The Scarlet Letter is a novel written in the 17th century while Erin Brockovich is an American film produced in the 20th century. Although produced and written in different eras, both discussed the life of the oppressed woman. The film is a reflection of a true story that tells the story of a woman named Erin who created an organization after successfully bringing down one of the largest water companies in the United States. She dedicated her life to fighting for those affected by toxic and carcinogenic chemicals used in water. On the other hand, The Scarlet Letter is a novel that tells the story of a woman who was a victim of Puritan rigor and how her adulterous behavior was a sin that deserved to be punished. In this essay, we will explore the common themes between The Scarlet Letter and Erin Brockovich; particularly by focusing on the female characters Hester Prynne and Erin Brockovich. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayThe first common theme is suffering. Both Erin and Hester experienced suffering for much of their lives. For example, Hester's life has been full of problems since she became pregnant by her lover Dimmesdale. At that time, Puritan society considered her less than everyone else because she had committed adultery. Therefore, they decided to punish her in front of all the people of the Massachusetts colony in order to be a living lesson for any woman who even thinks about having an illegitimate sexual relationship. The beadle said: “Make way, good people, make way, in the name of the king,” he cried. “Open a passage; and, I promise you, Mistress Prynne will be so placed that man, woman and child may have a good view of her brave garments, from this time until one hour after the meridian. A blessing to the righteous colony of Massachusetts, where iniquity is dragged into the sun! Come, Mrs. Hester, and show your scarlet letter in the market-place! » chapter one. The excerpt shows that Hester was publicly humiliated and abused. She was the subject of all the discussions at that time. Later, Hester felt very bad when she was on the scaffold seeing the dark crowd looking at her seriously. She wished she could shout at the crowd and jump out of the square: "But, under the infliction of lead that she was condemned to endure, she felt, at times, that she had to shout with all the power of his energy. lungs, and threw herself from the scaffold to the ground, or else she would go mad on the spot. Chapter two. Another situation that explains Hester's worries and suffering is when she learned that some people were discussing the idea of ​​taking her daughter away from her. Therefore, Hester went to the governor's house to verify these rumors. The news turned out to be true, but Hester managed to convince the gentlemen to leave Pearl with her; “Hester, at this moment, seeks to obtain an interview with a personage having so much power and activity in the affairs of the colony. It had reached her that there was a design on the part of some of the principal inhabitants, cherishing the more rigid principles of religion and government, to deprive her of her child. Chapter Seven. This extract reveals the anxieties of 'Hester concerning her only daughter. She is afraid that the governor will take away her pearl. For Hester, Pearl is the only one she has left in this cruel society and it is impossible to abandon her precious Pearl. On the other hand, Erin also had some suffering. Firstly, she is a mother of three children andshe is twice divorced. Erin had to take care of her children alone. In many scenes in the film, we can notice that Erin struggles to find and keep a job. The journey of her suffering began when she found herself alone with her children, without financial support. Then she was hit by a car in an accident and she couldn't even get final compensation. Even though her neck was injured, she had to shoulder her responsibilities as a mother. Another example of suffering in the film is when Erin needed money and she had to approach different companies to apply for a vacant position. She couldn't afford to pay for her children's meals at restaurants. At one point, she took her children to lunch, but she didn't order food for herself. Instead, she went home eating canned food. Additionally, Erin spent most of her time working and earning money, and in one scene she feels sad because her little girl said her first word. It was “ball” instead of pronouncing “mama”. This shows how much Erin's life has suffered. She was both father and mother. Being away from his children caused him bitter suffering. However, she couldn't give up her job and go back to how she was before. The second common theme between The Scarlet Letter and Erin Brockovich is the desire to help others. We can find this theme represented in the characters of Erin and Hester, even though they have nothing to give for the poor or those who need help, but they did their best. From both stories, we can realize that Hester and Erin, who were single mothers, had suffered from their community; they had no husband to support them or a job that would allow them to earn money to feed their children and no one tried to help them. And that's why as soon as they found work, they helped