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What each generation or society views as good and bad seems to change with the times. Even the way people carry out their daily tasks is different from the past. Thats what the advancement of mankind is all about. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne shows a perfect example of how the past can never really be the same as the present. Because the times have changed, The Scarlet Letter is not relevant to todays teenage parents. One way the times have changed is that teenage parents are not alone like Hester was.
Today, there are support groups for teenagers dealing with parenthood. It lets them know that theyre not alone, and that theyre not the only people in the world with that problem. It was almost the complete opposite with Hester's situation. Hester was totally isolated from the rest of society because she sinned by having Pearl. When she got out of prison, she then had to deal with the hardest part of her life, living with her guilt and shame.
For the accumulating days, and added years, would pile up their misery upon the heap of shame [sl 05. html]. Hester was also one of the only women who had a child with another man who wasnt her husband. So, on top of having to raise a child on her own with no support, she also had to deal with feeling like a total outcast from society. Today, teenage parents may get criticized by their peers and some adults, but theyre not treated like outcasts by the rest of society. Another reason why The Scarlet Letter isnt relevant to todays teenage parents is because there isnt really a punishment for having a child, other than a lifetime commitment.
In the story, Hester had to endure the scaffold and wear the letter A for adultery for the rest of her life. This is stated by a townsman when asked by Chilling worth. Hester's punishment would be then and thereafter, for the remainder of her natural life, to wear a mark of shame upon her bosom [sl 03. html#g 02 ]. Hester's sin was considered so horrible that she was going to be punished for it forever. And over her grave, the infamy that she must carry thither would be her only monument [sl 05.
html]. Hester couldnt even get away from her sin by death. Today, the legal system doesnt get involved in a teenager having a child because there arent really any laws against it. In Puritan times, it was okay for officials to get involved.
The third reason why The Scarlet Letter isnt relevant to todays teenage parents is because there isnt that same amount of up tightness about intimacy like there was during Puritan times. After Hester was charged with adultery, she was considered immoral and dirty. This was shown when the townswomen talked about Hester and what she had done. This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die [sl 02. html#g 07 ]. What Hester did was considered one of the worst things a woman could do.
Today, a person who has a child while still a teenager is bad to many people but not compared to other problems they could face. Intimacy isnt looked at as a problem as much, because its all around us. We see it in television, music, entertainment, and on the streets. Its much more a public part of our lives.
Due to the fact that the times have changed so much since Puritan times, The Scarlet Letter cant be relevant to todays teenage parents. What we see today as accepted and normal might be shocking to future people. Someday, our society may be looked upon like the Puritan society is looked at by us. Morals and beliefs change over time.
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Research essay sample on Rest Of Society Teenage Parents
