Chapters 1-4 Response

Nathaniel Hawthorne introduces The Scarlet Letter with a dark description of a Puritan Boston Colony. Hawthorne talks about the prison of the town and the cemetery detailing how they are necessities of society to instill fear and provide control. This continues to add to the somber mood and the only positive aspect of the first chapter is a rose bush growing by the prison but, rose bushes can be good or bad depending on your perspective. When reading the first chapter I was annoyed by Hawthorne's descriptions of symbols. Instead of letting the reader think for themselves he immediately explains what it means, for example, "The rose-bush, by strange chance, has been kept alive in history… it had sprung up under the footsteps of the sainted Anne Hutchinson, as she entered the prison door, …"(46) Anne Hutchinson was a women who was banned from Puritan society and coincides with sin and impurity in puritans minds, which is similar to Hester Prynne. Instead of allowing for the reader to figure out what the rose bush represents Hawthorne reveals the symbol. I was also annoyed because I thought the chapters could have been a lot shorter and a lot clearer to get his point across. The next chapter insues with Hester being publicly shamed for committing adultery and having a baby with a man other then her husband. Hawthorne uses this as a chance to ridicule Puritan society how all sins no matter how trivial or drastic are generally punished the same way, "…there was very much the same solemnity of demeanor on the part of the spectators; as befitted a people amongst whom religion and law were identical, and in whose character both were so thoroughly interfused , that the mildest and the severest acts of public discipline were alike made venerable and awful.'(47). Personally I thought her punishment was too severe. She made a mistake but, it should be a private matter and the whole town should not know about it. In addition she should not be put in jail for that offense. After Hester is publicly shamed she is lead back to the prison where she has an interview with Roger Chillingworth, her husband. He tries to convince her to reveal the father's name and she refuses. I respect Hester's decision to take all the blame and not ruin another man's life. When Hester refuses to reveal the father's name Roger promises revenge on her. I do not like Roger's attitude towards his wife's actions because I think it is acceptable to divorce her or try and continue their relationship but, revenge is never the answer. Right away I already dislike Roger and do not respect him as a man.

Hester reminds me of celebrities and how the media tears them down for their wrong doings like John Travolta with his masseuse controversy or when kristen Stewart cheated on Robert Pattinson. 

Question 4 Response

Question: What reasons are given as to why Hester Prynne was not executed for her crime? What would the Puritan women have done to her if given the power?

Answer:
Hester was not executed for her crime for a multitude of reasons. One reason being that imprisonment, mocking, and ridicule are almost as bad as death and she has to live with the shame for the rest of her life. In addition she was pregnant and the towns people would not have wanted to kill an unborn child and the child would also serve as her punishment because she has to raise Pearl and constantly be reminded of her Adultery. A third reason Hester was allowed to live is that some people spoke on her behalf like Dimmesdale saying that she should live. Even though the town elders do not admit this I believe that they were also curious about who the father was and also wanted to punish him. The only way to find out who the father was is to let Hester live and make her tell them. A combination of all these reasons made it logical for the elders to decide to shame Hester instead of having her executed.

I believe that if the Puritan women were left to make the decision of Hester's fate they would have had her publicly shamed and then have had her hung. I think they would have done this because some of the women talked about shaming her and others talked about hanging her. In addition they are not opposed to violence because Hawthorne talks about how they rush to see people get hung or shamed which leads me to believe they would not mind giving this as a punishment. Also I think some of the women are jealous of Hester because she is so pretty and they want to purify the society of wrongdoings. Overall I do not think the Puritan women would have let Hester live.

