The Scarlet Letter
Summary: Chapter 14-17
Topics: Evil and "Scarlet Letter"
Hester is almost off probation and will have her scarlet letter removed soon, but she believes that this scarlet letter that was given to her for committing adultery was actually more of symbol of good faith. This makes sense because when you think about it she committed a mortal sin, which is usually punishable by death, but she was lucky and received the scarlet letter. When she became pregnant the scarlet letter was a symbol of vagrancy or pity, but actually this scarlet letter influenced her to take care of her daughter, regain her faith, and get her life back together. She talks to Roger Chillington (physician) and inquires about the old minister Dimmesdale. The minister hasn't been feeling well throughout the last few chapters, and the medical professional is one of the reasons. He is the reason for the minister's suffering and his been finding ways to get the minister to crack and be realistic to the idea that he cannot hide his sin forever. Hester wants Roger to stop hurting Arthur, but he refuses. There is foreshadowing that the secret between Hester and this malicious man will be revealed: Hester's lover and Roger's real name.
He is depicted as the Devil in human form. This doesn't surprise me considering everyone in the story thought he was a bit wicked with his herbal medicines. I guess that was some foreshadowing that I missed. It also could have been easily missed because when you read books about the puritans and their crazy superstitions, you tend to think that is normal. He doesn't care about anyone or their suffering,. He wants vengeance for what his ex-wife did. The two people he will go after are Hester and her lover Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. She doesn''t know what she saw in her ex-husband. They were complete strangers to one another. (Another note is that this was the time period where men and women were arranged to marry someone they barely knew. This included a marriage for benefits). It has been seven years since Hester was accused of adultery and Pearl was born. Pearl thinks she is old enough to know what the scarlet letter means and why she can't have one. There is also a discussion about how Hester supposedly saw the 'Black man". This interests her daughter for some reason, and she wants to know the whole story. Peal believes that she can move the sunlight, and Hester witnesses this extraordinary event. This has to be some sort of joke that she is playing on her mother. How else could it be assumable that she can move the sun. Prynne tries to tell her ex-lover that he is being betrayed by his good friend Roger.
The truth is finally revealed about Hester and Roger's previous relationship, and now what if the secret between Hester and the minister is revealed. Arthur blames Hester for his suffering and believes that he is the only one that can't repent for his sins.He believes that he is a hypocrite and should have told his secret sooner. Hester should never have begged this confused holy man to lie. This guy cannot forget and forgive despite his profession of granting forgiveness. The tables have finally turned. When Hester was feeling like the object of self-pity, he was feeling great living his life with a secret that is hidden deep into his soul. Now he is very weak and does not have the energy he should have at his age, and feels like he has lost some of his faith. In contrast, Hester has been closer to her faith ever since the scarlet letter has been embroidered on her chest, and gave birth to a daughter. That scarlet letter was more like Karma. What goes around comes around.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
IRA #9
The Scarlet Letter
Summary: Chapter 11-13
The first couple of chapters are devoted to talking about Reverend Dimmesdale and how his bottling up of his sin is making him go absolutely crazy. Last week, Roger Chilllington got proof that this somewhat pious reverend had something secret deep hidden inside his soul and it is not leaving him alone. After the reverend had his little temper tantrum in the last chapter, the relationship between the physician and his pious friend is starting to get a little hostile. Dimmesdale still believes that Chillington could be the devil trying to torment him . Despite the Reverends health, he keeps preaching and holding vigils, probably as a way to get back on God's good side. Everyone thought of him as the perfect role model for serving Christ. Older adults, virgin women, and others swoon at the sight of him. This may sound weird that he is preaching on repentance and redemption, yet he can't even do that for himself. I actually think it is good that authors portray the religious officials this way because it shows that everyone sins and that nobody is perfect. The only person who is perfect is God himself.
