Self Punishment vs. Public Punishment

Punishment can be enforced in countless ways, such as being "grounded", getting yelled at, or even being physically hurt.  However, the most terrible punishment of all is merely being upset with yourself.

As seen in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, self punishment happened to be more effective than that of the public.  As a result of the adultery that she committed, Hester had to wear the scarlet "A" on her chest so everyone that saw her would know that she is the one who did this terrible thing.  In addition, she had to stand on the scaffold in front of the whole community for three hours and suffer from the public ridicule that came along with that.  Dimmesdale, the man who committed this infidelity with her, however, only had to deal with the guilt that accompanied his actions since the public had no idea that the man who impregnated Hester was him.  Although it seems like Hester's public punishment would have a more profound negative effect on her, she somehow coped quited well with it and forgave herself.  Dimmesdale, on the other hand, suffered miserably which contributed to his death on the scaffold.

In a teenager's life, especially from the city I live in, we are constantly being punished by our parents for things like not getting all A's, receiving a 36 on the ACT, or being first chair in band and/or orchestra.  It seems like for many of us, it's turned into a ritual to be yelled at each night because of a bad grade you received in one of your several AP classes; many of us are also grounded for what seems like eternity.  However, no matter how disappointed our parents are because of these things, nothing beats how upset we are with ourselves for not being as perfect as society expects us to be.  The guilt and sadness that accompany receiving something other than an A+ are profound; we think about how we could have stayed up an extra half hour and maybe learned a few more facts that would have helped us on a test, or not hung out with our significant other for a couple hours just so we could study.

There has to be a point where we are satisfied with ourselves for the things we have done.  Sure, we didn't get all A's on our report card, but it is what it is.  Being upset with yourself for how things played out doesn't help you at all; it puts you into a hole that is nearly impossible to climb yourself back out of.  You have to learn to be okay with the results of giving your best effort, even if they are not ideal, because in the end, that is all that you can do.