Scarlet Letter 2

1.) "'Methinks it must gladden your heart, after your troubles and sojourn in the wilderness...to find yourself, at length, in a land where iniquity is searched out, and punished in the sight of rulers and people, as here in our godly New England'" (Hawthorne 58).

These people are just like Salem. We have already gone over that fact, yes, but it relates to what we said in class today(26th). We said that these people are happy for the punishment of sin. They seek sin out and penalize it. They think this is the right thing to do, rather than simply dealing with sin when it arises. They feel they must exterminate any undesirable elements of their Utopian society, and for that they must permeate every home and private life to do so. They are proud of this, and assume that others feel the same as they do. Also, like Salem, everything must be public, from confessions, to hangings, to scarlet letters. Not only must something be punished, but it must be put on display for the entire town to see as they go about their daily activities. In Salem, the criminals were put on display as an example for the community, regardless of whether they felt bad because of punishment or not. In Boston, they are flaunted so that they can feel bad. It is their punishment. In Salem, publicity was used as an example, but in Boston, it is a form of torture.

2.) "'Even if I imagine a scheme of vengeance, what could I do better for my object than to let thee live...so that this burning shame may still blaze upon thy bosom?...Live, therefore, and bear about thy doom with thee, in the eyes of men and women,--in the eyes of him whom thou didst call thy husband,--in the eyes of yonder child!'" (68).

Which is worse: to die, or to live on in shame? These are the two principle punishments talked about in the novel. One means the sudden end of the criminal's human life. The other would mean retaining their life, but at the cost of turning that life into a life cursed with shame and regret. So, which is worse? As a townsman explains about Hester's punishment, "'They[the magistrates] have not been bold to put in force the extremity of our righteous law against her. The penalty thereof is death'" (59), the magistrates were merciful with Hester by not sentencing her to death. To them, death is the final punishment for sin, and instead, they should let Hester live, but display her as an adulteress for the whole town. If The Crucible taught us anything, it is that this is the wrong response. Proctor chose death, rather than to live a false live scorned with the mark of sin. Death ends everything quickly. No more shame, no more mockery, and no more pain. Chillingworth has the right idea when it comes to punishment. The real punishment is not losing one's life, it is having to live that life burdened by your sins. Knowing that everyone is staring at you, ostracizing you, and wondering what they are thinking about it is torment enough, let alone the remorse you feel inside.He knows that this is worse than death, which is why he lets Hester live as his vengeance.