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The Symbol Of Shame In The Scarlett Letter

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The Scarlet Letter shows a world of discrimination and judgement not unlike the world we live in today, just with different symbols of shame. Hester Prynne had to wear a large scarlet letter on her chest to show that she was an adulteress while Dimmesdale hid his symbol beneath his clothing. In today’s society, there are symbols that can be hidden and there are symbols that simply cannot be hidden. The symbol that I chose to compare Hester’s scarlet letter to was the symbol of the LGBTQIA community. Many people hold the belief that to be a part of or involved in the LGBT community is shameful and unacceptable. This isn’t exactly a symbol that is always worn on the skin in plain sight, but when people find out about the symbol, some do not hesitate to speak out against it. …show more content…

“Transgender Ideology is Child Abuse.”, “No Promo Homo”, “LGBT Banned from Military” and “Homosexuality is a Sin”, all demonstrate that some people feel that to be in alliance with the LGBTQ community is wrong and immoral. The quote I put on the poster from The Scarlet Letter is “She deserves to die.” This shows that the women in the town showed no mercy towards Hester at first. The other words on the poster are ideals from both The Scarlet Letter and our modern-day society. “Punishment”, “Wrong”, “Alienated”, and “Shame” all show the way people felt and think about the badge of shame. Another commonality is that in The Scarlet Letter the townspeople eventually became more aware and accepting of Hester outside of her scarlet letter. This is something that both symbols have in common because society is slowly becoming more accepting and aware of the LGBT

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