A Reflective Analysis of Nathaniel Hawthorne's Manuscript from the First Chapter to the Fourth Chapter of the The Scarlet Letter

My first reaction to the first four chapters of the novel is that they could have been a lot shorter. Although I have an appreciation for the well thought out and artfully put together words, I do feel that it is tedious at times. Overall, though, I enjoyed these chapters. Hawthorne's wording and phrasing, repetitive and meandering as it is, is extremely effective at painting the picture and the mood in the readers mind. One of the many example of this is when Hawthorne describes Governor Bellingham as wearing "a dark feather in his hat, a boarder of embroidery on his cloak, and a black velvet tunic beneath-- a gentleman advanced in years, with a hard experience written in his wrinkles. He was not ill-fitted to be the head and representative of a community which owed its origin and progress, and its present state of development, not to the impulses of youth, but to the stern and tempered energies of manhood and the sombre sagacity of age; accomplishing so much, and precisely because it imagined and hoped so little" (Hawthorne 60). While these sentences truly are works of art, Hawthorne could have said that the governor is old and because of this, he is suited to represent the community who is serious and not rash. Hawthorne uses this imagery to indicate to the reader that the Puritan society was a place of seriousness and conservatism. It was able to succeed and do well because everyone had such small hopes for the future that when anything  remotely good happened, the society was pleased. Another thing I thought about as I read was the quality of life for the child. The child will always be like the scarlet letter on her chest to Hester: a reminder of her sin. She will probably love the child but it will always be a reminder. This evident in chapter two when she steps out of the prison. She is described as clasping her baby close to her chest to conceal the letter, but then, she judges "that one token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another" (Hawthorne 50). Not only will the child remind her of her wrong doing but everyone else will view the poor child as an illegitimate child of Hester's who is wrapped in sin. Even the innocent baby may suffer because of the harsh judgment the society places upon it. This is a criticism of Puritan society as well. Hawthorne is highlighting the fact that Puritans could hold an innocent baby as punishable for its mother's wrong doings. What I also find very interesting is Hester's defense of the father and her devotion. When asked to give her child a father, she simply replied "my child must seek a heavenly Father; she shall never know an earthly one" (Hawthorne 64). Hester is still loyal to her faith even though her fellow believers have treated her so poorly, and would have sentenced her to death. She also seems to have faith that her sins are not transmuted to her daughter, because she believes her daughter can seek a heavenly one.

What is Chillingworth's attitude toward Hester and her act of infidelity?

He is very removed, and does not really care because he claims that he should  have seen it coming and that "the scales hang fairly balanced" (Hawthorne 70). He seems to think that it is only fair because he took her youthful years by marring her. He does not seem to care at all, and is more interested in discovering the name of the father than being angry at his wife. Also, he utilizes her guilt to make her promise to tell no one that he is her husband. The whole time, it is clear that he is in charge, almost as if he knows something that she does not. When Hester asked if she has been doomed to the devil, he replies, "Not thy soul" (Hawthorne 72) makes it seem as if he has sold his own soul. Perhaps he sold it for knowledge. He does want to go live at the edge of society, he is smart and he has always liked books. 

The outside connection that I chose was the short, The Backwater Gospel. It holds many connections to The Scarlet Letter. In the Backwater Gospel, the congregation is God-fearing and will do anything to try and protect themselves even if it is technically immoral. The women in the Scarlet Letter are ready to sentence Hester to death. They wish that she was to be killed because she did not act in accordance to their beliefs, just as the short goes. 

