Difficulty Paper #2

“The Scarlet Letter”
Allison Finley
English 1B
May 4, 2011


Page 1
I believe that the central theme of an intense and powerful religious environment is the key to understanding the cultural norms of the Puritan society. The fact that the culture within The Scarlet Letter revolves so strictly around religion and the ties that their society has to the bible and their religious beliefs sets president over every aspect of their life. The Puritan way of life found within The Scarlet Letter is so different from our modern day society that I find the Puritan cultural norms not only interesting and intriguing but frustrating and obnoxious as well. Today, we have freedom of religion. Not only is that freedom of religious choice written into the United States Constitution but it is also one of our cultural norms. While the people of the Puritan society use their religion as judge, jury, and executioner. I am happy to live in a society that embraces religious differences amongst one another.
Compared with the culture that I am accustomed too, the Puritan society was overly harsh and unforgiving. Because of these differences between the Puritan culture and my culture I find it difficult to fully comprehend their norms; it’s as if I can only understand their society so much, but I’m left with many questions unanswered. I can’t help but compare and contrast these differences between their culture with my own. I also think that the author of the novel, Nathanial Hawthorne, presents sub themes throughout the entirety of the novel and I find it interesting that Hawthorne revolves these sub themes around their religion. For example, their decision making, ability of moral acceptance, and rebellion are all influenced heavily by their strict religious beliefs.
I think that the Puritans’ decision making process was heavily influenced by their religion in that their decisions were very public. They had to deal with what is right and what is wrong on not only a private level, but also on a much larger scale; they had to consider their decisions as viewed in the eyes of society as well. To an extent, unlike today, the Puritan people had such a heavy burden to carry while making any decisions; they always had to take into consideration their society and strict religious rules. Today’s culture, on the other hand, is much less strict and judging. The culture I am accustom to is less harsh I am happy to live in a society which is more accepting of differences found among different people, and in a time where those differences are accepted.