While reading The Scarlet Letter, something that really stood out to me was the way the letter makes Hester feel. I find it interesting that Hester is so deeply pained by her wearing of the scarlet letter, and also how scrutinized she feels by every person around her. Although we were not introduced to Hester until after the letter had been fastened to her chest, I feel as if the letter transformed who she once was, and has turned her into an extremely paranoid person. An example of this is on page 67 when Hester's daughter Pearl is throwing wild-flowers at her. Instead of interpreting Pearl's actions as an innocent form of childplay like most mothers would, Hester becomes deeply upset by it. "Still came the battery of flowers, almost invariably hitting the mark, and covering the mother's breast with hurts for which she could find no balm in this world". This quote shows how sensitive Hester has become because of her sentence by showing that even something as non-threatening as flowers can make Hester feel awful about herself. Truly, I do not think that Pearl meant to hit the letter, I just think that Hester is so greatly focussed on this letter which represents her biggest downfall in life, that she feels as if she is being targetted because of it. This quote also shows how helpless the letter makes Hester feel when it says that it covered her in "hurts for which she could find no balm in this world". By saying this, it expresses how Hester feels doomed by the scarlet letter, and knows that there is nothing she can do to fix the situation she is in.
Overall, what I think the scarlet letter represents is how obsessed humans are with how they are perceived by others. The only reason Hester is so troubled by her wearing of the scarlet letter is because of how she knows she will be judged by others. It is merely human nature to be fixated on how others view you and how you are judged, and because of the letter Hester is seen right away as a shameful adulterer who doesn't have good morals. A lesson that is displayed by this, however, is that you truly can not judge a book by its cover. Although Hester did commit a great sin, it does not have to define who she is. Hester is a loving mother who cares deeply for her daughter and also cares strongly about her virtue and her role in society. The scarlet letter only magnifies to the public one sin Hester has comitted, which ends up masking what a great person she really is.
Lastly, the scarlet letter has made me think a lot about how this book connects to society today. In our era, a huge concern is appearance and body image. People strive to look perfect, and focus strongly on the "flaws" they have. What I thought the scarlet letter Hester wears is similar to is one of the supposed flaws people focus on today. An example of this is when a person is self-conscious about being overweight. When a person feels as if they are fat, they believe all those around them are constantly judging them. Any time someone gazes upon the areas of their body they are uncomfortable with, they feel as if they are being judged and that others will automatically see them as a lazy glutonous being.. This is just like Hester's situation because she feels as if every time a person looks at her all they see is the red A on her chest, and that secretly every person she meets is judging and looking down upon her as a wicked adultress. The big similarity between these two situations is that your appearance gives you a back-story, whether it is true or not.
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