others and even when they did, they were judged by people based on their outward appearance. But when people realized that they were like them and that they were honest, they believed them and loved them. The quotes and scenes below will show how they help others. In The Scarlet Letter, Chapter V, when Hester started her needlework and made money. She only took what she needed and could live with, and gave the rest to those who needed it more than she did. Sometimes she also makes clothes for the poor. Even if the writer sees it as a way of repairing one of his sins, he shows the opposite in chapter XIII. “Hester gave all her superfluous means in charity, to wretches less miserable than herself, and who often insulted the hand that fed them. Most of the time, which she could easily have devoted to the best efforts of her art, she employed in making crude clothing for the poor. In another chapter which is XIII, Hester was seen by the people of her town as so peaceful because she helped the poor, and was the first person to go and help those who were quarantined. She expected nothing from them. She just wanted to help them because she gets a lot of pleasure from doing it. » It was also perceived that although Hester never offered the humblest title of sharing in the privileges of the world - beyond that of breathing the common air and earning the daily bread for little Pearl and for herself – even by the faithful work of her hands – she was quick to acknowledge her brotherhood with the human race whenever benefits were to be conferred. None is as ready as she is to give of her little substance to all the demands of poverty, even if the bitter-hearted poor man threw her ajoke as a reward for food brought regularly to his door, or clothes made for him by the fingers that could do it. embroidered the robe of a monarch. None were as devoted as Hester when the plague ravaged the city. Indeed, in all periods of calamity, whether general or individual, the marginalized in society immediately found their place. In Erin Brockovich's film, Erin helped others too. When she got a job at a small law firm, discovered a curious case and began to investigate, she discovered that all of the illnesses in the Hinkley community were the result of the lies of the Pacific Gas and Electric company. to the community about the safety of their drinking water. She therefore decided to help them assert their rights. Because she was honest, people trusted her and allowed her to reclaim their rights. Erin dedicated her time and every moment with her children to work in this business and help these people, she felt their pain, their suffering and their fear for their children because she was a mother and she did her best to help them. The best example that illustrates Erin's defining desire to help others was when the lawyers declared that this case was a losing one because they did not have enough documents to prove that PG&E manipulated the residents of Hinckley. Erin fought for them and risked her safety to obtain these documents in order to win the case and get financial aid for sick families. The third theme is overcoming obstacles. Everyone faces obstacles and problems in life, just like Hester Prynne and Erin Brockovich. This can be noted in The Scarlet Letter and Erin Brockovich. First of all, in The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne has faced many obstacles, but she does not let these obstacles stop her from continuing her life. One of these obstacles is that upon release from prison, Hester was free to go anywhere in the world and start a new life with her daughter, but she preferred to live in a house on the outskirts of the town and she also ignores the people's talk about her and what she did. She works in sewing. Her work is in high demand for clothing worn at formal ceremonies and among the city's fashionable women for all occasions except a wedding. We can see this in the following quote: “Alone as Hester's situation was, and without a friend on earth who dared to show himself, she was nevertheless in no danger of scarcity. She possessed an art which was sufficient, even in a country which offered her relatively few opportunities for exercise, to nourish her prosperous child and herself. It was then, as today, almost the only art within a woman's reach: needlework. She bore on her breast, in the curiously embroidered letter, a specimen of her delicate and imaginative talent, of which the ladies of a court would have willingly taken advantage of adding to their silk fabrics the richest and most spiritual adornment of the human ingenuity. and the chapter on gold. Furthermore, when they decided to take Pearl away from her because she did not want to learn good morals and to be like the other girls in the town, she went to the governor to prevent them from taking her daughter and thus she succeeded to overcome this problem. ; “God gave me the child!” she cried. “He gave it as a reward for everything you took from me. She is my happiness – she is no less my torture! Pearl keeps me here in life! Pearl punishes me too! Don't you see that she is the scarlet letter, only capable of being loved, and therefore endowed with a million times the power of retribution, 2017.