Scarlet Letter 2 Essay, Research Paper

Timelessness is what separates masterpieces from the rest of literature. Classics like The Scarlet Letter transcend time, and that’s why this book is as relevant in today’s society as it was in the mid-19th century. Today’s teenage parents are often faced with the same problems that plagued Hester and Dimmesdale. Nowadays, parents replace God as the higher authority whom the “sinners” relinquish in their crime. Babies born from teenage mothers are often unfamiliar with their fathers, who cannot come forward because of the burdens, both moral and financial, that are placed on them by society. This is the same case with Dimmesdale who, although constantly plagued by his guilty conscience, is too afraid of public opinion to come forward and confess. The consequences of unplanned or illicit childbirth, whether now or a century ago, are dire. Hester’s punishment is to be ostracized from the community, faced with a lonely future that is only partially lightened by her daughter. Teenage mothers, on the same parallel, must leave school or college to care for their child, abandoning any hope of higher education. Frequently, their only job is the ceaseless vigilance over the newborn. Anchored to the crib, these mothers experience the same solitude that beleagured Hester for many years.

“Fiction gives us a second chance that life denies us,” said Paul Theroux once. Through reading The Scarlet Letter, teenagers may perceive the full consequence of a momentary lust – parenthood. This burden weighs heavy on anyone, especially on the young and inexperienced, who, hopefully, will experience it through a book before trying it themselves. The book will not eliminate teenage pregnancy; that s not its job. Literature like this does not limit, it expands our world to show us wider horizons, and to teach us of truths we thought were nameless.