Post by annata112 on Dec 5, 2012 8:04:47 GMT -5
It is human nature to follow the norms of society and give in to peer pressure, yet at the same time, it is expected for people to find their own identities. To solve this contradiction, one must forget about others’ judgments and opinions to discover his/her own identity. CIA General Petraeus’s reaction to his publicized scandal demonstrates the loss of strength and selfhood that comes from giving in to the demands of society. Petraeus had the opportunity to rise above such a scandal and overcome the desire to conform, but instead let the expectations of those around him dictate his future.
David Petraeus was a very powerful man, a retired military General, as well as a CIA director, but he threw that all away when he gave up his opportunity to define himself. After it was discovered that Petraeus had an extramarital affair, the evidence was used to launch another investigation about his mistress’s access to his classified documents. Petraeus resigned from his job as a CIA director upon the impending investigations, because it is what was expected of him. Society wanted him to lose his job as a consequence for his actions, just as the Puritans wanted Hester to suffer from embarrassment and be an example. However, Petraeus allowed the pressure of those around him to convince him to surrender, while Hester remained strong for a lot of the book and be her own person. Hester was able to evolve into her own person by having the courage to muster through the torment of the Puritans, as opposed to the General, who could not overcome his mistake and therefore will go down in history with the rest of the scandal-tainted politicians and government employees.
Other famous and even historically significant figures have been able to get past scandal and misconduct just like Hester. Bill Clinton was in a similar situation, where he was caught cheating on his wife in the White House, yet he faced his trial with strength, was able to remain in office for the remainder of his term, and win the next presidential election as well. Clinton, Hester, and many others found the resilience to persevere through and not allow the judgments of others define who they are. Had Petraeus stood up for himself and at least attempted to resolve the conflict by his own rules, perhaps he would have been able to win back the respect of the people and be the person he set out to be back when he was just a soldier in the military.
In the end it is Petraeus’s loss for not enduring the fight to keep his high-ranking position. He had an opportunity to show the world his strength and prove that he would not be pushed around by the desires of others, but he foolishly gave it up for conformity. Hester did struggle with this concept as well, but ultimately came through unlike Petraeus. And perhaps this story only illustrates that the former CIA director and military General never really had the strength it would take to be responsible for such a powerful position.
word count: 516
www.cnn.com/2012/11/13/us/petraeus-characters-scandal/index.html
David Petraeus was a very powerful man, a retired military General, as well as a CIA director, but he threw that all away when he gave up his opportunity to define himself. After it was discovered that Petraeus had an extramarital affair, the evidence was used to launch another investigation about his mistress’s access to his classified documents. Petraeus resigned from his job as a CIA director upon the impending investigations, because it is what was expected of him. Society wanted him to lose his job as a consequence for his actions, just as the Puritans wanted Hester to suffer from embarrassment and be an example. However, Petraeus allowed the pressure of those around him to convince him to surrender, while Hester remained strong for a lot of the book and be her own person. Hester was able to evolve into her own person by having the courage to muster through the torment of the Puritans, as opposed to the General, who could not overcome his mistake and therefore will go down in history with the rest of the scandal-tainted politicians and government employees.
Other famous and even historically significant figures have been able to get past scandal and misconduct just like Hester. Bill Clinton was in a similar situation, where he was caught cheating on his wife in the White House, yet he faced his trial with strength, was able to remain in office for the remainder of his term, and win the next presidential election as well. Clinton, Hester, and many others found the resilience to persevere through and not allow the judgments of others define who they are. Had Petraeus stood up for himself and at least attempted to resolve the conflict by his own rules, perhaps he would have been able to win back the respect of the people and be the person he set out to be back when he was just a soldier in the military.
In the end it is Petraeus’s loss for not enduring the fight to keep his high-ranking position. He had an opportunity to show the world his strength and prove that he would not be pushed around by the desires of others, but he foolishly gave it up for conformity. Hester did struggle with this concept as well, but ultimately came through unlike Petraeus. And perhaps this story only illustrates that the former CIA director and military General never really had the strength it would take to be responsible for such a powerful position.
word count: 516
www.cnn.com/2012/11/13/us/petraeus-characters-scandal/index.html