Warning: Creepy and Possibly Disturbing 

Chapters 1-4 Response

Nathaniel Hawthorne begins the Scarlet Letter with a description of the Massachusetts Bay Colony prison and cemetery. As we discussed in class, both the prison and the cemetery are factors that instill fear and control into the daily lives of those who live in the strict Puritan society. Among the "bearded men in sad-colored garments, and gray, steeple-crowned hats" (45) and the heavy oak door, "studded with iron spikes" (45) lies a rose bush said to have "sprung up under the foot-steps of the sainted Anne Hutchinson" (46). Anne Hutchinson was a woman who was banned from the Puritan society for challenging the strict Puritan way of life. In the Puritans' minds she is a symbol of crime and sin similar to the protagonist of the novel, Hester Prynne. Both the rose and Hester have parallel qualities. Roses are thought of as beautiful and sweet but every rose has its thorns. The thorns make the roses dangerous and untouchable. Hester's beauty is apparent in her entrance because although she was trapped in an ominous dungeon for weeks before this day, she is described as "a figure of perfect elegance" (50). Hester Prynne emerges from the prison wearing the only thing comparable to the bright roses, a scarlet A standing for adultery. This scarlet color will most likely be a motif throughout the book; already mentioned in the roses and the letter as a symbol of standing out against a sea of conformity. Hawthorne develops his criticism for the Puritan customs through his description of the event happening on the day of Hester's time on the scaffold. He describes the men sitting around Hester while she is on the scaffold; "They were, doubtless, good men, just and sage. But, out of the whole human family, it would not have been easy to select the same number of wise and virtuous persons, who should be less capable of sitting in judgment on an erring woman's heart" (60). Hawthorne's description of the incapability of these men to fairly judge Hester displays the unfairness of the Puritan society. Each of these virtuous men as well as those watching Hester's punishment have sinned for it is human nature to sin. Even in a religious view human error began with the sins of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Although all of the onlookers have their own faults, they chose to reprimand Hester for hers and use her as a scapegoat for the society.

Above are the pictures of Hester Prynne and Virgin Mary. While standing on the scaffold Hester was compared to Mary,
"He might have seen in this beautiful woman, so picturesque in her attire and mien, and with the infant at her bosom, an object to remind him of the image of Divine Maternity, [...] something which should remind him, indeed, but only by contrast, of that sacred image of sinless motherhood, whose infant was to redeem the world. Here, there was the taint of deepest sin in the most sacred quality of human life, working such effect, that the world was only the darker for this woman's beauty, and the more lost for the infant that she had borne" (53).
Hester is portrayed as the Divine Maternity only in comparison to those who surround her. Compared to the sinners in the crowd around her, she is pure. Her beauty is described as shining around her making the rest of the world dark, as the Virgin Mary is often portrayed.

The Scarlet Letter Chapter Presentation Assignment

Greetings F Block Students.

Over the course of the next 2-3 weeks we will be reading Nathaniel Hawthorne's acclaimed novel, The Scarlet Letter. Your mission will be be to work with your peers to present the nightly reading assignments to the class. The goal is to analyze the work of fiction for literary elements, thematic development, and connections (gossamer threads) to our lives.  Each group member is expected to lead discussion on the nightly reading assignment.  You must work with your fellow group members in order to avoid redundancy and confusion.  Every group member must also be prepared to defend their analysis and answer questions from the rest of the class.

Blog Post Requirements:

• Write a detailed and well-developed paragraph response based on your impression of the chapter.  What did you find interesting?  What questions do you have?
• Answer your assigned question.
• Reference specific evidence from the novel in support of your commentary.
• Cite direct quotations from the novel.
• Provide an outside connection to the text.  This connection can come from popular culture, literature, politics, current affairs, music, etc.

Suggested Topics:
1.  Character and Conflict Development.  How does Hawthorne develop particular characters and for what greater purpose.  What do they represent?  Characters are often symbols.  What are their internal and external conflicts?  How do their actions in relation to these conflicts help to develop central themes?

2.  Use of imagery and symbolism:  How does Hawthorne use imagery to develop characters, settings, and themes.  Identify particular descriptions and symbols, make reference to particular passages, and analyze Hawthorne's word pictures or "enchanted objects" for the deeper meaning.

3.  Development of Motifs:  Hawthorne develops a number of intriguing motifs throughout the course of the novel.  A theme is a recurring symbol, object, phrase, or theme.  Some to consider and take note of are:  the scarlet letter, sea imagery, nature imagery, Hesster's daughter, Pearl, and the use of light and darkness.  These a are general ideas but you should seek to develop them in greater detail.

4.  Development of Hawthorne's social criticism regarding Puritan regulations, society, culture, and religion.  Identify social customs, laws, and practices identified in the novel and how Hawthorne develops his criticism.

5.  Development of the Concept of Secret Sin, Guilt and The Ultimate Effect Upon the Individual.