How to Write a Character Comparison

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Student Question

How do Melinda Sordino from Speak and Hester Prynne from The Scarlet Letter embody the theme of despair?

Expert Answers

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Melinda Sordino and Hester Prynne are both outcasts throughout their respective novels. Melinda is rejected by her peers because she called the cops on a party over the summer, and Hester is rejected because of her sin of adultery. While Hester is forced to literally wear her sin on her chest (the scarlet letter), and sometimes feels as if it is burning her with hot, physical guilt, Melinda uses a form of self-abuse by biting her lips until they bleed, representing her silence and guilt in the same way Hester has the letter to represent hers. Each holds a secret: Hester, the father of her child, and Melinda, her rape. 

Despair is represented in the way each character deals with her pain. They both isolate, then express their despair in different ways. Hester invests her life in her daughter Pearl, while Melinda invests her energy in her art. These options keep their depression at bay.

Each character is bullied in a way. Hester is bullied by the law and her society, which label her and judge her for her sin, without considering the other party involved. Similarly, Melinda is bullied by her schoolmates for ruining their party, without concern for what might have caused her to call the police in the first place.

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