Public shame is a painful emotion caused by a strong sense of guilt, embarrassment, and unworthiness that affects the community around the person according to the dictionary definition. However, most people refer to public shaming more commonly as a negative or positive result. For ages, public shame has influenced and affected people of all shapes and sizes worldwide. Each one of these people can refer back to that one moment where they were exposed to public humiliation whether it was tripping over a stair or completely blanking on a presentation speech. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Price of Shame” by Monica Lewinsky, and “Is the Internet a Mob without Consequence?” by Nick Bilton all discuss public shame in their …show more content…
Take a look at Hester Prynne from Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hester was made as the outcast of the village when she committed adultery. The women in the village had a few comments themselves when they said, “At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne’s forehead” (Hawthorne 36). These women have already decided that Hester was dead to them and that Hester deserved the punishment of death. They used to be friends with Hester until that one mistake; now Hester is negligible among the village folk unless counting the fact that Hester is the town gossip. Due to public shame, multiple lives were affected in a very much negative way. In addition, “The Price of Shame” by Monica Lewinsky thoroughly demonstrates just how much a single person can be affected. Lewinsky, a young woman who made a small yet big mistake by falling in love with her boss. She even said, “I was branded as a tramp, tart, slut, whore, bimbo, and of course, that woman. I was seen by many but actually known by few” (Lewinsky paragraph 10). According to her words, Lewinsky was made as a public example for what not to do. Now, she has to live with her mistake for the rest of her life. Comparing the two sources, both have the similarity of two figures undergoing a huge amount of attention then they had originally planned; that can be pretty overwhelming and it could …show more content…
Hester Prynne went through this tough and dramatic experience during her punishment. The narrator explains Hester’s thoughts when she is standing on the scaffold; “there was a quality so much more terrible in the solemn mood of the popular mind, that she longed rather to behold all those rigid countenances contorted with scornful merriment, and herself the object” (Hawthorne 40). In other words, Hester would rather have everyones opinion out in the open but instead she was left to think the worst of that they were thinking- her own mind would create the harsh opinions which just so happened to be her sub conscious speaking for itself. Another example of how public humiliation affects a person personally is when Ms. Sacco was found on social media. Bilton states, “The mob found her Facebook and Instagram accounts and began threatening the same perils on photos she had posted of friends and family. Not satisfied, people began threatening her family directly” (Bilton 5). Total strangers sent death threats to Sacco’s family who had nothing to do with the situation. This is the completely dangerous side of public humiliation which brings out the true dark side in people. Many people think personal shame is person vs. self, but it is also person vs. people. The person who is being humiliated is constantly going through levels and levels of judgement. Personal shame is
In the first scaffold scene Hester Prynne is depicted standing alone while clutching her baby. She has been sentenced to the scaffold for three hours to face public condemnation. In the Puritan society, where this novel is set, public shame is a source of entertainment. On this occasion the townspeople are present to watch the judgment of Hester. As the townspeople are ridiculing her, the narrator is praising Hester for her untamed but lady like beauty (60-61). The narrator goes so far as to compare her to “Divine Maternity” or Mother Mary, the ideal woman, the woman that is looked highly upon by the whole Puritan society (63). However, the conditions are set up to show the change in Hester due to isolation and discredit of the Puritan society. Throughout this scene the Puritans are condemning Hester for her sin as the narrator is condemning the Puritans for their severity.
People all over the world continuously commit sins some are bigger than others and some do more damage. In the book, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a woman, Hester Prynne, is publicly shamed and force to wear a scarlet A upon her bosom for committing adultery. Throughout the book, Hester and her daughter, Pearl, try to adapt to life as an outsider. The two are continuously judged for Hester’s sin, and humiliated, however, they overcome this judgment and are seen in a different way. Hester and Pearl have been publicly shamed, Pearl has been considered an elfish devil like child, and after all the humiliation they were able to turn their lives around.
...ses a threat of humiliation and maltreating from other individuals that can have a detrimental effect on their lives. A person can go from being a normal school student to a laughing stock on a popular social network or even trend from a emotionally stable individual to a deranged, depressed critter who now hides in the shadows of society hoping never to be revealed. The informative thought of the re-occurrence of public shaming throughout history from Bennett allows the reader to question if this is an issue that is perpetual and something that will never go away. Furthermore, the author conveys the idea that publicizing oneself can be a burden; the darkside of Internet fame. Wrapping up her article, Bennett portrays a warning to the reader stating, “Shame...will always be with you”(115). Harassment from Internet fame can alter a person's life-forever.
