Maria's English 3 Honors Blog
Thursday, October 23, 2003
Question : Three occasions of the symbolism of the Scarlet Letter
Initially, the townspeople looked upon Hester's Scarlet Letter as a symbol of sin. With due time however, people's impression of Hester changed. They became more tolerant due to Hester's good heart and works of charity. At this point, some people referred to the letter "A" no longer as "adultery" but rather "able". The Scarlet Letter not only enabled Hester to bear her sin and compensate for it, it also made her a stronger women. Even Hester herself admitted that she was losing her maternal touch and the passion she once possessed.
The second symbolism of the Scarlet Letter was hypocrasy. Towards the beginning of the novel, Hester recognized sympathy in people's faces when they looked upon the red letter on her chest. She also recognized a slight expression of embarassment. From this, it could be seen that Hester was not alone in her sinful ways. Morals that were so valued in the community was not so strictly enforced as Hester thought. The dark desires in people's minds still couldn't be resisted in the end. The church-going, simplicity was afterall just a cover up.
The third, and perhaps the most powerful symbolism of the Scarlet Letter represents the rigid ideals of a Puritan society. The night when Reverend Dimmesdale saw the meteor in the sky, he automatically saw the letter "A" as "adultery" because his conscience told him that it was a message for him. On the other hand, everyone else saw the letter "A" as "Angel" for the recently deceased Withrop. This showed the Puritan's belief in a saintly influence at work even though this might not be true with different individuals, like Reverend Dimmesdale. Even after his glove was found on the platform the next morning, people still chose to believe in a ridiculous story that enforced and upheld Reverend's good name. It's almost like a play that had different people playing their appropriate roles in order to protect the rigid Puritan order. Since Reverend Dimmesdale was the minister, the angel of the town, the good force, of course it was the Devil's work that his glove was on the platform. Hester, on the contrary, was the Devil's mark, and she will continue to play that part as long as the she has that Scarlet Letter.
Monday, October 20, 2003
Question: Pearl
Pearl is described in the story as "the scarlet letter endowed with life". Thus, she is Hesters object of affection and a constant reminder to her sins. For that reason, the child is sometimes described in the book as an elvish imp or some type of Devil Child. This is due to her intelligent nature and cunning smile which, occassionally, seems to remove her from all types of human emotion and sorrow. She is also the life of Hester because of her rare, but tender nature which comes as fast as it goes.
Some examples are:
P.84 "It was a look so intelligent , yet inexplicable, so perverse, sometimes malicious, but generally accompanied by a flow of wild spirits". - This passage describes Pearl's strange look she has on her face that makes Hester question her being as a human.
p. 87 "The spell of life went forth from her ever-creative spirit, and communicated itself to a thousand objects, as a torch kindles a flame wherever it may be applied." This passage illustrated Pearl's loneliness. Pearl, even at such a small age, recognized the difference between her and the local Puritan children. Without being taught anything about the Scarlett Letter, Pearl had a natural connection/affinity to it and therefore this air of intelligence also made her the more Devilish. As a result, Pearl made up her own imaginary friends to talk to and to play with. This might seem very unnatural back then to a conservative Puritan society, however, reasonably speaking, Pearl's gestures were purely of a child's innocent play. Pearl also never ceased to defend herself and her mother from the annoying townsfolk talk, everytime she trods near the children, she would frighten them all away before they could speak a word.
p. 87 "With no continuity, indeed, but darting up and dancing, always in a state of preternatural activity" Many passages in the book make references to her "darting, flying and dancing". At this time witches were associated with dancing in the forest. Making wild/fast, unconventional movements was probably also associated with the Devil. Pearl, dressed in red, "flying", running and dancing all over the place was also associated with the Devil through these depictions.
p. 106 "Pearl, that wild flighty elf, stole softly towards him [reverend Dimmesdale], and taking his hand in the grasp of both her own, laid her cheek against it; a caress so tender.." This part of the story is one of my favorite. The book shows how Pearl is drawn to the young minister as a natural affection of a child towards her father. The tenderness exuded from her actions was something that even Hester rarely sees. Her actions in this part of the story touches hearts and shows that she is very human indeed.
Wednesday, October 15, 2003
Question: Discuss the relationship between the following characters: Hester, Reverend Dimsdale and Roger. How are they related/connected to each other?
Hester is the main character of the story who bears the scarlet letter. Reverend Dimmesdale is the minister who questioned Hester during her three hours on the platform to get her to confess. Roger appeared as a mysterious figure whom Hester had an unknown connection with. As the story goes on, the connection between Hester and Roger was revealed, however, reverend Dimmesdale was still fairly insignificant.
In chapter 5 during Hester and Roger's conversation, the author reveals that they were married. This explains the unknown connection that Hester had with Roger when she looked to him on the platform of shame. I still don't see how Reverend Dimmesdale relates to either of the characters but I have my suspicions. Since Roger hinted that the reason why Hester would not speak against her secret lover was because he was a person of high reputation, I suspect that Reverend Dimmesdale was the one who committed adultery with Hester.
If my prediction is right, this would mean that Roger and Dimmesdale are enemies. Roger made it very clear that no matter what he's going to find out Hester's lover and seek revenge. Roger seems to love Hester dearly, however the love was one-sided and this contributed to her affair. Hester and Dimmesdale, on the other hand, were probably very much in love to have committed such an act, especially since Dimmesdale was a reverend. Thus, I believe this whole story is going to be revolved around these three individuals in a love/hate relationship.
Sunday, October 12, 2003
Question : History Channel Video/Crucible
The video was very detailed in illustrating exactly what took place in Salem. The most vivid scenes were the search of Devil's marks on the witch. People were so into the witch craze that they actually poked at the mark to see if it would bleed. The video also did a better job at explaining why the children went along with witchhunt and condemned people to death. The video was also a variation from the book. In the video, Tituba confessed in court in front of everyone, where as, in the book, Tituba was whipped to confess at Parris's house.
The crucible symbolizes American society in many ways. "A place, time, or situation characterized by the confluence of powerful intellectual, social, economic, or political forces" - the third definition of the Crucible best applies to American society. The reason why we have so much peer pressure and the need to fit in nowadays is because of some kind of a common belief. When there are three powerful influences dictating to us what is right and what is normal, there is bound to be tragedy and conflict especially to those that doesn't conform to our common beliefs. That is what happened in the Salem Witch Trials and could easily happen again in our society today.
My historical era, 1710s was still marked by traditional Puritan beliefs. Thus, what happened in the video connected with the time period to a significant degree. In the video, a minister named Cotton Mathers was very influential. This man wrote several pamphlets/sermons during my period. He believed in a pure community where each family got together for prayers and discussions. He also believed that prayers and fasting were the only methods in achieving a good community. Consequently, this greatly influenced those 'witches' at the time that did not attend these social gatherings or religious services.
