Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Bill Clinton v Monica Lewinsky: Public Shame
1. How do you think the American public would react to a woman wearing a scarlet A today?
2. Why did Bill Clinton not receive a harsh punishment yet Hester did?
3. Do you think it was worse that Hester committed adultery or Bill Clinton? Why?
4. What rhetorical device (ethos, pathos, or logos) did Bill Clinton use the most or best and give an example?
New Question: Hester has a Scarlet A on her chest and Pearl illustrates a living scarlet A what do you think Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky's scarlet letter is?
Link to video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR6dhpbe204
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The situation the Bill Clinton was in and Hester Prynne is currently in are very similar. Like how Prynne will forever be know as an adulter, Bill Clinton will forever be remembered for his affair while Monica Lewinsky will always be known asBill Clinton's mistress. In today's society there is no need for "Scarlet Letters", becasue the media publicizes peoples faults more than any shirt could. The affair of Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky will always be remembered similar to how Hester Prynne's scarletletter will never go away.
ReplyDeleteFormer President Clinton and Hester Prynne both bear a mark of shame that both will carry for the rest of their lives. Hester and Clinton live with the same guilt, their crime of adultery. While Hester lives with a crime that will forever be pinned to her shirt, President Clinton will live with something much greater. President Clinton will forever be remembered as the President who committed adultery in the oval office. For this, both will live on in history with an asterisk that neither is completely saintly.
ReplyDeleteSeminar Questions:
ReplyDelete1. I believe the public would, after a brief period of disbelief, shun the woman wearing the scarlet letter. They will see a symbol of betrayal. Nathaniel Hawthorne conforms the idea of unchanging prejudice in society: “the whole system of ancient prejudice, wherewith was linked much of ancient principle” (141). Especially with today’s unavoidable media, the woman with the scarlet A will still become exposed to a wider populous.
2. Bill Clinton reacted openly with the American people and denied hiding any evidence to the case. Hester Prynne, unlike former Pres. Clinton, had little authority in the Boston Puritan society. She also kept secrets from the magistrates as they continued to search for her fellow adulterer.
3. I think it was worse for Bill Clinton to commit adultery with Monica Lewinsky. Ironic to his repeated statements of redirecting the American focus to the role and responsibility required by a president, Clinton’s act of adultery goes against that. He damaged his honesty and hurt his campaign. In contrast, Hester Prynne gained individualism from the law and Boston townspeople as a result to her sentence. She acted more freely from authority.
4. I believe Clinton used pathos the most. He used stern diction to confess, repent, and redirect the focus of the American people. Clinton confesses he did have relations with Lewinsky, but encouraged his coworkers not to hide any evidence of his actions: “everything I said this morning is legally true”. He repents after the mental harm done on innocent people, including his wife and children: “what I did was wrong”. He concludes by redirecting the focus of the American people away from his private life and back to the role of a President: “I ask you to… return our attention to all the challenges and all the promise of the American century”.
Blog Question:
I think Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky’s scarlet letter is media. After learning about his Clinton’s affair with Lewinsky, the two people appeared on multiple interviews and press briefings to make their perceptions known; no secrets were hidden from the public for extensive periods of time. Likewise, Hester Prynne and Pearl made their appearances known to the Boston townspeople. They marched through the town, as symbols of adultery and sin, emerging as people with evolved images.
Note: The video link was broken. Here is the one I used:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFKtgTsKDIg
I believe that Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton's scarlet letter is the media. Bill Clinton will always be remembered as the president who had an affair, just like Hester Prynne will be remembered as the person who committed adultery. In both of these situations, the media and the town will each find out the "real" reason as to why the people did what they did. Both Bill Clinton and Hester Prynne had to live with their mistakes due to the fact that either everyone in the town knew, or everyone in the country knew.
ReplyDeleteMonica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton, like Hester Prynne, share a very similar sin, yet a very different "scarlet letter." Hester's was a physical symbol, the letter A stitched on to her chest for everybody to see. Bill and Monica's, however, is more symbolic, the memory of their actions and the mistakes they made. Bill Clinton will always most famously be remembered as the adulterous President, impeached by Congress for his actions. Memory does not fade easily nowadays, so Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky's scarlet letters are the reminders of their mistakes.
ReplyDeleteBill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky have had a similar sin to Hester Prynne from the Scarlet Letter. Although when Bill wakes up he cannot physically see his sin like Hester, Bill has to think about what he has done every time he looks at himself in the mirror. In my personal opinion Bill is more like Dimsdale, his sin is more hidden. (even though everyone knows about Bill in the Oval office. He is more like Dimsdale because he insted of physically seeing the result he must suffer from the mental scar.
