The Modern Puritan

In todays society there are many social inclinations, in response to socially unacceptable acts, that i believe are similar to the punishment that would be given in a Puritan society. An example that comes to mind is the tendency to shun someone who has committed a crime (and released back into the community). This sort of punishment isn't enforced by federal law, but neighborhoods of people tend to ostracize someone if they see them as a threat or wrong doer. In the scarlet letter Hester is sentenced to wear the letter A on her chest as punishment for adultery, therefore removing her from her position as an accepted part of the puritan community and making her unable to lead a normal life in that town. We see this today to a lesser extent. When a sex offender is convicted they are registered and everyone with access to a computer can see what they did and when they did it. Although the convict is not forced to publicly showcase what they did at every moment the neighborhood is usually alerted and in most cases the convict is shunned and perhaps protested to a point where they have to leave their neghborhood. The 'crime' of adultery was considered a very serious offense in a Puritan society, and today an adulterer is, by nature, shunned by people around him/her such as family and friends, as they have indeed sinned. In this way puritan morals have been adapted into society, subconsciously, targeting criminals and unethical people as punishment for their acts, so others will not repeat them, and to better the community as a whole.

John Proctor: Hero or Stooge

When we are first introduced to John Proctor he is in a position of a sinful man, having had an affair with Abigail who still wishes to win him over, stealing him from his wife. In this scene we are shown John's morality; despite the readers knowledge of his sin he appears just due to his obvious remorse, and throughout the rest of the play he struggles emotionally to cope with his guilt, his sin drained his self-respect. Despite his monetary lapse in judgement John Proctor seems to be a stand up guy living what many would say was the ideal Puritan lifestyle, with a wife, sons and land. He is obviously respected throughout Salem, and his true character is shown in the third act when his wife is accused of being of a witch. He goes to the court with the strong notion of resolving the injustice that is sweeping over Salem and the trials. He speaks to the court about Abigail's testimony that indeed no witchcraft took place in the forrest, Marry Warrens testimony, and the admission of his affair with Abigail therefore discrediting her reputation in the town. Although he is not able to resolve the accusations, and does little to ease the chaos, he does make up for his sin with abigail by admitting it and fighting the false accusations of the court. John finds out his wife is pregnant and therefore momentarily safe, yet even then he doesn't cease to contest the obvious injustice. He has reached almost complete redemption through his acts in scenes 3 and 4 and by the end of the book i believe he has earned his self-respect back in its entirety. He is given the option to admit his alliance with the devil in order to save his life, yet refuses after some thought, this lie would make all his work irrelevant, destroying his name and soul. I believe this valiant act propels him into the classification of a hero, especially within Salem and the play, he dies with his goodness and honor.

Arrivals... There Goes the Neighborhood

There are many culture clashes that occur in society, both currently and throughout history (usually triggered by an arrival of someone or a group of people). When America was discovered by the europeans, and massive amounts of people immigrated there, there was a significant, destructive cultural clash between the Native American and European peoples. This is an extreme case, the two peoples differences in culture and lifestyle were too great for them to co-exist peacefully. The europeans changed the environment in a way that drastically affected the Native American lifestyle, as they had settled there long before the europeans and adapted to living, and using the land, in a certain way. Although clashes between the Europeans and Native Americans were practically unavoidable, the Europeans went about their settlement and interactions with the Native Americans with unnecessary intolerance, and displayed obvious bias due to factors i believe relatively insignificant. The Europeans, arriving from a completely different world, thought themselves racially superior to the Native Americans since they had 'evolved' from where the Native Americans were culturally. The Europeans prejudice was a result of their ability to read and write, physical appearance, and technology. Despite the Native Americans initial hospitality the Europeans made no effort to live peacefully and the Native Americans were forced to hopelessly retaliate (although new diseases killed a significant portion of the Native Americans, so there was already little hope.) This is an extreme example of a cultural clash yet depicts the occurrence well. I believe a clash occurs usually when a certain group thinks themselves superior to another that they have encountered, and does not make an effort to live peacefully in a society with them; this can lead to extreme and avoidable violence. Although cultural clashes do occur today they usually are of a lesser degree, fortunately modern society seems to have become more tolerant.