Judementality Essay, Research Paper

Judgmentalality

OJ Simpson was suspected of killing his ex-wife and her friend outside her

home. Before he was arrested for the suspicion he was already tried, convicted

and, executed in the minds of all of America. Before he went to trial everyone

knew the “truth,” everyone had already decided his fate before the evidence

was presented. No one knew what happened but we all formed our opinions

and theories of how he did it, why he did it, and if he should be killed or just get

life in prison. Our world is too judgmental and it always has been. Even in the

time Hawthorne wrote of in The Scarlet Letter and in “The Ministers Black Veil”

people judged before they knew the truth.

Objects were judged even though they had no relevance on what really

happened. In “The Ministers Black Veil” no one knew why the minister wore

the veil but everyone assumed it meant shame and that he had something to

hide. I think that the minister thought that it was his mission to show how

superficial the people were. The ministers own fiancee left him because no one

knew anything about the veil he wore. Again in The Scarlet Letter, I can think

of two more major examples where an object was used as a sign or omen. The

first is of course the letter, it meant evil, shame, and sin to the townspeople.

All it was, was a letter nothing more, nothing less. The second object that

people took as a prolific sign was the weeds on a grave. They reasoned that the

weeds were there because of the sins of that person, and that the weeds grew

because flowers could not. People then and now take symbols too deeply and

meaningful.

People often take events to be meaningful and supernatural. In The Scarlet

Letter the meteor meant some great act of God or the Devil was about to take

place. All a meteor is, is a chunk of rock of that is being incinerated in our

atmosphere. As a second example, when a person was up on the scaffold it

meant that they deserved scorn and ridicule and no mercy. The scaffold meant

you had shame and guilt and it was for all the others to see.

In those times people were taken to mean things as well. Hester was good

hearted and almost clean but was seen as a sinful evil person, to be avoided at

all costs. Chillingworth was seen as a kindhearted doctor only there to help people when in actuallity he was an evil, sadistic man concerned only with his complete revenge on Dimesdale. The minister, or reverend, is seen as a holy reverent person, to be looked upon as a level of holiness to achieve. The reverend may have committed great and evil sins but he is still seen as a holy idol.

People judge others without basis for their opinion, and without knowing

of the facts. Events were taken as symbolic when all they were was a natural

occurrence. Objects are made into symbols when often all they are is an object,

not meant to mean anything but always made to mean something. Everything is

judged and made to mean something when they are meaningless. Our world is

superficial and prejudice against what they do not understand. They judge on

appearances and circumstances. Most don?t even make an attempt at finding the

facts.