I recently had to read the Scarlett letter for my high school ELA class. We had the choice between several books; and I’m not going to lie, I chose this one because it was one of the shortest on the list. This book actually turned out to be very interesting. The book is about Hester Prynne, who lives in 1600s Boston. She has a sexual affair which produces a child and gets unfairly judged for it for the rest of her life. Her husband “Chillingsworth” returns unexpectantly and makes it his life’s mission to expose the father of Hester’s child. At the end we realize that Dimmesdale, the reverend of the town, is the father of the child. Everyone in town realizes that they are wrong for judging Hester.
Just like the people of today, Hester is unnecessarily judged and stigmatized for the rest of her life. In chapter 2 Hester is put to shame on a scaffold in front of a crowd and forced to wear a letter “A” for the rest of her life. At the end of the novel everyone realizes the judgement is wrong, that’s what I hope happens today.
I think we all can relate to the issue of unnecessary harsh judgement as human beings. We see this in our personal lives and in the news with public figures all the time. I can relate to this even more as a high school student. People who have sex and give birth to children at a young age are still harshly judged. About 24 out of 1000 women will have a baby as a teenager. It’s a somewhat common occurrence and yet people are still judged. This judgement is wrong.
I’m writing this letter to everyone on earth, but particularly to the “Chillingsworths” of the world who judge people unnecessarily and make them feel like outcasts. After reading this letter I want you to try to be nice to people. Walk a mile in other people’s shoes and take a look in the mirror before you start judging other people. This is a call to action to stop meanly judging people and find a better way to occupy your time.
Hester from the Scarlett letter shouldn’t have been nearly as much of a victim as she was. If this would’ve happened today she would’ve still been judged in different ways. We shouldn’t judge, punish, and shun people for their harmless actions. This still happens today and it shouldn’t.
