The Scarlet Letter

" Was that Scarlet Letter, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom. It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and in closing her in a sphere by herself."
- I like this quote because it describes how this letter that she has to wear on her chest makes her a different person. I imagine how it would be today if this kind of thing happened, which it does regularly. People don't have to wear a letter on their chest they just have to suffer with all the grief and guilt of committing the crime. What if today you cam into town and there was a lady standing in front of the courthouse with a baby. It would probably be a big deal and we as a community would want to know who the father was and all the nity gritty. I think that Hester does a really good job of keeping her feelings inside and not taking them out on her baby Pearl, and her peers. Honestly I feel really bad for Pearl because she was practically born into hell. I think that it is really difficult living alone and having to raise a baby all on her own . Pearl is saving her mom from being killed from her actions, and I think that Hester is aware of that and that's why she wants to teach her baby everything she knows and what is right and what is wrong. I can relate to single moms who have children and how people judge them. They don't know how they feels, yes it is the mothers fault but it's also the fathers fault. It takes two to tango and I think it is wrong that some men just knock a lady up and then just leave her. It's not fair to the child or the mom. Back then in Hester Prynne's time there was no child support or anything to help Hester along. So yes having to wear the Scarlet Letter on her chest does bring shame in some ways but it also shows that she has a lot on her plate and that this is making her a stronger person and I hope that she proves everyone wrong and raises Pearl to be a beautiful young lady who is really smart and means well.

"Wilt thou go with us to-night? There will be a merry company in the forest; and i willnigh promised the Black Man that comely Hester Prynne should make one." pg 103. When Hester Prynne her this old lady yell this to her out the window, she was tempted to go. But of course she couldn't because of Pearl. I personally think that it is very interesting that she wanted to go, it is kind of like she is a witch or a sinful person in her own way just like her daughter being called satin. I also really like this quote because it shows how everyone can have a little devil/ witch in them. Everyone could want to do witch craft. Hester Prynne tells this old lady to make up Hester's excuse on why she couldn't make it there that night. I also think that one of the reasons why she didn't go to the witchcraft meeting that night is because, Hester is afraid her daughter might be taken away from her. I love the compassion that Hester has for her daughter Pearl. It is as if she believes it would be best for Pearl to be growing up with her because she can teach Pearl what she went through to earn that scarlet "A" letter on her chest. But then i also think it is interesting how even though everyone in Boston believes that Pearl is a daemon child, like she came straight from hell. And Hester just does nothing about it. She should stand up for her daughter. I also thought it was a little strange that the old lady wanted Hester to come to their gathering so badly. That when Hester told her she couldn't make it, the old lady got a really depressed look on her face, she was devastated. Maybe Hester even thoughtthat if she went to the meeting she could get the Satan taken away from her daughter or maybe it could have made it even worse?

The Scarlet Letter blog post

The passage on page 81 starting, "This outward mutability indicated, and did not more than farily express, the various properties of her inner life.", and ending "They were now illuminated by the morning radiance of a young child's disposition, but, later in the day of earthly existence, might be prolific of the storm and whirlwind." I chose these passage from the book because I am so thoroughly lost trying to grasp what this book is saying that I cannot determin if this is a symbolic passage or not. I did like the vivid picture this passage painted in your mind but I would just be bullshitting if I tried to explain what it meant. I am not entirely sure if I am a fan of The Scarlet Letter purely because I cannot follow what is going on. I get the main ideas of the chapters most of the time but the inbetween details are all just a compounded blur. Nathaniel Hawthorne's writing style is a style that I have a very hard time getting into. I feel like whenever I read this book it is more so me just rambling of a list of words with no meaning intertwining them. Back to the main reason for this blog though; I did like the way this passage was written and how in this chapter the true personality of Hester's daughter Pearl comes out. I respect the complexity of the book and how it is written, and among the madness I have enjoyed some of it, but overall I find it hard to become to involved with The Scarlet Letter.

Pearl's False Perception

I chose the passage on the bottom of page 103, "Even thus early the child saved her from Satan's snare." This particular passage follows Hesters conversation with Mistress Hibbins, when Hester was invited to go to the woods and meet the Black Man. The passage introduces Pearl as a character that is not loathed, like previously put forth by the Bostonians. Because of Pearl's birth into an awkward situation where both her parents are considered sinful, these townsfolk have labelled her with a fallacious accusation. Here, Nathaniel Hawthone portrays Pearl as someone who is helping out her mother by just being there. The view of Pearl being a possessed child is almost pushed aside as Hester denies the invitation to sign her name in the devil's book.

It is almost ironic, the fact that as Pearl is being compared to the devil, she is now the antithesis of the devil, avoiding a potentially harmful, and for sure sinful, situtation for her already corrupted mother. Pearl her can live up to her namesake as a treasure while she clears her name from false assumptions. Hawthorne once again uses irony to enhance the interpretation in his writing, as is present throughout his novel. With the use of "thus far" in the passage it almost feels like Hawthone may be foreshadowing into the book, showing that Pearl may help out her mother in similar situations involving the selling of herself to the devil. And she will be a light of hope at the end of the tunnel when things turn bad.

