Lead By Example Essay, Research Paper

Lead By ExampleEdmund Burke once wrote, “Example is the school of mankind, and they will learn at no other.” This explains how The Scarlet Letter,The Scarlet Letter’s example will greatly benefit teenage parents to overcome their circumstances. Before one can learn how Hester Prynne overcame her problems in The Scarlet Letter, it is helpful to know what she went through. Because she committed adultery, she had to wear a scarlet letter that ostracized her in her town. For that reason, she suffered publicly and internally. Her public pain began when she was first shown on the scaffold, and continued for a long time. Her distress can be described with; “…the stings and venemous stabs of public contumely, wreaking itself in every variety of insult…” [sl02.html#g20] Besides her external distress, she also struggled within herself. She had to cope with her daughter’s punishment because of her own sin. Hester’s anxiety can be seen by this quote, “Day after day, she looked fearfully into the child’s expanding nature; ever dreading to detect some dark and wild peculiarity, that should correspond with the guiltiness to which she owed her being.” [sl06.html#g01] Although she suffered a lot, it did not stay that way.

Consequently, Hester Prynne was able to gain control over her life again. She was finally able to recover from her difficult times when she learned how to make the best out of the worst. Her external problem changed when she turned her experience into something positive. “People brought all their sorrows and perplexites, and besought her counsel, as one who had herself gone through a mighty trouble.” [sl24.html#g07] As a result, Hester’s life was molded back together because of her perseverance. In conclusion, The Scarlet Letter is relevant to teenage parents. It shows that young parents that they should stay with it and the difficult times will pass, like in the novel. It also shows them that there is hope for the future, even though there have been many problems. Besides being a superb book in literature, The Scarlet Letter can also be considered to be a help for some people in life.