The Scarlet Letter
Why are prisons necessary in human society? (Please, in novel context.)
Ch. 1: The Prison-Door
Ch. 1: The Prison-Door
Specifically to the novel, prisons are necessary to house the "criminals." The criminals are needed to keep people in perpetual fear of a wrathful God who has apparently picked Puritans as the chosen people. Prisoners also validate the Puritan's own self-righteous piousness.