At my school, they didn't get the social structure for the Crucible- I can't imagine them looking at Scarlet Letter. I don't know, it's like they keep viewing from their modern perspective? A modern, sheltered (and in honors, generally mid- to upper-middle class) perspective, to boot. The Valedictorian? Um. Junior year we had to explain incest to him when we were reading Song of Solomon by Morrison. I ♥ small towns. *rolls eyes*