Comments to Annon, Arige's work

They both have their work done except for one post. Good job on getting them all done before due date.

Answers from Arige and Annon

Arige's

Why did Hester stay in Boston knowing that she would be isolated and that the people will have a negative thought of her forever?

Hester stayed in Boston because Pearl's father lived there and she didn't want her husband to suspect her and she thought she should punish herself for her adultery so she decided to just stay put and accepted it to herself as a punishment.

What are the things that Pearl looks at that makes her notice her life is different from the other kids in Boston?

That she is being treated like an outcast and doesn't welcome her.

Annon's

Where does this story take place?

This novel took place Boston, Massachusetts in the middle of the seventeenth century. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote this piece late 1840s at Salem and Concord, Massachusetts.

What is adultery, and why is it considered sinful.

Adultery is defined as connection between a married person and one unmarried, or between a married person and the spouse of another. It is considered sinful because you are not entirely faithful  to your vows .

Questions by micah

1) What does Pearl do when she first sees her mother without the scarlet letter?

2) What does Hester’s letter “A” eventually come to represent to the townspeople?

3) What is Hester's plan for she and Dimmesdale? How does he respond to this plan?

4) What color of clothing does Hester always wear?

Contemporary Relevance

The Daily News

BY Micah Mallari

Reporter

Nathaniel Hawthorne didn’t pass to create a novel that most young adults of the early twenty-first century can enjoy and appreciate. We should pay more attention to the novel, especially with the thought that the messages Hawthorne tries to convey are still relevant today.

The classic novel “The Scarlet Letter” is based on suspense and intrigue, takes on the themes of pride, sin and vengeance with a burning passion that made it the controversial novel of its time.  Hester Prynne's act of adultery and therefore, Hawthorne reveals the tendency of human's sinful nature.  We learn about predetermined identities and how one must act accordingly to be accepted by the society when Hester went to the scaffold with the letter “A” on her chest.  We are shown the relationship between punishment and forgiveness when Chillingworth is surprisingly forgiving towards Hester, but looks towards Dimmesdale with hate and vengeance. Throughout this tale, these three themes are constantly revealed and reminded as Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth experience each of these life lessons and Hawthorne hopes that the readers will never let their conscience stray and learn those lessons the hard way.

Most Memorable Moment

The most memorable moment was when Dimmesdale then burns his old Election Sermon and spends the night writing a new sermon. Hester and Pearl are in the square for the Election Sermon and ceremonies. Hester is as usual dressed in all gray. She looks the same on the outside, but was anxious to finally be gone and her emotions seem to be transmitted into Pearl's behavior. Pearl asks what is going on in the square and whether the minister will greet them today, and Hester tells her not yet. The crowd of Puritans were as happy as their beliefs allowed, but even so were very drab and somber compared to their English ancestors on such occasions. The only colorful spots to the day were various groups of Indians. The sailors, who were on land from their ship, were very different from anyone else present. Their behavior would never have been tolerated if they were Puritans, but they were allowed to do almost anything and not be looked on badly. The captain of the ship approached Hester and told her that Chillingworth would be traveling with them.

I chose this as my memorable moment because it shows us how their characteristics develop.

Arthur  showing his mark on his chest to the
townspeople which he didn`t where it came from

Pearl finally returns the favor of the minister,
kissing him on the forehead

Analysis of Style and Structure

        Style and the way the author wrote the novel:

            The Scarlet Letter is told in the omniscient point of view partly because the author himself was writing according to the manuscript he found in the attic, but partly because it is his own life story. The style that Nathaniel Hawthorne uses to write The Scarlet Letter is very strange and complex to our modern generation that some people like me would search up an unusual word I`m not familiar with. His plenty amount of words and sentence structure causes readers to read and reread everything many times in order to comprehend it. However, his use of symbolisms, imagery  and allegories is all very similar and in depth. His symbolisms like the prison door and the scarlet letter “A” all convey the message of evil, sin, and forgiveness very clearly and are all more than once brought up throughout the plot. Hawthorne's excessive use of detailed descriptions and imagery help draw the reader in and visualize the setting in order to fully experience it. Another literary device that Hawthorne uses in his writing is the reference to allegories. For example, in the Chapter “The Custom House”, the author describes the most beloved and well-known icon of American freedom, the eagle. However, as he tells in detail of this monumental statue in front of the Custom House, the original sense of freedom and liberty is replaced with a morbid and chilling feeling, implicating that there might be something wrong with the Custom House government.

