Entry 5: Guilt

How do you feel about what happens to Hester Prynne at the beginning of The Scarlet Letter? Do you think she was treated fairly? Was she guilty of the crime she was charged with? Do you think she felt guilty? Everyone (other than sociopaths) feels guilty about something at some time in his or her life. Describe a time when you felt guilty. How did guilt change your behavior? What, if anything, did you do to rid yourself of the guilt?

•  I believe that I cannot understand what the people of the colony believe in The Scarlet Letter. Even though Hester Pyrnne is not officially a widow, if her husband is assumed to be dead, then other people should not have a right to punish her. Therefore, in my opinion and point of view, she is not guilty of anything. I can kind of understand why Hester was able to hold her head up high and not feel ashamed of the so called "crime" the people of the colony says that she had committed - Hester believes that she has nothing to be guilty of. I also believe that no matter what crime she had committed, it is unfair to keep a mother and a child in prison for a long period of time, since it is both bad and unfair for the child. As the book states, the child has been living in the darkness of the prison since birth, and I believe, in the scientific point of view, that this is quite unhealthy for the child.
• Sometimes I feel guilty for not doing the work I am supposed to do when I am supposed to do them. I sometimes neglect my homework to do things that should be done after work. It always goes like this: I start out doing my work, but then finds something else that's interesting and lose concentration and focus on my work, and then after a little while, I become guilty of wasting my time and not being responsible. I would make up for my actions and get rid of my guilt by concentrating extremely hard on my assignment for the rest of the time period.