Whitman quotes exploration: Heaven and Hell for everyone

For my essay, I think I’d like to explore the idea of how everyone has the same amount heaven and hell in their life, going off of a few Whitman passages. There are a number of quotes from “Song of Myself” that I think work around this idea, and would use them throughout an exploratory essay to get my point across. (Sorry, I don’t have the poem on me to quote him directly right now.) The main thing I would discuss is how it may seem on the surface that some people have a life easier than others, but when it comes down to it, they just have different forms of struggle than others. I want people to see that the world is not full of uneven distributions of good and bad, but that everyone has the same amount of each, just more weight in different areas. This is something everyone needs to see, to both let them know that they aren’t alone in suffering or good fortune, and also to show them that drawing conclusions before knowing all the facts is an awful disease that seems to be taking over our society. I don’t think I’ll stick to Whitman’s ideas too closely, more so formulating my own as I go. Also, I don’t intend on telling a story, but if you have any ideas on how this could work well in a different form than my exploratory essay structure, please share, because I’m not exactly sure how well the format is going to work.

Equality Is A Chain!

Ya so this isnt gonna be my first few paragraphs of my essay but im gonna basically make it on of my crazy rants that is unfair and ridiculous. Imataion is suicide, I fully agree with this statement. I believe that too many people take their lives and or their bodies and try too much to imitate the picture of perfect that has been painted in their mind by the media. Now I think that everybody should strive to be happy and beautiful these days because there is also a mass of people that don't strive for fittness and care little about their image, but the problem lies in the fact that nobody paints there own picture of beauty, happiness, or even freedom. When someone creates their own portrait and makes it a goal to strive for, they usually end up making the portrait because it is self set, yet if the picture perfect is set in your mind by something else there is nothing stopping it from being reset by an other image. Even if u reach your goal of imitaion then u r nothing, a hallow shell, a hallow shell to be jugded, toyed, and played with, much like a doll. (Now somewhere i have to transfer to equality) To many people believe in equality these days. Eqaulity will not set anyone free, Eqaulity is not a natural standard, Equality must be monitered by the people, it cannot be born! It will never be acheived! I feel that eqaulity is not freedom but chains! Chains that wrap both the great and the mediocre and drag them down to the level of the weak and un intelligent. Equality will not bring anyone up, it can not make someone smarter, nor can it make someone stronger in character, no it can only blind the masses to great! seeing everyone as equal is a joke a creul joke that people put blind faith in because they feel it is the right thing to do. You must see my point if everyone is viewed as equal than no one can stand out! No one man can rise to greatness through Equality. Equality is a perversion of natural order! it anchors the Excellent and drags them down into mediocrity. Ya so thats the plan ummm give me comments, critizims, help with the transition, or just yell at me all are welcome.

I doubt I'll use this in my final paper but it's an interesting rant

*So just tell me what you think about this, it's probably too informal and sarcasticy to use but I got going and just couldn't stop. Do you agree... typical American life? Anything I forgot?

The typical “American Dream”, what would Thoreau think of that? It revolves around ideas such as money and possessions, example: respectable job, white picket fence house etc. It seems society has a set path that should be the goal of everyone to follow.

It may go something like this: First you must attend high school. You should get good grades, impress boards and governments with high standardized test scores. You should also be social, have school spirit, make friends, and even have high school lover. You may also engage in after school sports and activities like soccer, theater or various school clubs (just make sure to be well rounded).

Then, it’s off to college. By now you should have gotten good enough test scores and achieved enough well roundedness to get into a prestigious college, possibly even an ivy league. Of course you were smart enough to get plenty of scholarships. In college you will take intellectual classes, be inspired by a professor and learn amazing things. Again, you will also have to be social and you will meet new people, live in close quarters with a dorm mate, go to college parties and have a few too many lovers. At this point you will also have to start thinking about getting a part time job, renting an apartment after few years, oh and figure out your future career path. After about four years you will earn your degree and graduate.

After that, you can step out into the “real world”. This means you will have to get a job. You will probably follow your planned career path and hopefully find some good paying job. You will work 5 hard, long days a week 9am to 5pm. The majority of your time will be behind a computer. At your job you will make friends with your coworkers, hate your boss, get promoted, and maybe even earn a bonus. At this point in the typical American life you will find your future husband or wife. This may include a) reconnecting with past high school lover, b) meeting someone at a party, c) (unethically) falling in love with someone from work, or d) meeting someone over the web on an online singles dating website! After buying your first suburban 3 bedroom, 3 bath house you will continue “settling down” by having a large, white wedding. It will be the best night of your life, besides high school prom. Then you will have two or three kids who are the cutest children in the whole world.

At this point you may go through a mid-life crisis, you might loose your job or get a divorce, or maybe both! This will be a hard time for you, but you will get through it along with your $80 and hour counselor. At the age of around 60 you will retire and live at home for a few more years. Then you will be moved into a retirement home, assisted living or nursing home. Here you will spend the rest of your days until you die.