Change; For Better or For Worse Synthesis Essay
By Emily Dale
! As human beings we undergo immense change physically and mentally. Humans
shed about 600,000 particles of skin every hour; resulting in 1.5 pounds of skin shed
each year. By the time we're 70, we will have lost around 105 pounds of skin! Brain
researchers have found that we have approximately 70,000 thoughts per day and even
when we are asleep our thought process does not drop one bit. The reason why I'm
talking about this research is to show that we are constantly changing physically and
mentally. The reason why we change mentally all the time is simple. We endure many
trails throughout our lives. These trials lead to change which in turn can either shape or
dismantle our character.
! As a person reads the Scarlet Letter, they come across many characters who
suffer through troublesome trials. Hester made a mistake and followed Arthur
Dimmesdale down a path of lust that led to an unwanted child. Instead of hiding her
child by leaving town, Hester stayed in her community and literally wore her shame and
guilt upon her chest. Years later as she began helping the poor in her community, even
the beggars looked down on Hester Prynne; but this did not discourage Hester Prynne
from helping these ungrateful needy people. She began to "lean into the discomfort of
the work" (TEDtalk) just like Breene Brown had said. The people in her town began to
notice the change that was going on in her life. Hawthorne even said in chapter 13 of
the Scarlet Letter, "Such helpfulness was found in her,-so much power to do, and
power to sympathize,-that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original
signification. They said that it meant...