Discussing The Scarlet Letter

Discussing The Scarlet Letter with my classmates helped deepen my understanding of the novel because I was able to obtain a new perspective on several issues that the novel addressed. Never would I have questioned the treatment of women in today’s society versus the treatment of women in Puritan society if it weren’t for collaborating with classmates on edmodo and during socratic seminars. Not only did discussing The Scarlet Letter open my eyes to new viewpoints, but it also provided me with a greater understanding of different societal issues. During socratic seminars specifically, I realized how women are perceived in a more severe manner when an adulterated child is conceived. My fellow peers enlightened me to the idea that women receive more shame due to the fact that the bearing of a child is more physical and can be easily seen and exposed by society. Men, therefore, are more or less able to hide from this shame because there is not necessarily a sign that they are responsible for conceiving a child. Discussing The Scarlet Letter helped give me a new perspective on societal issues and even helped to give me a more open minded perspective about how we treat women in today’s society. During the socratic
I realized that discussing a book doesn’t have to be painful and the conversation doesn’t have to be dry if one is able to apply principles from the book into their own life. The discussion was also a great way of clarifying confusing pieces of text. Several times my fellow classmates and I were able to clarify statements that were deep in understanding. This lead to everyone being on the same page which, in turn, helped fuel a successful and cohesive discussion. Several times I found clarifications to be important so that I was able to add to the discussion and provide a deeper meaning for a specific topic or