Research Paper on:
Literary Social Criticism

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
system. Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter, Henry David Thoreaus "Civil Disobedience," and Martin Luther Kings "Letter from Birmingham Jail" are very different works from American literature, which, each in its  own way, argue, not only that an individual can fight the system, but that it is his or her duty to do so. In each of these works, the  authors first offer explanation as to what has led to their criticism/defiance of community standards. Then, they explain why they have taken a specific course of action and, finally, what  they feel should be done to rectify the situation. Circumstances leading up to the conflict between the author and the state Naturally, Hawthornes work differs considerably from the two  others because it is a work of fiction, rather than an essay precisely stating the authors views. Therefore, the explication of Hawthornes quarrel with the state has more subtlety, yet  it is still critical of unbending morality of Puritan New England. The conflict between Hawthornes protagonist, Hester Prynne is that she has born a child although she has been separated  for two years from her husband who is, presumably, still in England. Clearly, Hester is an adulteress. Even though Hesters only offense is to love perhaps too generously, the community  punishes her by labeling her with the letter "A" and through social ostracism. Thoreaus argument with the state in "Civil Disobedience" is that the government, at both the state  and federal level, was that the government of his era endorsed activities that Thoreau deemed to be immoral. He wrote, "this people must cease to hold slaves, and to make  war on Mexico" (Thoreau). The injustice of slavery was self-evident to Thoreau, and he, also, saw through the political propaganda that justified a US presence in Mexico. The student