So the start of chapter 8 kind of felt like a cheap television show. Governor Bellingham, Mr. Wilson, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth, Hester Prynne, and Pearl are all gathered in a room to decide who will get custody of Pearl. Just to prove how mean they are, the men start to make fun of Pearl. "What little bird of scarlet plumage may this be?... Or art thou one of those naughty elfs or fairies whom we thought to have left behind us, with other relics of Papistry, in merry old England" ( Hawthorne 105-106)? When Pearl tells them her name they say things like "are you sure it isn't Ruby, Coral, or Red Rose" in reference to her mother's scarlet letter. HAHAHAHAHAHA, Mr. Wilson please stop, you're killing me with these jokes. But seriously they are acting like children. Its also ironic how they want to take Pearl away to give her a better life, but the first time they actually talk to her they are rude and make jokes. Maybe they just want to take Pearl away and sell her for a lot of money because her name is....Pearl (please people, keep the laughter down). Anyway, Hester sticks up for Pearl which made me see how much she loves her. Hester starts to yell that Pearl was a gift from God and that she has the right to keep her. When the minister agrees with Hester and sides with her I started to think that maybe he isn't such a bad guy. Good job minister, you have just achieved bro status. When Dimmesdale sides with Hester all of the sudden it was weird because he was just bashing them, unless Hester and him have history together! "Excuse me Mr. Dimmesdale, where were you on the night Hester Prynne got pregnant"?
So chapter 9 is basically about Chillingworth's past. Dimmesdale starts to get sick and since there are no other local physicians, Chillingworth volunteers to live with him and care for him. Since I feel that Chillingworth has this revenge plan for Hester in motion, taking care of Dimmesdale could be a strategy move to become buddy-buddy with him. If he gets close with Dimmesdale he can influence important decisions and that could be bad for some people (looking at you Hester). Even worse, if Dimmesdale was to die by sickness or murder (cue creepy music) Chillingworth could possibly fill his role in the community. I feel that Chillingworth is extremely determined to find out who Pearl's father is and he will do it by any means necessary which explains my possible murder theory. Towards the end of the chapter it says "his expression had been calm, meditative, scholar-like. Now, there was something ugly and evil in his face which they had not previously noticed, and which grew still the more obvious to sight, the oftener they looked upon him"(Hawthorne 124). To me, this quote means that the closer Chillingworth gets to his "plan", the more evil and ruthless he will become. Chillingworth isn't going to let anything stand in the way of his goal.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Sunday, November 17, 2013
The Scarlet Letter (Chapters 4-7)
To begin chapter 4, Hester returns to the prison and Master Brackett sends a physician in to check on her. At least Hester is safe from the nasty looks and rude gossip of the outside crowd. Yes, that's what I thought until Roger Chillingworth is revealed to be the doctor. "For Hester Prynne had immediately become as still as death, although the child continued to moan"(Hawthorne 68). At this point, Hester is frozen in fear.Talk about seeing a ghost. Hester hasn't seen this man in years and he's her husband! To make matters even worse, the baby she's holding isn't even his. Chillingworth offers her medicine, but she declines with the mindset that it might be poison. Props to Hester's mom for teaching her to never take things from strangers. Chillingworth explains to her that the medicine is a potent for good. Maybe he really is trying to help her. On the other hand he could just want her to keep living so he can exact his revenge on her in the future, but what are the chances of that happening. All I know is that if my wife had a child with another man, I wouldn't be all buddy-buddy with her. Chillingworth continues to press her for the name of the baby's father, but she will not give up any information. "There are none in this land that know me. Breathe not, to any human soul, that thou didst ever call me husband" (Hawthorne 73). Now here I have to agree with him. I wouldn't want to be known as the guy whose wife had a child with another man.
Continuing, chapter 5 starts off with Hester being released from prison after a few months. She decides to live on the outskirts of town, which is good for her because she won't have to deal with "haters". She is able to support herself due to her uncommon talent in needlework. You got to do, what you got to do right? This chapter basically focuses on her super exciting life of needle work. At the end she starts to feel lonely and starts to think about what she has done. She finally starts to feel ashamed about her wrong doing.
Furthermore, chapter 6 points out Pearl's innocence in this whole situation. Pearl isn't judgmental of Hester mostly because she is young and has no idea of the things Hester has done. As Pearl gets older and realizes what her mother has done she will look at herself and her mother differently. How would you feel if you found out that you are the product of adultery? The other option is that Pearl will magically forgive her mother and they will live happily ever after, but if I'm being honest, that's not going to happen. Pearl will most likely have some amount of resentment towards Hester.
