The Theme Of Identity In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne
As humans our reputation is important, the way people see us and how they interact with each one of us. But also, our reputation does not define who we really are. We hear, we see and talk, but sometimes we don’t really get to meet the person on the inside of the body, the one with a story, the one with a dream. The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne includes the theme of identity Hawthorne created Hester Prynne judged by the Puritan society in Boston. Hester was forced to wear an “A” on her chest because she committed adultery. Little backstory, in the Puritan society and during the 1700s having a child without being married was a big crime.
Throughout the whole novel identity is shown. Hester is in fact a single mother and isolates herself from everyone else to understand and know herself a little better. “On the outskirts of the town. . . looking across a basin of the sea at the forest-covered hills toward the west”. Identity can be seen in this quote. Firstly, it makes you imagine how isolated Hester is and lives, but also it has a second meaning, being isolated is not negative after all. Some people like Hester isolate themselves to find and know their own self. As an independent woman she begins to understand what she has done, and what she's capable of doing. That her actions can affect people and mostly her daughter Pearl. In the modern day, identity is very valuable and important. As it helps us creating a barrier to defend ourselves, gain self-confidence and self-love. “The only true happiness lies in knowing who you are”. Knowing who you are, values, traits and you overall can be your most valuable possession, when you know yourself no one can hurt you bad.
Many people suffer from trying to discover themselves specially if they have adversities like moving from another country or have different appearances. Mathematician and comic book writer Jason Rodrigues grew up in a city where he was a minority. He had to adapt and accept and identify who he was so that he could not feel like he didn’t fit in or defend himself in case of bullying or being attacked. Personally, I’ve never struggled with being shy or not talkative. I love talking to people, big groups and I can do it with any problem. Something that helped me with identity though was pageants. Many people have a bad perception of pageants, but they have really helped me in the sense of knowing myself a little better and understanding that I am not going to fit in everywhere, and because of that I don’t have to change myself or pressure myself to do things that I don’t feel comfortable doing. Also, I understood that to love people you must love yourself. Identity has been a big part of my life as it taught me what I need to do better and my strengths and how to use them in my favor.
As a conclusion, identity whether if it's in The Scarlet Letter or your own life, is essential. It’s a power for you to succeed in life or whatever you do, and It makes you understand yourself and others better. It is also helpful when we are being judged or our reputation, since it is how others view us, but identity helps us know our own worth and capabilities. Hester in The Scarlet Letter matured, and learned and finally became more active in society, giving us an example of how much identity can change our mood, skills and life.
