Easy A

Easy A... Hm. Just to clarify, we're not talking the plus or minus kind. We're talking scarlet, skanky, and sinful A. And this is what I chose to focus on this term. (Self evaluation time, perhaps?) As I surf the web, Google+, and YouTube under the umbrella of "The Scarlet Letter," I come to realize the the moral reality of what this novel actually talks about. I picked a book about adultery? How am I going to find modern content related to my novel that isn't totally inappropriate? Or a better question: How have I never had this moral dilemma with actual novel of The Scarlet Letter before now?

True, the novel begins after the act took place, following Hester through the aftermath of that initial sin. This seems, however, to come down to the fundamental differences between text and technology. The novel fills me full of words- ones that would justify, soften, explain her inner heart. And I feel it. I understand. She has her pain and her righteous punishment, and I cling to those wisps of wisdom that only emerge from the troubled soul.

Scrolling down a YouTube or Google image search, however, I'm embarrassed by the sensual content so readily available. Not blatantly inappropriate or pornographic, but provacative nonetheless. Can I argue or complain, though? No. That is adultery, that is the reality. So here is my counterintuitive thought of the day: Maybe our new media, as amoral as it seems, serves as a spotlight with which to illuminate the truths of transgression. No more hiding between the pages or behind the silent traditions of social propriety. Our abundant media lends itself to a greater knowledge and understanding of the nature of sin, making it feel more applicable and aversive than the fancy words ever did. Crazy, huh?