This essay was written my Junior year in high school about mistakes and how they shape our life with regards Hawthorne's, The Scarlet Letter. When I say essay, you must keep in mind that I tried to make all of my essays as relatable to life situations and lessons as possible so please take the time to read. It won't be that boring, I promise!

In order to feel the rush, one must take the risk. The risk spoken of is that of a mistake, a slip, a stumble, a stab in the dark, while the rush is the achievement, the success, the satisfaction, the sensation of the previously impossible. Mistakes are as trivial and unimportant on the surface as is an ordinary, average alarm clock. However, a scratch beneath the opaque blur of commonplace, both mistakes and alarm clocks shape life with ideas and time, respectively, and illuminate life with a shimmer of golden radiance. Biologist, Lewis Thomas, emphasized that mistakes are inevitable and powerfully proclaimed that “We are built to make mistakes, coded for error” (8/9). In agreement with Thomas, mistakes are necessary for survival. Acquiring knowledge through innovative experiments and risks is advantageous for the success of civilization because it sets the possibility for mistakes, which are the building blocks of thought. This idea that mistakes form the foundations for society is reinforced through classic and pop-culture literature, and inventions.

In the world of classic literature that has been forced into the minds of high-school teenagers, examples of mistakes that lead to desirable outcomes exist in large quantities. The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, stencils out the benefits of a mistake figuratively throughout the entire tale. The story follows the pariah of the town Hester Prynne, who made a life-altering mistake by committing adultery, the immediate repercussions being her pregnancy. The daughter that is born to Hester as a result of the adultery is Pearl, who figuratively represents the guiding light, truth, and hope or the desirable outcome of the mistake that Hester Prynne made. Hawthorne unintentionally illustrated the mistake to a benefit idea, which thus supported the fact that mistakes are inevitable and that they are beneficial to society by providing a learning experience.

Modern literature, also known as pop-culture literature, illustrates the advantages and teaching effects of mistakes and errors. In the new age novel Colors Insulting to Nature by Cintra Wilson, the main character Liza Normal embarks on a journey from the depths of a poverty stricken family to find fame and glory, lacking only talent. Throughout her expedition, Liza is exposed to the world of mistakes aided by gothic punks, drugs, and unhappy celebrities, all which eventually sway her decision and settle her restless mind for a more idealistic future. In the case of Liza Normal, mistakes led to her self acceptance and a more stable, healthy, and safe life. This example illustrates the ways that mistakes can assist not only in the reform and success of the entire civilization, but for one person as well. Without the mistakes that Liza made, she could have been on an unrealistic journey to the equivalent of Dorothy’s coma-induced City of Oz.