All in all, in chapter 7 Hester is headed to Governor Bellingham's mansion to give him a pair of gloves that she embroidered and she wants to find out if the rumors of Pearl being taken away from her are true. Being that the people see Pearl as a demon-child, they could want to take her away for Hester's sake. Or if Pearl is a human baby, they could take her away so that she has a more fit parent. While making their way into town, local children start to berate and fling mud at them. Pearl scares them away which shows that she could develop into a brave and fearless person. Towards the end, Pearl sees a rosebush and begins to cry and scream for a rose. Going back to the first chapter with the lone rosebush being mentioned, this act could have a symbolic meaning. It could also be a mere coincidence. I'm sure all will be revealed in the chapters to come.
Continuing, chapter 5 starts off with Hester being released from prison after a few months. She decides to live on the outskirts of town, which is good for her because she won't have to deal with "haters". She is able to support herself due to her uncommon talent in needlework. You got to do, what you got to do right? This chapter basically focuses on her super exciting life of needle work. At the end she starts to feel lonely and starts to think about what she has done. She finally starts to feel ashamed about her wrong doing.
Furthermore, chapter 6 points out Pearl's innocence in this whole situation. Pearl isn't judgmental of Hester mostly because she is young and has no idea of the things Hester has done. As Pearl gets older and realizes what her mother has done she will look at herself and her mother differently. How would you feel if you found out that you are the product of adultery? The other option is that Pearl will magically forgive her mother and they will live happily ever after, but if I'm being honest, that's not going to happen. Pearl will most likely have some amount of resentment towards Hester.
All in all, in chapter 7 Hester is headed to Governor Bellingham's mansion to give him a pair of gloves that she embroidered and she wants to find out if the rumors of Pearl being taken away from her are true. Being that the people see Pearl as a demon-child, they could want to take her away for Hester's sake. Or if Pearl is a human baby, they could take her away so that she has a more fit parent. While making their way into town, local children start to berate and fling mud at them. Pearl scares them away which shows that she could develop into a brave and fearless person. Towards the end, Pearl sees a rosebush and begins to cry and scream for a rose. Going back to the first chapter with the lone rosebush being mentioned, this act could have a symbolic meaning. It could also be a mere coincidence. I'm sure all will be revealed in the chapters to come.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
The Scarlet Letter (Chapters 1-3)
The Scarlet Letter (Chapters 1-3)
During the first chapter of The Scarlet Letter we are introduced to the setting of the story. It sets the scene and introduces us to a crowd outside of a prison. "A throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments and gray, steeple-crowned hats, intermixed with women, some wearing hoods, and others bareheaded, was assembled in front of a wooden edifice , the door of which was heavily timbered with oak and studded with iron spikes" ( Hawthorne 45). This quote makes me imagine the colony as very drab, depressing, and melancholy. It makes me view the people as if they were "zombies", just going through life not thinking for themselves and following whatever the crowd is doing. We then find out that no matter how optimistic the founders of new colonies may be, they invariably provide for a prison and a cemetery almost immediately. This makes me wonder why was a prison and a cemetery such a high priority. How dangerous are the people inside the prison? How many people have died and at what rate that a cemetery is immediately needed? The one incongruity in this otherwise sullen scene is a wild rosebush that grows next to the prison door. I see the rosebush as a final comfort to the condemned. A sweet moral blossom in the face of unrelenting sorrow and gloom.
Continuing, in chapter two we are introduced to a woman emerging from the prison bearing an infant in her arms. She is revealed to be Hester Prynne She makes her way to a scaffold where she is to be publicly condemned. From the women’s conversation and Hester’s reminiscences as she walks through the crowd, we can deduce that she has committed adultery and has borne an illegitimate child, and that the “A” on her dress stands for “Adulterer". Then the present floods in upon her, and she inadvertently squeezes the infant in her arms, causing it to cry out. She regards her current fate with disbelief. She is a girl who made a mistake and I don't feel that she should be punished. We all make mistakes, there inevitable. Hester deserves a second chance, as should everybody who makes a mistake.
