Historiography

Historiography is the history of history, how it's been tweaked and edited over time.

The teacher in Billy Collins's poem The History Teacher blatantly lies to his students in an attempt to protect their innocence. Of course, the poem is an exaggeration, but there is underlying truth.

Even today, we're constantly deceived by everything from advertisements to the government.  Look at how complicated these FDA requirements for food labels are. Is this really necessary? And what about the U.S. national debt? The last time I remember hearing anything about it, it was around the $7 trillion mark. Now it's all the way up to $17 trillion, and climbing steadily.The list goes on and on. Overfishing, foreign political issues, you name it. 

Historically speaking, governments tend to sugarcoat the truth for the sake of "protection." Like The History Teacher shows, though, it doesn't actually help. Ignoring and covering up real issues actually makes things worse in the long run, akin to festering wounds. We've all learned this lesson at some point (after a stern scolding in preschool, for me). Recognizing the problem is the first step to solving it.

Personally, I think we'd all be better off if people stuck with the truth.

Grammar Rules

Grammar, even in an ever-changing world, is necessary for clear communication; the benefits of a common structure far outweigh the demand for artistic fluidity.

Language is, first and foremost, a means of communication. The consistency of grammatical rules allow readers to get an accurate idea of what the writer was trying to convey. The presence of an Oxford comma, for example, can change the meaning of a sentence drastically (Source G). Punctuation marks not only prevent ambiguity, but can also be used to emphasize a point--each has its own connotation. Grammatically correct writing does not have to be devoid of style. The semicolon, as Dolnick states, "captures the way in which our thoughts are both liquid and solid" (Source E). The dash is "informal and essentially playful" (Source D). These connotations are universally recognized, and help create a connection between the author and audience. Adherence to the rules of grammar should remain the standard because it enables effective communication (Source A). Even if, as Hitchings asserts, punctuation has changed over time, the need for punctuation in general has not. In fact, new marks have cropped up due to social media sites like Twitter, showing that punctuation is still useful even in modern times. After all, not everyone is Emily Dickinson; loosening the confines of punctuation would probably result in more rubbish than poetry. 

Surprise!

The ending of The Scarlet Letter was unexpected, but only partially. By now, we've been conditioned to expect plot twists and surprise endings. What half-decent novel or film doesn't have them? From Ender's Game to The Dark Knight Rises, the unexpected has started to become, if you'll excuse the cliché, the expected.

[Spoiler alert]

Near the end of The Scarlet Letter, Hester and Dimmesdale make plans to escape Boston and leave behind their sins. To more cynical readers, this seems too good to be true--a fairy-tale ending, if you will. This sentiment is manifested in Pearl, who foreshadows the tragic ending when she makes Hester put her scarlet letter back on. In addition, Hawthorne's reputation as a "brooding" Romantic also does not bode well for Hester and Dimmesdale. Despite all this, escaping with Hester is still the most rational choice for Dimmesdale; it's most likely what we would do if we were in his position. So, in effect, we're expecting the plot twist even though it's not the most reasonable thing to do.

So why does Dimmesdale do it? Why does he confess to the world, effectively committing suicide and deserting Hester and Pearl, when he has a perfectly good escape plan?

Earlier, I called the ending tragic. However, from Dimmesdale's point of view, it's not necessarily so. His confession is his catharsis, a cleansing of his soul from years of accumulated guilt. He's finally at peace with himself and God and ready to receive his judgement. This illustrates how painful secrets can be, and the sheer relief that comes with their revelation. You could also argue that Dimmesdale was just a coward who couldn't just get on with his life, but that's a matter of opinion.

In the end, Dimmesdale is very similar to John Proctor. They both valued the truth over their own lives.

Schadenfreude

There's something mesmerizing about the ill fortune of others. 

What does the abundance of mishaps on TV and the internet reveal about human nature? We've all showed friends funny clips of people "failing" and getting hurt before. From an outsider's perspective, this behavior is a bit barbaric. You'd think we have progressed beyond laughing at someone taking a pratfall, but evidently we haven't. 

Roger Chillingworth exhibits the same behavior, taking pleasure in Dimmesdale's psychological torment. When Chillingworth first arrives in Boston, he seems normal enough. He's gradually twisted by his thirst for revenge, until even his physical appearance reflects his dark thoughts. This transition seems crazy at first--a regular person could never become that evil. A simple search for "revenge killing" proves this assumption wrong. Under extreme circumstances, people are often willing to give up their ideals for the sake of vengeance. It takes an extremely strong sense of morality to forgive, say, someone who kidnapped your children.

The fact that there are people who commit crimes itself speaks to the depravity of human nature, let alone the people who then are incited to revenge.

As Hawthorne said, no matter how spotless a community, one of the first buildings they find it necessary to build is a jail.