Comparing Hester Prynne In The Scarlet Letter And Easy A

The Scarlet Letter // Easy A

When someone sees or hears the word scarlet, they think of a brilliant red color. However, when others see or hear the word scarlet they think of sin or one who is wicked and heinous such as Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter or Olive Penderghast in Easy A. The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a story about a Puritan woman, Hester who is forced to wear a letter A to identify her sin of adultery. In Easy A, directed by Will Gluck, high schooler, Olive Penderghast wants to be accepted by others so she starts a rumor that she slept with a fellow student. Similarities and differences such as attention, consequences, and hypocrisy are evident between The Scarlet Letter and Easy A.

Hester Prynne and

Olive Penderghast are two females who have to live with consequences because of poor choices they made. Hester lives in colonial America under Puritan law. She is forced to wear a letter A on her chest because she committed the sin of adultery and had a child out of wedlock. Hawthorne writes, “Every gesture, every word, and even the silence of those with whom she came in contact, implied, and often expressed, that she was banished, and as much alone as if she inhabited another sphere, or communicated with the common nature by other organs and senses than the rest of human kind” (88). Hester is banished from society, wherever she goes and whatever she does, the letter will be a constant reminder of her sin. Like Hester, Olive Penderghast, a typical high schooler in modern day America, wants to be accepted. Olive starts a rumor that she had sex with a fellow student which changes the way people think of her. She is considered to be the school slut, whore, and other degrading terms. These rumors spread and Olive loses her best friend and the respect of teachers and other students. Hester’s and Olive’s consequences lead to the attention they get in their everyday life.

Attention varies for everyone. Some people seek attention and thrive on being noticed; others would rather be alone and not noticed at all. Olive enjoys the attention and keeps pushing for more. Guys in her school pay her money or give her gifts to say she slept with them. Because of this everyone is talking about her and knows who she is. Olive is reading The Scarlet Letter in english class and she relates herself to Hester. She comes to school one day dressed very provocatively with a red letter A on her chest. Olive thrives on all of the attention unlike Hester. Hester doesn’t commit adultery again or want more attention than she already has. Hawthorne writes, “I must tarry at home, and keep watch over my little Pearl. Had they taken her from me, I would willingly have gone with thee into the forest, and signed my name in the Black Man’s book too, and that with mine own blood!” (120). Hester changes her attitude and realizes what is more important to her. She wants people to see her as a strong, independent mother who is able to take care of herself and Pearl. All people have their own standards and beliefs but judge others unfairly when they do the same things.

In The Scarlet Letter and Easy A, hypocrisy is prevalent.

Puritans lived their lives under a forgiving God but were not willing to forgive those who committed sin. Hester committed a sin of adultery and Hawthorne writes, “Hester Prynne’s term of confinement was now at an end. Her prison-door was thrown open, and she came forth into the sunshine, which, falling on all alike, seemed, to her sick and morbid heart, as if meant for no other purpose than to reveal the scarlet letter on her breast.” (81). Puritans believed in a forgiving God, but Hester was publicly humiliated and shamed which showed their hypocritical side. Their God was forgiving of others so they should have forgiven Hester. A Christian group in Easy A also believed in a forgiving God. Members of this group judged Olive openly and behind her back. Based on modern standards, some of these teenagers may have been guilty of the same sin Olive was being judged for, again showing their hypocritical side. Everyone sins in one form or another and no one has the right to judge someone else if they are guilty of the same thing.

Similarities and differences such as attention, consequences, and hypocrisy are evident between The Scarlet Letter and Easy A. Some may think of the color scarlet as sin, but others may think of scarlet as a brilliant red color. In Hester’s and Olive’s time, the scarlet A was meant to represent sin, but for the two females the A was a means to accept their sin and show others they weren’t going to let the shame destroy

them.