Sin and Forgiveness

Sin /sin/: an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law.

         In the novel The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne commits adultery, a sin according to the bible. She is forced to wear a letter "A" forever as punishment for her crime as for her offense is unforgivable. Hester is branded as a sinner and has to deal with the eternal damnation that comes with the "scarlet letter." 

       During church, I thought about how unfairly and unjustly Hester is treated. She is forever stigmatized as this horrible person just because of one thing she has done in the past. This really grinded my gears because the very people who condemned her were Puritans*. If they were actually believers of the bible then they should know the story of The Adulterous Woman**. In John 8, the people wanted to stone this adultery committing woman to death but first they ask Jesus to tell them what to do. Jesus says to the woman, " I do not condemn you." He forgave the woman for her wrong-doing whereas, the Puritans who follow Jesus do not forgive Hester for her sin. The Puritans as devotees of the bible, should have forgiven Hester just as how Jesus pardoned the woman.

*Puritans believed that The Bible was their sole authority (Ironically).

**The Adulterous Woman

1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them.3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, 4 they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. 5 “Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” 6 They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. 7 But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. 10 Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”] 

The Bible. Print. New American Standard Bible.

A for Asian.

Asians are smart. Mexicans love tacos. Caucasian girls love Starbucks. African American males are all criminals and athletes. 

You have all heard of these stereotypes before, am I right? Are they all true? No. Are some partially true? Yes. They are generalizations born from billions of observations and experiences from people.  Stereotypes are here because they have some truth in them. If they were not true, they would not be able to survive long. For example, "One in every three black males born today can expect to go to prison at some point in their life, compared with one in every six Latino males, and one in every 17 white males"(Huffingtonpost.com). This just reinforces the stigma that most African American males are  criminals. But wait a second, isn't generalizing a person based on their race immoral or even dehumanizing? Yes and no. If you act on these stereotypes and treat people based on their stereotypes then yes, it is immoral. For instance, when Betty Towle, Sherman Alexie's second grade teacher, makes him cut off his hair. However, if you use stereotypes as observations on how certain groups of people act or are then no, it isn't mean to do so.

Hungry

    Hunger. What is Hunger? Wikipedia defines it as a sensation experienced when one feels the physiological need to eat food.

Many of us know hunger like this. But that isn't what everything it stand for. Jeanette Walls exposes us to different hungers. She talks about longing for better life and stability."In less than three months, I'm leaving for New York City" (Walls 238). Her father is an hopeless drunk and her mother is too naive to do anything about it. Jeanette wants to go to New York leaving her parents behind to improve her living conditions. We all can relate to her because we all have yearned for improvements over our lives. Also, Jeanette dated this man named Eric. He is the stability she needs because "he was decent and responsible, never gambled or lost his temper, and always paid his bills on time" (Walls 268). Her dating Eric symbolizes her need for security in life that her alcoholic father could never give her. Just like Jeannette, we all want something. These desires could be from being President, or getting that very sought after A. Ultimately, our hunger is not just in a form of the need to eat food but it is everything that we lust for.