“Shunning is supposed to keep bad things from happening in a community. But it doesn’t correct the life gone wrong. It can only expose the transgression to a very raw light, use it as a measure, a warn to others…” (xi-xii).
By Hall’s town rejecting her, they wanted to deny that they were ever connected to a girl who would disrespect herself and her family so blatantly. Within the town, where everyone knew everyone, Hall was kicked out of school and told that she would not come back. In gym class, Hall told her friends that she was pregnant and they stepped back, repulsed from her, without even trying to make an effort of consoling her or telling her that they would help her through the situation. She was then hidden away, not allowed to go out or attend church, until she went to live with her father, where she was still confined to within his home. When they were away and it snowed, she thought they would appreciate her shoveling the driveway, yet upon their return, they got mad at her. When people visited, she couldn't come downstairs, make a noise or go to the bathroom because the guests may hear her. When she went back home for a birthday dinner her mom invited her over for, she had to duck down in the car so people wouldn't see that she was back.
The parents of Hall’s classmates feared that any of their children could have veered off into the same direction she did. They had all grown up the same, together with the majority of their experiences pretty similar. They couldn't differ greatly because of this, so the parents had a constant fear of their own children rebelling against what they were taught and how they had been raised. By shunning her and rejecting her from the entire society, people made sure that they would never end up like her. She was always held to a high standard because she had done so well in school, but once the mistake was made, she would always be known as the lowlife who got pregnant. Her entire past was ripped away from her, neighbors knew that the family was respectable and were what they considered to be good people. Even Hall believed that she was lesser because she was tricked into trusting a boy that she hadn't known would not stick around for her.
Given that our town is similar--everyone seems to know everyone's business--have you seen this kind of shunning happen? What do you think about Hall's point that shunning does nothing for the person who has made the mistake? Given that she was a "good girl" is it surprising how quickly and and precisely she was cut out of her old life?
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