarlet Letter

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Public Shaming is defined as a judicial punishment imposed on a convicted criminal that includes humiliation in public instead of imprisonment. In Nathaniel Hawthorne 's novel The Scarlet Letter, the Puritans use public humiliation to punish those for their sins. Public humiliation may seem like the best punishment; however, in the novel Dimmesdale seems to suffer more from his own mind than Hester does by being put into public humiliation. Today, judges are still using public shaming as punishment for moderate and intense crimes. Judges believe that public humiliation can cause a greater change in a person than just sending them to jail; however, this is not a fact. Public humiliation should not still be used as a form of punishment for crime. …show more content…

However, many people support public shaming and judges decisions to do so. These people support this because they believe “that they are a good way to express communal value” and “a powerful deterrent” to crime (“Their Object”). However, the government is supposed to follow the specific law guidelines that were created by the government officials because it is proven this works and gives everyone equal punishment. Public humiliation is too harsh of a punishment and can be “worse even than jail time, house arrest, fines, or community service” (Beato). This humiliation also opposes our country 's constitution. The punishment could be considered “cruel and unusual” punishment, and it could “undermine human dignity” (“Their Object”). The government already has the most power in the country, and by not following the specific guidelines given to them just proves how much extra power they have to control the country’s citizens. Even though our country is “for the people”, government has a strong hold on to the people. The United States of America was created on the fact that all citizens have their own rights and by forcing a person to be humiliated in front of many people is uncivilized and ill-mannered. Given that the government has the most power, the officials should not use this power for the wrong reasons and punish criminals by publicly shaming

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