The story continues when the reverend starts having visions of Hester and Pearl, standing together hand in hand. He believes that adding Hester and Pearl to the equation shows the three parts of the tragedy: ,and that they will all see each other together again on judgement day. He is woken up by his friend Roger. Dimmesdale believes that if he repents under false pretenses he will still be okay, and contemplates whether he should tell the fellow people of his shame. The last chapter is devoted to the adulterer Hester. It talks about how Hester is not looked down on for her scarlet letter. The entire town believes that Hester is a good person, always giving to the poor treating the sick, and being a religious women. Nobody even believes that the "A" stands for adulterer, but "able" which means she can do anything that will benefit those who are less fortunate.
She may still be seen as the worst person that walks the earth to other people, but to the rest, she is respected and she has worked so hard to earn that respect back. Hester starts to notice the poor health of the minister and she is wondering if there is someone or something close to him that his making him so weak. The only person that would be extremely close to him is Roger Chillington, the physician, who everyone believed had satanic qualities because of his herbal medicine techniques. She starts to regret making that deal with the doctor. True, she didn't want the father of her child to suffer public shame, but he is already suffering too much. Even when people don't know about it, he is on the verge of making his secret public. Who do you think is the father of Hester's baby?
Summary: Chapter 11-13
The first couple of chapters are devoted to talking about Reverend Dimmesdale and how his bottling up of his sin is making him go absolutely crazy. Last week, Roger Chilllington got proof that this somewhat pious reverend had something secret deep hidden inside his soul and it is not leaving him alone. After the reverend had his little temper tantrum in the last chapter, the relationship between the physician and his pious friend is starting to get a little hostile. Dimmesdale still believes that Chillington could be the devil trying to torment him . Despite the Reverends health, he keeps preaching and holding vigils, probably as a way to get back on God's good side. Everyone thought of him as the perfect role model for serving Christ. Older adults, virgin women, and others swoon at the sight of him. This may sound weird that he is preaching on repentance and redemption, yet he can't even do that for himself. I actually think it is good that authors portray the religious officials this way because it shows that everyone sins and that nobody is perfect. The only person who is perfect is God himself.
The story continues when the reverend starts having visions of Hester and Pearl, standing together hand in hand. He believes that adding Hester and Pearl to the equation shows the three parts of the tragedy: ,and that they will all see each other together again on judgement day. He is woken up by his friend Roger. Dimmesdale believes that if he repents under false pretenses he will still be okay, and contemplates whether he should tell the fellow people of his shame. The last chapter is devoted to the adulterer Hester. It talks about how Hester is not looked down on for her scarlet letter. The entire town believes that Hester is a good person, always giving to the poor treating the sick, and being a religious women. Nobody even believes that the "A" stands for adulterer, but "able" which means she can do anything that will benefit those who are less fortunate.
She may still be seen as the worst person that walks the earth to other people, but to the rest, she is respected and she has worked so hard to earn that respect back. Hester starts to notice the poor health of the minister and she is wondering if there is someone or something close to him that his making him so weak. The only person that would be extremely close to him is Roger Chillington, the physician, who everyone believed had satanic qualities because of his herbal medicine techniques. She starts to regret making that deal with the doctor. True, she didn't want the father of her child to suffer public shame, but he is already suffering too much. Even when people don't know about it, he is on the verge of making his secret public. Who do you think is the father of Hester's baby?