ReplyDeleteThe scarlet letter of Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky is one of media. Nowadays, when a public figure slips up, even in his/her private life, there is no hiding it from the rest of society. Through the use of methods such as radio and television, news of scandals spread rapidly, putting the wrongdoers on a public scaffold for all to judge and see. As we learned in our seminar, the media highly publicized the scandal between President Clinton and Ms. Lewinsky causing them to forever be branded with an intangible scarlet letter; much like the physical one Hester Prynne bears on her bosom.
ReplyDeleteI do not think the wearing of the scarlet "A" would have a great impact on the public in today's society. This is because in the public's eye, adultery has become more common and many just accept that it is a part of the world. Hester Prynne from "The Scarlet Letter" is seen as a sinner and throughout the novel, is punished for her mistakes. Connecting to Hester, Bill Clinton was also punished for his mistakes and adultery, but his punishment was not as worse as Hesters. This is because people viewed Clinton as a strong leader and would not let his mistake allow them to forget his many great accomplishments as president. I think it was worse for Clinton to commit adultery because he was the leader of our country and many looked to him as an example and inspiration. Bill Clinton used ethos to really try and get to people and their emotions. He apologizes, and just wants people to accept the truth. Overall, many connectionns are viewed between these two situations.
ReplyDeleteThe media is the scarlet letter to Bill and Monica. The media played a astronomical role is this scandal because the media showed every aspect of both of their lives throughout a period of time. The media also over exaggerates everything. The media did not hold back at all, constantly pouring out stories wether they were true or not. The newscast, and stories put out everyday are a constant reminder of the wrongdoing that occurred. They both were at fault in this situation, and the media will always remind them that this was a horrible mistake. And the world wide news casts will never be forgotten.
ReplyDeleteI believe Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky's scarlet letter is publicity. Although we live in a much less strict society than Hester, the spread of information is infinitely quicker. Although there is no physical symbol, there will always be stories and public attention to such a large moral wrongdoing. Publicity is also the main source of shame that Bill Clinton may have felt. Hearing constant rumors and facing widespread public perception, media did serve the purpose of a public humiliation. Overall, media definitely served the role of a "scarlet letter", or source of shame in the Bill Clinton adultery scandal.
ReplyDeleteThe Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinski scandal's scarlet letter is the media's evidence. Clinton denied the affair at first. Due to the evidence that the people of America believed, nobody believed Clinton's story. The true evidence is the scarlet letter because the individuals in the media can say whatever but the evidence rules over someone's story.if there was no evidence of the affair, Clinton would have been seen as set up by Monica. Evidence rules everything.
ReplyDeleteBill Clinton and Monica Lewinski's scarlet letter is the media and the role it played in the scandel. Hester is unable to for get about her wrongdoings because of the scarlet letter she wears as a constant reminder. This is similar to the media in Bill Clinton's scandel. The media was always their talking about and publicising the scandel as a contant reminder. The scandel was all over television, magazines and newspapers as a contant reminder.
ReplyDeleteBill Clinton's and Monica Lewinkski's "Scarlet Letter" is the perjury trial against Bill. The trial was a symbol of sin, and public justice. Clinton, after lying under oath, eventually admitted to lying about their relationship. This sort of letter has labeled the two of them permanently. Although they have been labled, like Hester, they have been able to move on and have seccessful lives.
ReplyDeleteI think that wearing a scarlet "A" would an impact, if any at all in todays society. In a strict puritan society, wearing a scarlet letter is as big of a deal as it gets, but in current times the significance wouldn't be that great. Bill Clinton didnt recieve as bad of a punishment strictly because of the fact that he was the president of the United States. And his reputation represents that of the country as a whole. I believe it was worse that Clinton committed adultery simply because of the position he was in. His actions represent that of the entire nation and he cast a bad shadow on the people of the nation. I think that Clinton best used ethos in his speech to the public. An example of this was when he said how his wife and his daughters are still the most important people in his life. Despite the affair he openly admitted to having.
ReplyDeleteThe "Scarlet Letter" Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinkski must wear is modern day media which covered the scandel as it broke and still use it in refrences and entertainment today. Because of Clinton's powerful position as president and the media being so much invested in the private lives of famous people, every single detail of the story was told time and time again, leaving nothing unsaid. The scandel was the center of every nightly news show and became a household topic. And even though the story broke fourteen years ago, the media has refused to let it die. Whenever Bill Clinton makes an appearence, the scandel always seems to be mentioned at least once. Entertainment, whether it be shows, movies, or the internet, has made countless jokes refrencing the story. No matter how much time passes, it seems that the modern day media will always be there to link Bill Clinton to this infamous scandel.
ReplyDelete