First, there many instances, both literal and symbolic, which support the notion that the scarlet letter has a strong affect on Hester. As seen early in the novel, the public opinion of a seventeenth century puritan society can be quite narrow-minded. As Hester is first marched out of the prison, the women of the town scowl at her. "At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne's forehead." (p.36) The initial opinion of the society is extremely cruel and Hester, who tries desperately to remain strong and undisturbed in the face of this mob anger, is by no means deaf. The cruel actions of the townspeople throughout the novel contribute to the ways in which the scarlet letter affects Hester. Yet, these affects of the scarlet letter on Hester can be defined more specifically when examined on the symbolic level. In many ways, Hes...
Wronging. This simple word exemplifies all things that one could do to destroy any sort of bond between two objects. A politician wrongs a public, a teacher wrongs a student, a boss wrongs an employee. A wife wrongs a husband. Wronging is universal in its presentation. The act which juxtaposes the wrong remain unimportant, it's the simple wronging which exists most corporeal. Hester wronged. She wronged more than her husband, but deeper, she wronged herself, and because of her times she wronged her god. Wronging deserves punishment. "Before the ugly edifice, and between it and the wheel-track of the street, was a grass plot, much overgrown with burdock, pigweed, apple peru, and such unsightly nail in the soil that had so early borne the black flower of civilized society, a prison." Almost parallel to Hester's deserving of pain stands a prison. Born out of civilized society springs a prison, a home of villainy. A breading ground for the wrong. What building more deserving, and what woman? Hester became a prison. Holding in the wrongness of her sin. Her justice was to carry out it's sentence. "It may be less soothing than a sinless conscience. That I cannot give you." Truly spoken from Nathaniel Hawthorn's text. Hester's wronging was her cross to bear and hers alone. Much like when Christ made a walk to his own crucifixion, so must Hester, deserving, make a walk through life bearing her A shaped cross.
There are many aspects that can lead to tragedy in texts, shame can be a strong aspect however there are others that can be just as dramatic as an aspect for a tragedy to take place. In this essay I will be looking at the effects of shame and other aspects of tragedies.
Someone’s mistakes can easily be debuted online, making the levels of public shame go beyond its limits. In Source C, “Is the Internet a Mob without Consequence?”, there is an article about an adult who got a massive amount of hate for an inappropriate tweet. In the document, the adult named Ms. Sacco received intense reactions and consequences: “Yet as soon as it was clear that she had made similar comments in the past, the Internet turned into a voracious and vengeful mob. Ms. Sacco was tried and judged guilty in a public square of millions and soon attacked in a way that seemed worse than her original statement. Within hours, people threatened to rape, shoot, kill, and torture her.” (Bilton 9-13). With the negative feedback, the lady realized her tweet was an awful mistake; however, when dealing with the internet, there is no “deleting” mistakes. Also, being shamed to the extent of having millions watch her in a public square and then threaten to do so many wrong actions like killing is just brutality wrong. The responses following the tweet are in fact far more disgusting than the single tweet posted which started the entire breakout. Furthermore, with the rise of social media, Monica Lewinsky also had her fair share in being harassed and humiliated online. Monica shares with the audience, “But the attention and judgement that I received, not the
The society in which she lives is legitimized such that people follow a certain moral code. Refraining or overlooking of such codes leads to punishment as revealed by the women “this woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die” (The Ugly Woman, 7). The narrator however, echoes concern against following strict codes of conduct. Hawthorne presents the idea that lack of compassion and forgiveness makes a society dictatorial, he believes the need to observe and practice grace is imperative. Ruling through grace was expressed by Hester when she is forgiven by a society that had once punished her for same mistakes as the young girl retorts “let her cover the mark she will, the pang of it will be always in her heart” (A Young Wife, 6). Reverend Dimmesdale finds adequate grace after seven years of not confessing his sins because of the repercussions that would come thereafter. He begs Hester to reveal his name so that he can as well reveal his sin “be not silent from any mistaken pity, and tenderness for him” (Reverend Dimmesdale, 26) YOur
In the beginning of The Scarlet Letter, the letter is understood as a label of punishment and sin being publicized. Hester Prynne bears the label of “A” signifining adulterer upon her chest. Because of this scorching red color label she becomes the outcast of her society. She wears this symbol of punishment and it become a burden throughout her life. The letter “produces only a reflection of her scarlet letter; likewise, the townspeople's image of Hester revolves around her sin. The evil associated with Hester's actions and the letter on her chest consume all aspects of her life, concealing her true beauty, mind, and soul” (R. Warfel 421-425). Society pushed blame upon Hester Prynne, and these events lead to the change of her life. The Puritans whom Prynne is surround by view the letter as a symbol from the devil, controversially some individuals look upon the letter, sigh and fell sympathy towards her because they have or are involved in this same situation. Nonetheless the haunting torture Hester Prynne battles daily drags on, Nathaniel Hawthorne shows this torture “of an impulse and passionate nature. She had fortified herself to encounter the stings and venomous stabs of public contumely wreaking itself in every variety of insult but...