         Symbols: 

         The Scarlet Letter - The scarlet letter is meant to be a symbol of shame, but instead it becomes a powerful symbol of identity to Hester. The letter’s meaning shifts as time passes. Originally intended to mark Hester as an adulterer, the “A” eventually comes to stand for “Able.” 

Pearl - Although Pearl is a complex character, her primary function within the novel is as a symbol. Pearl is a sort of living version of her mother’s scarlet letter. 

The Meteor - Arthur Dimmsdale thought the meteor implies that he should wear a mark of shame just as Hester does. The meteor is interpreted differently by the rest of the community, which thinks that it stands for “Angel” and marks Governor Winthrop’s entry into heaven.

The Rosebush resembles the beauty of life and the beauty of Hester. It is placed outside the prison to show that once inside the prison, beauty fades. It is a harsh environment. In that environment are prisoners who have gone against the law---as Hester went against Church law. As the person who answered the question a few minutes ago, the prison represents Hester's sin.

Analysis of Setting

The main setting of the novel takes place in Boston back in the seventeenth century in a Puritan community. However, within this uptight, law-abiding settlement.

The Forest

In Chapter 17 (my section), Hester Prynne and Dimmesdale meet in the forest. This is where Hester reveals to Dimmesdale that Chillingworth is her husband. Dimmesdale suddenly starts to blindly grasp onto the dark revelation that Hester is the cause of all his pain. However, as Hester begs for forgiveness and pulls him into an embrace, he becomes more pacified and concludes that Chillingworth is the root of all the evil and a greater sinner than either of them could ever be. As the two make plans of escaping to Europe, a little of the darkness is unburdened from their hearts and a feeling of long lost joy can be sensed.

Hester puts her hair down, remove the scarlet
 letter from her dress and throws it away

Hester and Arthur in the forest finally
 meeting after seven whole years

The Scaffold

Hester and her daughter
 being punished 

  When Hester Prynne was sentenced to stand on the scaffold in the Market Place, she had to endure the mockery and criticism of the public. This platform of ridicule and shame inflicted worse punishment than execution because it was said that that the disgrace that entailed would be as unbearable as death. Also, during the “minister's vigil”, Reverend Dimmesdale stood on the scaffold along with Hester and Pearl at night. Although no one was present, he was still able to feel the ignominy and guilt of his dark secret surge at him.When Hester Prynne was sentenced to stand on the scaffold in the Market Place, she had to endure the mockery and criticism of the public. This platform of ridicule and shame inflicted worse punishment than execution because it was said that that the disgrace that entailed would be as unbearable as death. Also, during the “minister's vigil”, Reverend Dimmesdale stood on the scaffold along with Hester and Pearl at night. Although no one was present, he was still able to feel the ignominy and guilt of his dark secret surge at him.

Hester Prynne's cabin

      This deserted cabin on the outskirts of the town represents Hester Prynne's strength and perseverance as she struggles to support Pearl and herself. Having to deal with poverty and the censures of the Puritan community, Hester is the depiction of those who suffer greatly, yet still persist to move on regardless.

Character Analysis

Hester Prynne

The main protagonist of the story is Hester Prynne as she works against the discriminating mentality of the Puritan community and the dark menacing grasps of her ill-fated scarlet letter. From a beautiful flawless young woman, Hester turns into a sad and forlorn pariah living on the edge of town with her daughter. However, towards the end of the novel, Hester's compassionate and warm attitude was able to win the respect and trust of others. Although the letter “A” on her chest would never be able to vanish completely, her acts of kindness among the poor revealed that even in her circumstances, Hester would never let her sin define who she was.

Hester (right) sewing clothes for a living.
Her daughter (right) Pearl

Hester gaining much more respect from
 townspeople because
 she became more active in society. She helps the needy, treats the sick.