Thursday, March 15, 2012
The Scarlet Letter IRA #8
The Scarlet Letter
Summary :Chapters 8-10
We left off when Hester and Pearl visited the home of Governor Bellingham. Governor Bellingham enters his living room with a few individuals: Reverend Dimmesdale and Hester's ex-husband, the physician who lives under the pseudonym, Roger chillington. Everyone in the room starts to question Pearl's belief of religion. They wonder whether the child should be in Hester's care because they want Peal to be educated in the ways of the Lord. Hester disagrees on that decision and tells them that she can provide all the education about the Lord that is needed. Suddenly Rev. Dimmesdale speaks up and encourages the governor that this women has learned from her mistakes and has the ability to care for her child. (This is interesting. I wonder why he of all people would stand up for her, when he made her life a living hell? Literally) The eight chapter devotes its' entire self to Roger Chillington, who we all know is actually Hester's ex-husband. The chapter talks about his medical skills and how nobody has a clue that he is pretending to be someone else. Reverend Dimmesdale soon falls ill and Roger is up to the challenge to figure out his condition. As the physician takes care of the young reverend, he convinces the pious man to let him move in and provide at-home care. As the years go by, the reverend and the doctor start to become good friends and get extremely close. I believe that Roger has a reason for this relationship as if he has a hunch that this young man of God has been hiding something. Many of the town villagers believe that there is a change in the doctor and the reverend as if the devil is among them. There is a rumor going around that Roger Chillington, the skilled physician that knows Native American herbal methods that can save people from diseases that the colonist don't even know about yet, uses methods that are unholy and satanic. Reverend Dimmesdale is getting to be very suspicious about the skilled doctor and may start believing the rumors that surround the city about his friendly doctor. The two men watch Hester and Pearl walking through the graveyard, and this is where the doctor brings up the subject of repentance and sin. The physician is starting to get even more suspicious about Dimmesdale , and his tenaciousness to figure out what this pastor is hiding will be his main objective. The minister talks about how Hester and how "it is better for Hester to suffer her pain, than to cover it up in his heart"(213). If you notice the underlined and bolded word "his' you can tell it means something like maybe a confession or something. The reverend finally asks his health care professional if he is making any progress in find out his condition or disease. Roger points out that the symptoms are strange and that the minister may not have revealed all of his symptoms. He points out this disease cannot be medical, but some "spiritual ailment" that he is suffering. Reverend Dimmesdale freaks out and storms out of the room as if through some kind of rage or passion. The doctor feels that this goody-two shoes minister has so much passion and the inability to control himself, that he has done something so terrible that he is contradicting himself when talking about sin and repentance.
The major theme that I can pull out from these three chapters is Sin and Repentance. of course this is probably the major theme of the entire story. This theme is followed by the symbolism of irony and how the most pious individuals could be seen as the best Christians on the outside, but on the inside they are hiding something underneath their skin that is so terrible, they refuse to repent their sins in fear that they will not be saved, or their reputation will be blown. The character who I believe has displayed the most irony is Reverend Dimmesdale because he is preaching about sin and repentance and how it is better to suffer the pain than keep the pain. That is just not true, because we all know because inside his soul he knows that he has done something wrong. There is another theme called the "spiritual ailment" in which the skilled doctor believes is the young reverend's disease or condition. I believe that because his soul is in deep pain. Or maybe his condition is both medical and spiritual as if he is so worked up over his sin that he maybe developing signs of a stroke or heart attack because of the amount of stress put on a holy man.
Summary :Chapters 8-10
We left off when Hester and Pearl visited the home of Governor Bellingham. Governor Bellingham enters his living room with a few individuals: Reverend Dimmesdale and Hester's ex-husband, the physician who lives under the pseudonym, Roger chillington. Everyone in the room starts to question Pearl's belief of religion. They wonder whether the child should be in Hester's care because they want Peal to be educated in the ways of the Lord. Hester disagrees on that decision and tells them that she can provide all the education about the Lord that is needed. Suddenly Rev. Dimmesdale speaks up and encourages the governor that this women has learned from her mistakes and has the ability to care for her child. (This is interesting. I wonder why he of all people would stand up for her, when he made her life a living hell? Literally) The eight chapter devotes its' entire self to Roger Chillington, who we all know is actually Hester's ex-husband. The chapter talks about his medical skills and how nobody has a clue that he is pretending to be someone else. Reverend Dimmesdale soon falls ill and Roger is up to the challenge to figure out his condition. As the physician takes care of the young reverend, he convinces the pious man to let him move in and provide at-home care. As the years go by, the reverend and the doctor start to become good friends and get extremely close. I believe that Roger has a reason for this relationship as if he has a hunch that this young man of God has been hiding something. Many of the town villagers believe that there is a change in the doctor and the reverend as if the devil is among them. There is a rumor going around that Roger Chillington, the skilled physician that knows Native American herbal methods that can save people from diseases that the colonist don't even know about yet, uses methods that are unholy and satanic. Reverend Dimmesdale is getting to be very suspicious about the skilled doctor and may start believing the rumors that surround the city about his friendly doctor. The two men watch Hester and Pearl walking through the graveyard, and this is where the doctor brings up the subject of repentance and sin. The physician is starting to get even more suspicious about Dimmesdale , and his tenaciousness to figure out what this pastor is hiding will be his main objective. The minister talks about how Hester and how "it is better for Hester to suffer her pain, than to cover it up in his heart"(213). If you notice the underlined and bolded word "his' you can tell it means something like maybe a confession or something. The reverend finally asks his health care professional if he is making any progress in find out his condition or disease. Roger points out that the symptoms are strange and that the minister may not have revealed all of his symptoms. He points out this disease cannot be medical, but some "spiritual ailment" that he is suffering. Reverend Dimmesdale freaks out and storms out of the room as if through some kind of rage or passion. The doctor feels that this goody-two shoes minister has so much passion and the inability to control himself, that he has done something so terrible that he is contradicting himself when talking about sin and repentance.