When one analyzes the punishment inflicted upon her, it may seem harsh and cruel, especially for a Puritan society. It seems that Hawthorne agrees with this as well. Throughout the novel, it seems apparent that Hawthorne feels that the punishment Hester received was harsh and self-degrading. When one commits a sin, they should understand their mistake, receive their blame, and receive a "slap on the wrist." However, the punishment Hester received was far worse emotionally. Wearing the letter made Hester the talk-about of the town. When she walked through the marketplace, she received scornful looks, as if society was rejecting her for her wrongdoing. Hester was now living on the outskirts of town, isolated from neighbors and trying to communicate with her daughter Pearl.
At the beginning of the Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne is labeled as the “bad guy”. The townspeople demand the other adulterer’s name, but Hester denies this revelation. She does not reveal it because she knows that the information will crumble the foundation of the Puritan religion and the town itself. “‘But, Hester, the man lives who has wronged us both! Who is he?’ ‘Ask me not!’ replied Hester Prynne, looking firmly into his face. ‘That thou shalt never know!’(Hawthorne 52). Hester knows that finding out that the father of the child, the Minister that is leading the town, will diminish credibility for the church and for Dimmesdale, the Minister. During her punishment, Hester decides to move out near the woods and make a living as a seamstress. Hester is regarded as an outcast from Boston, but she still gives back to the society that shuns her. ‘“Do you see that woman with the embroidered badge?’ they would say to strangers. ‘It is our Hester, —the town's own Hester, —who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted!’”(Hawthorne 111). Her acts of kindness, helping the sick and comforting the afflicted, toward the society that makes her an outcast shows the inner goodness of a person. Throu...
Imagine that it’s a normal day for you. You’re hanging out with your friends goofing around and cracking jokes trying to be funny. Now let’s say that you did something or said something and one of your friends wanted to post it to social media. You let them as you think it will be funny and get a reaction out of people. That is exactly what happens to Lindsey Stone in Jon Ronson’s book So You’ve Publicly Shamed but it lands her in a load of trouble. Lindsey’s poor judgement on posing for a photo while making obscene gestures and letting her friend post it to Facebook ended up in her being publicly shamed for months.
“Measured by the prisoner's experience, however, it might reckoned a journey of some length; for, haughty as her demeanor was, she perchance underwent an agony from every footstep of those that thronged to see her, as if her heart had been flung in the street for them all to spurn and trample upon.” (Hawthorne 38) Very early in this novel we can see that one of the main themes is going to be isolation. This quote summed up, basically says that everyone in the town has turned up to shame her, her being Hester Prynne, publicly and that she is surrounded and totally alone, isolated. Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author of this book has a bad history with the Puritan belief and writes against, and makes fun of it constantly in his works. He does this
Hester is a committer of the sin adultery. She receives a letter with an A on it, which is meant to represent her sin. Hester is free to go wherever she wants with her letter, but she decides to stay within the boundaries of her Puritan town: “Kept by no restrictive clause of her condemnation within the limits of the Puritan settlement...” (Hawthorne 73). Hester has a newfound sense of pride in the letter she wears, even though that letter is her reason for her own personal condemnation. She doesn 't have any restrictive boundaries, but she feels like her letter is that line that keeps her in her town where she will constantly be judged by others. Constantly criticized, evaluated, and assessed. Hester appears to have a negative mental state caused by her mental condemnation due to the adverse diction when she’s addressed through use of words such as sin, dark, or inscrutable. As her condemnation continues on, she (unlike Jake) changes her subjective thoughts into ones that represent pride and acceptiveness. She turns her views on life into ones that are happier and more accepting, since she has already gone through so much. Condemnation often changes how one might go through processes mentally, but those do not always have to be awful. Most see the restrictiveness in the actions of being condemned, yet new ideologies on how one
Shame is one of the most devastating emotions a human can experience. It limits your ability to achieve your full potential in all areas of life. His head is down, not looking anyone in the eye, because, “If you really knew me, you wouldn’t love or accept me.” (p. 55) Shame carries the belief that they are a bad person. It is not that bad things happened to them or they did bad things, but that they are a bad person. He might hear voices in his head telling him how bad he is. “Such sexual disgrace connects to the very core of the masculine soul.” (p. 56) The author discuses three types of sexual shame.