Sin, Guilt, and the Subconscious 9
CHAPTER 11
Sin, Guilt, and the Subconscious in The Scarlet Letter
Lee Anne Sackman
Introduction
Although classic literature is appreciated by scholars, academics, or merely another book lover, the sentiment is not always shared by those “required” to read it. Students often have a hard time understanding why they must read this particular book or how it is relevant to anything they enjoy in life. To make literature meaningful to young adults, the teacher should be able to connect the classic literature with a current text. If the classic novel can be related to a contemporary young adult novel, the young readers will be keener to fully partake in the literary lesson. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is such a novel in which many students need to be pushed or guided into understanding the significance behind its exploration in the classroom. Though the novel is set in Puritan New England during the seventeenth century, the themes and meanings within the text can be related to within modern society today.
Throughout this chapter different sources will be provided that will help teachers to access contemporary outlets that are relatable to The Scarlet Letter. With the technology available to students today, more information is accessible to them and to the classroom. Utilizing this source of information will broaden students understanding and add variation to the lessons each day. While there are contemporary young adult novels that are relatable to The Scarlet Letter, there are also websites, movies, songs, and articles that can be useful to the teacher or to the student in relating to this classic novel. With the technological advancements being made each day, there are now numerous ways to help students understand literature and relate it to their personal lives. These accompanying sources can act as a bridge and connection to a novel that if taught alone could seem boring or unimportant.
Understanding the Importance of The Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic novel The Scarlet Letter has been taught within classrooms for years; it is a book based on an interesting and controversial subject has been lost to young readers because of Hawthorne’s complex language and structure. Written in 1850, this text is filled with classical language and complex sentence structure. While this adds to Hawthorne’s brilliance as a writer, it can be a turn off for young readers. Hawthorne incorporates symbolism, mood, and detailed characters into a novel that relates to the concept of conforming to society based on outlined guidelines and standards. Through this topic, the theme of sin and guilt is often brought out by the characters actions and interactions with one another. Hawthorne utilizes the protagonist, Hester Prynne, as a symbol of sin and guilt throughout the novel. The act of adultery is what fuels the complication of this novel and the plot includes the consequences this act. The acceptance, guilt, and feelings of lament of this sin leads to the construction of the conflict and story line of the novel.
When first approaching this novel there are many themes or elements that can be utilized by a teacher for a lesson, but it is the overwhelming concept of sin, guilt, and the subconscious that is most predominant within the text. This novel should be read with this theme in mind but also in relation to the historical context that it holds. The mind frame of the characters is based on the Puritan ideals of their society, the overwhelming judgments and criticisms are a result of Hawthorne’s perspective of this time.
The concept of sin and how it is handled by the characters leads to different viewpoints on one act of adultery. The people of this Puritan village condemn Hester Prynne and her daughter for her role in an affair. They wish to condemn her partner in this tryst but Hester refuses to name him; therefore, she takes the entire blame and consequence of the affair by herself. She accepts her fate and wears the badge of her scarlet “A” as the symbol of her past. Her partner in her affair, who is revealed to be Reverend Dimmesdale, does not come forward and as a result is consumed by guilt. Roger Chillingworth is Hester Prynne’s husband but hides this fact from the rest of the town and in the process torments Hester and Dimmesdale out of revenge for their act of adultery. Each of the characters play a part in the development of the plot and their reactions create the meaning of the work. Yet, it can be difficult for students to fully understand this concept without outside information on this novel. Even if students are given historical background information, the novel will still seem to lack meaning or concepts to relate to for the young readers. Therefore, it is useful to pair this classical novel with another contemporary young adult novel that has similar themes or concepts.
Incorporating Contemporary Young Adult Literature: Cut
Within The Scarlet Letter the protagonist, Hester Prynne, is being punished for not conforming to the ideals of her society when she committed the sin of adultery. Over time ideas of acceptable actions within society have changed and advanced, but the idea of conforming to societal standards remains. This theme of conforming to society is predominant throughout literature, and one contemporary novel that depicts this theme is Cut by Patricia McCormick. This story is about a young girl named Callie who cuts herself in order to take away the pain of everyday life. She is a normal girl with a traditional family, but she has this dark secret of cutting. The novel is an account of her experience at a facility where she attends therapy for this self-destructive act. The pressures of everyday life are what lead Callie to take out her anguish on herself; the motivation of her cutting herself is so simple that it reveals just how little society has changed. There are still pressures to conform and not act out in a way that is disturbing to others in society, when Callie’s disorder is identified she is sent away to find the help she needs in handling life. Callie at first is silent and refuses to speak in therapy, but eventually begins to speak. While Callie does begin to open up in therapy, it becomes too overwhelming and she runs away from the facility. It is not until she has left the rehabilitation facility that Callie realizes she does need help and accepts who she is. The acceptance of her social abnormality is what sets Callie free of her denial and self-destructive tendencies. Just as Hester Prynne accepts her sin and wears her scarlet “A,” Callie accepts that she does in fact need help with her mental disease of cutting.
