Society of the Past and Present

In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne is judged merely on her faults and not much else. Hester is a self-sufficient, strong single mother. The Puritan society, however, does not see this, they only see a women guilty of adultery. The people of Massachusetts Bay Colony are quick to judge and find it hard to forgot her sin. They torment her and ridicule her in the streets and won't let her forget either.We say that society has changed, but maybe the only thing that has changed is what we see as wrong or right. Adultery and cheating, unfortunately, have become more prevalent in today's world. For lack of better words, most people have become more accepting of cheating. It is not as sinful and unlawful as it was seen back in the 1700s. Today many people are more focused on physical appearances and judge themselves and others based on outward characteristics. We judge and label people using harsh terms such as ugly, fat, and as Hester was labeled, whore. So society has changed, just not the way we think it has. Society has changed what they think is right/wrong. Hester's story points out that it's easy to judge someone based on their actions and not on their personality. Today it is easy to judge someone based on actions and appearances. Society itself has not changed just our view points on things have changed.