In the beginning of the story we see that Hester Prynne is unanimously hated in her town. Having a good reputation is crucial, and in this time period where the Puritans are some of the harshest, most discriminatory in almost all of American history. To survive in this time it was essential to keep everything very conservative and in line. If one were to step out of line even the slightest but, there would be nothing but brutality from the rest of the townspeople. Hester did just that by being adulterous; although she is a strong willed person and she can take the discrimination, he will never be able to make something of herself other than an mischievous whore. She now is alone and there is nothing she can do about it. A known adulterous person is Dimmesdale, however the townspeople do not know this. Dimmesdale is extremely precocious in keeping his name a secret because e is fully aware of what will happen if his reputation is destroyed. Having a good reputation is prevalent in these first chapters as one can tell from what is happening to Hester.

D. P.