Javier Hernandez
Ms. Best
English 11
Dec 3 2007
The Prynne X shame.
One day at school a new and small but very happy student arrives to complete his goal to be the best student. He was admired by his way of thinking and solving problems faster than Albert Einstein. Many years past and he gains recognitions by many institutes. So time passed and the last day of school came. He was granted the right to speak for the class in front of a whole crowd. He passed practicing the whole night and was ready to give his speech for the whole class. But suddenly for some reason his pants fell off and everyone in the crowd laughed at him. He felt a painful feeling arising from the consciousness of something dishonorable; he felt shame. Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author of the “Scarlet Letter,” made a story of a woman named Hester Prynne who passed through shame because of adultery during the puritan era. Malcolm X a historical character that was part of the black American rights movement passed through shame because he wanted his hair to be like white mens hair during that time (Lee, X). Hawthorne character Hester Prynne and Malcolm X both passed through shame but in different perspectives. Malcolm X is similar to Hester Prynne because they both highlighted their shame with what they wore, they fought their shame mentally, and because they saw their leaders get shamed.
In this case, Malcolm X and Hester Prynne both communicated their shame with what they wore on them. He was tormented by the Ku Klux clan since his childhood. His father was a Baptist minister and a member of the united Negro improvement association (McConnell, American Decades.) His father’s idea was a massive movement of black people moving to Africa. He was killed by the clan and was constantly reminded that he was inferior to white people. Malcolm X constantly witnessed this (McConnell, American Decades.) Malcolm X in later years tries to imitate white people because he felt shame for...