The major theme that I can pull out from these three chapters is Sin and Repentance. of course this is probably the major theme of the entire story. This theme is followed by the symbolism of irony and how the most pious individuals could be seen as the best Christians on the outside, but on the inside they are hiding something underneath their skin that is so terrible, they refuse to repent their sins in fear that they will not be saved, or their reputation will be blown. The character who I believe has displayed the most irony is Reverend Dimmesdale because he is preaching about sin and repentance and how it is better to suffer the pain than keep the pain. That is just not true, because we all know because inside his soul he knows that he has done something wrong. There is another theme called the "spiritual ailment" in which the skilled doctor believes is the young reverend's disease or condition. I believe that because his soul is in deep pain. Or maybe his condition is both medical and spiritual as if he is so worked up over his sin that he maybe developing signs of a stroke or heart attack because of the amount of stress put on a holy man.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Memories
Memories
Think about how well you remember things? Do you remember words or images better? Based off of today's game, how reliable do you think the memories retold by the characters throughout the novel are? I think that it was easier for me to remember everyone else's memory except one because I accidentally got the entire memory wrong. It would be easier for someone to remember if the person gave more details and got their story straight. If everyone is told a different form of the memory, then we would all get it wrong. I believe that I could remember words better than pictures because I am very good at remembering vocabulary words and can recall what someone said years after they said it. I have such a good memory that my mom has me remind her of specific things like her cellphone number (ha ha). Based on our little memory game in AP English class, it made me think that the memories of retold by the characters in The Sound and The Fury are not very reliable because this is each character's interpretation of their memory with Caddy. Everyone has experienced a different memory with Caddy and they may have also spiced up the story too. For example, during the activity, we would get into a circle with the people who we haven't shared our memory with and give them all the details, while the first group did the same thing. It turns out that those who listened to the person's memory one on one will be at a loss because they didn't get all the information of the memory, and some people just added to the memory as they went along. The interpretation of the memory in the book would also depend on the character in the story because Benjy loved his sister Caddy, Quentin loved his sister so much that he would lie to his father and say that he slept with his sister, Jason didn't care at all, but that's because he feels Caddy is a shame, and I don't know about Dilsey, but I am going to say that she cared for her, but she somehow knew that Caddy would become very promiscuous. These are the many ways why people could have their own interpretation of memories.
