Hester Prynne’s predicament might resonate with students who find their lives turned upside-down when faced with an unplanned pregnancy. In light of the ever-present controversy surrounding abortion, “The Scarlet Letter” might also spawn debate on a very contemporary issue of the day. Promoting the concept of practicing safe sex might not have been Hawthorne’s intent when he penned the romance novel in 1850, but 21st century students might find such a lesson in the storyline, nonetheless.
At first blush, students might assume that a doctor and a pastor of the 17th century would take their symbolic places as representatives of good. However, as Roger Chillingworth’s name and occupation imply in the novel, he is anything but good. His is a cold “leech” -- a term used for doctors of the day. He represents evil in its most unabashed form. The minister Arthur Dimmesdale’s role is more complicated, particularly when he seems to urge Hester to reveal her lover’s name before the other ministers. As received by her peers, Hester the adulteress might appear to be evil incarnate. However, the reader discovers her to be good at heart and the very symbol of righteousness.
Hypocrisy is found throughout the book, but is most fully personified in Dimmesdale. He is a minister who is also an adulterer. In his role as pastor, he should be above reproach and his parishioners assume him to be so even as he vaguely confesses himself to be a sinner. Students studying “The Scarlet Letter” might easily segue from the hypocrisy of the 17th century Puritans to the modern revelations in the Catholic Church. Just as Dimmesdale hid his dark secret, so did pedophile Catholic priests and those who protected them.
Middle school and high school students probably see evidence of isolation in their daily lives, but as it is portrayed in "The Scarlet Letter," the injustice of it might be even more apparent. Hester Prynne was only one party to the affair, yet it was she alone who was ostracized from the community. Her daughter Pearl, who was the most noteworthy symbol of good, suffered a lack of companionship for no reason other than the circumstance of her birth. As a lesson for right and wrong, Hester’s fate might serve as symbolic example to student hierarchy and cliques where membership and exclusion seem anything but fair.