Furthermore, in chapter three Hester spots a man in the crowd that surrounds the scaffold. He is dressed in Native American garb. She is struck by the man's wise countenance and recognizes his slightly deformed shoulders. "When he found the eyes of Hester Prynne fastened on his own, and saw that she appeared to recognize him, he slowly and calmly raised his finger, made a gesture with it in the air, and laid it on his lips" (Hawthorne 59). Who is this man? What if this man is her husband? The man then turns to a stranger in the crowd and asks about Hester’s crime and punishment, explaining that he has been held captive by Native Americans and has just arrived in Boston. The stranger tells him that Hester is the wife of a learned Englishman and had been living with him in Amsterdam when he decided to emigrate to America. The learned man sent Hester to America first and remained behind to settle his affairs, but he never joined Hester in Boston. He then asks the stranger about the identity of the baby’s father. The stranger tells him that Hester refuses to reveal her fellow sinner. As punishment, she has been sentenced to three hours on the scaffold and a lifetime of wearing the scarlet letter on her chest. We are then introduced to the town fathers who sit in judgment of Hester: Governor Bellingham, Reverend Wilson, and Reverend Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale, a young minister who is renowned for his eloquence, religious fervor, and theological expertise, is delegated to demand that Hester reveal the name of her child’s father. He tells her that she should not protect the man’s identity out of pity or tenderness, but when she ardently refuses he does not press her further. Hester says that her child will seek a heavenly father and will never know an earthly one. Reverend Wilson then steps in and delivers a judgmental sermon on sin, frequently referring to Hester’s scarlet letter, which seems to the crowd to glow and burn. Hester bears the sermon patiently, hushing the baby when she begins to scream. At the conclusion of the sermon, Hester is led back into the prison.
During the first chapter of The Scarlet Letter we are introduced to the setting of the story. It sets the scene and introduces us to a crowd outside of a prison. "A throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments and gray, steeple-crowned hats, intermixed with women, some wearing hoods, and others bareheaded, was assembled in front of a wooden edifice , the door of which was heavily timbered with oak and studded with iron spikes" ( Hawthorne 45). This quote makes me imagine the colony as very drab, depressing, and melancholy. It makes me view the people as if they were "zombies", just going through life not thinking for themselves and following whatever the crowd is doing. We then find out that no matter how optimistic the founders of new colonies may be, they invariably provide for a prison and a cemetery almost immediately. This makes me wonder why was a prison and a cemetery such a high priority. How dangerous are the people inside the prison? How many people have died and at what rate that a cemetery is immediately needed? The one incongruity in this otherwise sullen scene is a wild rosebush that grows next to the prison door. I see the rosebush as a final comfort to the condemned. A sweet moral blossom in the face of unrelenting sorrow and gloom.
Continuing, in chapter two we are introduced to a woman emerging from the prison bearing an infant in her arms. She is revealed to be Hester Prynne She makes her way to a scaffold where she is to be publicly condemned. From the women’s conversation and Hester’s reminiscences as she walks through the crowd, we can deduce that she has committed adultery and has borne an illegitimate child, and that the “A” on her dress stands for “Adulterer". Then the present floods in upon her, and she inadvertently squeezes the infant in her arms, causing it to cry out. She regards her current fate with disbelief. She is a girl who made a mistake and I don't feel that she should be punished. We all make mistakes, there inevitable. Hester deserves a second chance, as should everybody who makes a mistake.
Furthermore, in chapter three Hester spots a man in the crowd that surrounds the scaffold. He is dressed in Native American garb. She is struck by the man's wise countenance and recognizes his slightly deformed shoulders. "When he found the eyes of Hester Prynne fastened on his own, and saw that she appeared to recognize him, he slowly and calmly raised his finger, made a gesture with it in the air, and laid it on his lips" (Hawthorne 59). Who is this man? What if this man is her husband? The man then turns to a stranger in the crowd and asks about Hester’s crime and punishment, explaining that he has been held captive by Native Americans and has just arrived in Boston. The stranger tells him that Hester is the wife of a learned Englishman and had been living with him in Amsterdam when he decided to emigrate to America. The learned man sent Hester to America first and remained behind to settle his affairs, but he never joined Hester in Boston. He then asks the stranger about the identity of the baby’s father. The stranger tells him that Hester refuses to reveal her fellow sinner. As punishment, she has been sentenced to three hours on the scaffold and a lifetime of wearing the scarlet letter on her chest. We are then introduced to the town fathers who sit in judgment of Hester: Governor Bellingham, Reverend Wilson, and Reverend Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale, a young minister who is renowned for his eloquence, religious fervor, and theological expertise, is delegated to demand that Hester reveal the name of her child’s father. He tells her that she should not protect the man’s identity out of pity or tenderness, but when she ardently refuses he does not press her further. Hester says that her child will seek a heavenly father and will never know an earthly one. Reverend Wilson then steps in and delivers a judgmental sermon on sin, frequently referring to Hester’s scarlet letter, which seems to the crowd to glow and burn. Hester bears the sermon patiently, hushing the baby when she begins to scream. At the conclusion of the sermon, Hester is led back into the prison.
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