Think about how well you remember things? Do you remember words or images better? Based off of today's game, how reliable do you think the memories retold by the characters throughout the novel are? I think that it was easier for me to remember everyone else's memory except one because I accidentally got the entire memory wrong. It would be easier for someone to remember if the person gave more details and got their story straight. If everyone is told a different form of the memory, then we would all get it wrong. I believe that I could remember words better than pictures because I am very good at remembering vocabulary words and can recall what someone said years after they said it. I have such a good memory that my mom has me remind her of specific things like her cellphone number (ha ha). Based on our little memory game in AP English class, it made me think that the memories of retold by the characters in The Sound and The Fury are not very reliable because this is each character's interpretation of their memory with Caddy. Everyone has experienced a different memory with Caddy and they may have also spiced up the story too. For example, during the activity, we would get into a circle with the people who we haven't shared our memory with and give them all the details, while the first group did the same thing. It turns out that those who listened to the person's memory one on one will be at a loss because they didn't get all the information of the memory, and some people just added to the memory as they went along. The interpretation of the memory in the book would also depend on the character in the story because Benjy loved his sister Caddy, Quentin loved his sister so much that he would lie to his father and say that he slept with his sister, Jason didn't care at all, but that's because he feels Caddy is a shame, and I don't know about Dilsey, but I am going to say that she cared for her, but she somehow knew that Caddy would become very promiscuous. These are the many ways why people could have their own interpretation of memories.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
IRA#8
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Themes:
Religion
Motif:
Evil
Summary: Chapter 6-7
The first chapter is devoted to Hester's daughter Pearl. Hester acts like a worried mother believing that her daughter is possessed by a demon or an offspring of a demon.As the child grew up, Hester noticed many different things about her child including that she had no friends (which is no surprise because they are basically shunned and the puritans and their children think they are hot crap), she had an interest in witchcraft, and that she did not acknowledge the Lord our God as the person who created her and brought her into this world. Peal wonders who her real father is, but her mother still refuses to say his name. Hester develops a definite fear of her daughter. She actually believes the legend that women who commit sin give birth to demons. The story goes on into the next chapter, as Hester brings a pair of gloves to the Governor's house. She knows that the town's people believe that Pearl is an evil spirit and that she needs to be taken from Hester and converted back to Christianity and being good again. The main character in this story knows for a fact that Governor Bellingham favors taking the child away from Hester. Later, Hester and Pearl get ready to see the governor and she realizes that Pearl is her "scarlet letter" not this piece of ribbon on her chest, but her out of wedlock daughter. While at the governor's mansion, they were looking at artwork, when Pearl caught her reflection off of a suit of armor, and her mother realized that her smile looked evil. She believed that her daughter may be physically there, but that is not her actual daughter, but a demon who is using her body to torment others. This sounds extremely freaky like watching a little bit of the Exorcist or watching a Ghost Hunters episode where you see one of investigators who looks like he's possessed. It is truly freaky, but this is the era where there is a huge battle between the good almighty God and the Devil, persecuting those who choose Satan over God and Jesus.
Next week we find out what will happen when Peal and Hester face the governor and a bunch of ministers. Those of you who have read the Crucible can at least imagine what is going to happen. The ministers are probably going to ask the daughter a dozen theology question, testing her faithfulness in God.
Themes:
Religion
Motif:
Evil
Summary: Chapter 6-7
The first chapter is devoted to Hester's daughter Pearl. Hester acts like a worried mother believing that her daughter is possessed by a demon or an offspring of a demon.As the child grew up, Hester noticed many different things about her child including that she had no friends (which is no surprise because they are basically shunned and the puritans and their children think they are hot crap), she had an interest in witchcraft, and that she did not acknowledge the Lord our God as the person who created her and brought her into this world. Peal wonders who her real father is, but her mother still refuses to say his name. Hester develops a definite fear of her daughter. She actually believes the legend that women who commit sin give birth to demons. The story goes on into the next chapter, as Hester brings a pair of gloves to the Governor's house. She knows that the town's people believe that Pearl is an evil spirit and that she needs to be taken from Hester and converted back to Christianity and being good again. The main character in this story knows for a fact that Governor Bellingham favors taking the child away from Hester. Later, Hester and Pearl get ready to see the governor and she realizes that Pearl is her "scarlet letter" not this piece of ribbon on her chest, but her out of wedlock daughter. While at the governor's mansion, they were looking at artwork, when Pearl caught her reflection off of a suit of armor, and her mother realized that her smile looked evil. She believed that her daughter may be physically there, but that is not her actual daughter, but a demon who is using her body to torment others. This sounds extremely freaky like watching a little bit of the Exorcist or watching a Ghost Hunters episode where you see one of investigators who looks like he's possessed. It is truly freaky, but this is the era where there is a huge battle between the good almighty God and the Devil, persecuting those who choose Satan over God and Jesus.
Next week we find out what will happen when Peal and Hester face the governor and a bunch of ministers. Those of you who have read the Crucible can at least imagine what is going to happen. The ministers are probably going to ask the daughter a dozen theology question, testing her faithfulness in God.
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