Pearl

Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne, mainly exists in this novel as a symbol and a reminder of Hester's scarlet letter. Known to everyone as a little imp or devil, Pearl was indeed a curious and sensitive character who offered insights into the mind of the adults. As the author describes Pearl's constant fascination with her mother's scarlet letter, it can be inferred that Pearl serves as a protector, making sure that Hester's sin would never be forgotten.

Pearl is the kid with the red dress chasing the kids who
 kept on teasing her especially her mother Hester.

"Mother,' said little Pearl, 'the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom. Now see! There it is, playing a good way off. Stand you here, and let me run and catch it. I am but a child. It will not flee from me, for I wear nothing on my bosom yet!"

Arthur Dimmesdale

As the true father of Pearl, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is a character who has to struggle with revealing his sinfulness and defending his morality. Throughout the novel, Dimmesdale's hand always strays to his heart in times of trouble or anguish because he too has to cope with his own scarlet letter. Even though Hester was publicly shamed and is the one who bears the clearly visible “A”, Dimmesdale's continuous internal dilemmas proves that keeping the sin hidden is more agonizing than confessing out loud.

Arthur doing his homily.

Arthur punisihing himself by whipping his back

Roger Chillingworth

Initially Hester's husband, Roger Chillingworth is the main antagonist as he ultimately represents all the evil and wrongdoing in the story. By practicing all sorts of alchemy, sometimes Chillingworth's experiments lead to the notion of plain murder as he is driven on by the thought of killing Dimmesdale. Chillingworth's sin is greater than that of Dimmesdale's and Hester's mainly because its intention is to seek revenge rather than love and forgive.

This is in Chapter 14: Hester and the Physician. 

Micah's response to Antonia's

1)  Why was Pearl thought to be inhuman?

Pearl was thought to be inhuman because of her consecutively growing violent behavior being mischievous and uncontrollable child -- she doesn't care about rules. There's a scene that shows what Pearl's nature is like, Hester and her daughter are off to Governor house. A group of children began bothering and provoking Hester but although she remains calm, Pearl chases after the trouble-makers, screaming wildly.

 2) Who is the round character in the story and why?

Dimmesdale is a round character because he is ill and as the story grow and unfold more. He becomes more guilty and his health continues to become very bad. He whips himself, sleep deprived and depriving himself of food.

****Feedback to Antonia's work: Overall, Antonia's work is very good. She posted on time. She clearly explained everything properly and detailed but she should have added links and images to visually describe all aspects of a component and to define characters by quotation but overall she had done a great job!! :)

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Micah's First Impression Journal

First Impression Journal - Micah

The characters in the book “Scarlet Letter” that I have read so far are Hester Prynne which happens to be the main character and was publicly shamed for having committed adultery mentioned in the first few chapters of the novel. Another character is Pearl who’s Hester’s daughter with a man that people in town don’t know about of. Thirdly is Roger Chillingworth who’s a doctor and lastly Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale who’s the priest. My first impression of Hester Prynne is that she’s passionate but also strong, she endures years of shame. Hester is working as a sewer, making clothes and helping other’s necessities by bringing money into charities.
Pearl who is Hester’s’ daughter, my first impression of her is that she stays away from troubles and light-hearted. She is wise despite of her young age having to do with her Mother’s scarlet letter. However, I think Pearl can be an independent person when she grows up. Another character who is introduced so far in the book is Reverend Dimmesdale who emigrated to America specifically in Boston.
My first impression of Reverend is that he has a strong belief in his faith and doesn’t show off his feelings to the public towards Hester.
 The last one is Roger Chillingworth is caring because he seemed truthfully concerned for Hester’s safety and Pearl’s too when he disguises as to be doctor in the prison just to talk and fix about what had happened. Even though he longs for revenge he decides to stay in Boston despite of his wife’s betrayal and disgrace to him.

The overall tone of this piece is that its deep in thought and it’s from a third person and it has curious tone which only wants the readers to read it farther despite of its deep language. The setting of the classic novel "The Scarlet Letter" is that it takes place in Boston, England. The setting also goes into the cabin, where Hester and Pearl stay, the town and the prison.