This novel is written using language that is relatable to young readers today. The style and tone are darker based on the subject matter of the story, but the dialogue and narration is easy to follow. Patricia McCormick allows the readers to have insight into Callie’s life with flashbacks and forwards. Students are able to draw conclusions about the message being sent about conforming to societal norms based on their experiences with the subject matter; while controversial, cutting is an act that is well known amongst the youth today. This young adult novel provides a difficult subject to discuss in a classroom, just as The Scarlet Letter does with the issue of adultery. Yet, it is an issue that should not be hidden from students merely because it is controversial. Young adults should know how to handle a modern issue like cutting and this book provides an account that is real and inspiring. Students will be able to read this novel and be able to relate to this protagonist based on their association with the demands of everyday life as teenagers. While, Hester Prynne is not a teenager in The Scarlet Letter, she too has fallen victim to the social demands by having to be persecuted for finding companionship when she is alone in a new world. Hester Prynne is out casted by society and left alone, Callie too is alone at first; but, when both characters confront their issues they are able to accept their realities. Cut is a contemporary novel that can be related to The Scarlet Letter with ease and is relevant to students’ lives today. There are many young adult novels that incorporate this theme of conforming to society and through the topic of cutting Patricia McCormick is able to lend a perspective into the negative outcomes of that pressure.
Incorporating Contemporary Young Adult Literature: Uglies
The theme of conforming to societal standards and the consequences can be easily related to another contemporary novel of science fiction titled Uglies by Scott Westerfield. While Cut and The Scarlet Letter both involve story lines that are based on actual occurrences in our history; Uglies is set in a future world where humans are forced to have cosmetic surgery that will boost their immune system against a dominant bacteria that exists, but in doing so their faces become symmetrical and causes everyone to look identical. This process occurs for everyone at age sixteen and once that occurs the individual is referred to as a “pretty,” but until then those who are not changed are called “uglies.” This book tells of a fifteen year old girl and her experience as an “ugly” and the journey she takes in order to gain her place as a “pretty.” Yet, as she interacts with others like her she realizes that she does not want to be a part of that conformist world and wishes to remain an individual. Unfortunately, by the end of the book she must give up this desire and conform by becoming a “pretty” in order to save her friends.
This story addresses the issue of conformity and self-image in society, this theme is consistent in young adult literature because it is something that so many students are experiencing in their own lives. The message of accepting who you are as an individual is part of this book and can help students when reading it understand that it is alright to be yourself, because everyone is flawed and no one is perfect. Only in a world of a science fiction novel are people capable of being “perfect.”
Uglies is an engaging and current novel that follows a trend of science fiction novels that can be related to modern society. The structure and language allow the readers to easily follow the story line and relate to the young narrator. The acceptance of human flaws provides a message that many young adults need and want to hear, so this novel provides a message contrary to what many individuals often think about themselves. Yet, the inability for Tally to escape conforming as a “pretty” reveals humans inability to ever fully accept conforming to society. In some way man will always give in to societal standards. This novel is appropriate to teach in the classroom because of how easily it can be related to other classical texts like The Scarlet Letter. Hester Prynne was never fully able to escape society. Even when she thought that she would be able to escape with Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, his death kept her from being able to leave her life behind and she was branded with the scarlet “A” as a reminder for the rest of her life. Just as Tally was able to see the truth in her happiness as an “ugly” she was not able to live her life as one when she gave up her individualism to become a “pretty.” This work is a contemporary look at the theme of The Scarlet Letter. While contemporary literature is a constructive way to relate students to classical texts, there are also sources outside of literary works that can be used in/outside of the classroom or as an aid to the teacher while creating lessons.
Helpful Websites
As a teacher it is helpful to have information provided in relation to how to teach novels to students. Without references, it’s difficult to develop lessons or teach students effectively. The website: http://www.ntc-school.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/pdf/scarlet_letter.pdf contains a study guide provided through the Glencoe Literature Library about The Scarlet Letter. Within this website an analysis of Nathaniel Hawthorne is included along with an introduction to the novel. This website provides a breakdown of a group of chapters of the novel where themes are presented, important vocabulary is cited, and reading activities are provided. This website is very helpful for beginning teachers or even educators that would like new material to use when teaching this classic novel.
Another website that will be useful for teachers and for students can be found at the web address: http://www.articlemyriad.com/Scarlet%20Letter%20Sin.htm. This website specifically addresses the main theme of sin within The Scarlet Letter. It goes into detail about how the sin of adultery has affected each character in their minds, bodies, and their subconscious. This website provides quotes and examples to support the statements made by the author. Educators would access this website if they choose to use the theme of sin as a focal point throughout the unit or even if they wish to use another theme, it is still filled with insight into each characters motivation and personality. This particular website would be good to reference while in class or be used by students for help with assignments in order to gain a better understanding of the text and the main theme presented within this chapter.
While students spend a great deal of time on the internet, another media source that is popular amongst the younger generation are movies. Cinematic adaptations of popular novels or concepts are viewed by a large portion of young adults and can be used as references within the classroom in relation to classical pieces of literature.