Mid-Terms For Our Modern Age
By Mitch Berg
Here is Question One on the Mid-Term Exam for the 1-credit class: “Making Literature Relevant.”
1. Explain how China’s Social Credit system is completely different from, and totally superior, to the Puritan attitudes described in The Scarlet Letter. For extra credit, describe why and how a similar system could be implemented in Minnesota.
Joe Doakes
MILLENNIAL: “Scarlet Letter? What’s a letter? Also – what’s Scarlet?”
March 27th, 2019 at 11:28 am
MILLENNIAL: “Scarlet Letter? What’s a letter? Also – what’s Scarlet?”
My generation deserves that cheap shot 100%. Also to answer your question in short its basically a 21st version of this and businesses are as bad, if not worse, than governments.
March 27th, 2019 at 11:55 am
A Scarlet Letter only works on a society where shameful behavior is shamed. Once TV programming started carrying such dramas as “Sister Wives” and “Pregnant and Dating”, shame became an outmoded concept.
March 27th, 2019 at 12:04 pm
Would be more appropriate to ask them to compare the glorious benefits of the hot, new social credit system over the old and busted self denunciation meetings under Mao.
March 27th, 2019 at 12:13 pm
It strikes me that the big difference is that Hester Prynne had actually done something wrong. You don’t have to do anything wrong to fall afoul of China’s new system.
That noted, since I’m guessing prominent Communist Party members will not, like Jussie Smollett, face consequences for their actions, the parallel of the Communist Party with Dimmesdale works.