Discussion Questions for The Scarlet Letter
Due Monday, 10/03/25
Tasks:
1. Answer the following questions as a comment to this post in preparation for Monday's discussion. Be sure to cite evidence from the text (use the link in the title) whenever possible. Remember to go beyond the simple answer-your replies should be arguable points, offering significant insight. Do not simply regurgitate what you have read from other sources.
2. Reply to at least one other comment to this post, either supporting or refuting it's assertions by providing evidence (quotes) from the text. Your responses should reflect critical thinking.
*Discussion Questions:
1.Refute or defend the following: This is a tale of frail humans dealing with the consequences of an act defined as sin by their society but not necessarily by themselves, a tale of isolation and community and the tragic inadequacy of human relationships.
2.How are Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and Hester all described at the beginning? What is their relationship and who is to blame? Why doesn't Hester confess the name of the father? Why does she not leave the village after she leaves prison? What sort of place does she make for herself in this society that has condemned her?
3.How does the letter A gradually take on symbolic meaning? How is it connected to Pearl? What sort of person does she become?
4.Agree or disagree with this statement: For Hawthorne, perhaps the ultimate, and possibly unforgiveable, sin is the violation of the human soul or heart.
5.Why does Hester and Dimmesdale's flight from New England ultimately fail? (Look at this from both a plot and thematic perspective)
6.How does this story of a relationship with tragic conseqauences played out within a community fit with other "American" stories that you have read in the literature book? of one's place in a community? of one's place in nature? of the darker nature of human beings?
*Discussion questions are adapted from:
TSL Study Questions
URL: http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/eng571/q-scarletletter.htm
Annotation: Provides a link to a class page for the Virginia Commonwealth University. The questions listed on this page are fairly good questions. If you are only going to use the questions from one site, this is a good choice. (You will not be able to view the research assignment on this page.)
posted by dconlay @ 11:28 AM
12 comments
12 Comments:
1. I agree with this. The whole town sees Hester as a bad, immoral person because she breaks one of their rules. The puritans in the novel saw it as a horrendous crime and that it was their right to punish Hester for “tainting” their town. Hester is given the cold shoulder by everyone. She is an outcast in society. The town weren’t the only ones that isolated her but she isolated herself as well by giving in to their treatment. "This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die.” The women of the town don’t sympathize with her.
2. They are portrayed as people that have secrets yet aren’t aware of each other. Hester is Chillingworth’s wife and Dimmesdale’s lover. Hester doesn’t confess the name of the father because she doesn’t want to taint the father’s reputation. She doesn’t want Dimmesdale to suffer since everyone looks up to him. She doesn’t leave the village because she feels she is bound to the land. Along with the fact that she has Pearl. She makes a living out of making clothes for people. Her skill is renown through out the town.
3. The letter A is scarlet like sin. It represents more than just the sin of adultery. Even as the original mark of adultery, the scarlet letter has a different individual meaning to the various characters. To Hester, the A is a symbol of unjust humiliation. The A is not only a symbol of adultery, but also a symbol of alienation. She is an outcast from society and the women treat her differently by constantly sneering at her in public. The scarlet letter is a symbol of what society wants to see and the decision to create a seemingly perfect world. It represents her crime and punishment. It symbolizes secrecy and condemnation. Pearl sees the letter and seems to understand somewhat what it is. To Pearl, the A is a bright and mysterious curiosity which symbolizes her existence and the meaning behind it. In mockery, Pearl creates an A on her chest made of green seaweed which represents purity and innocence, but also signifies Pearl's future as the daughter of sinner. Pearl sends a chill through the hearts of the hypocritical Puritans of seventeenth-century Boston. Even when she's blissful, Pearl has a naughty smile of mirth and intelligence. This intelligence is what Chillingworth recognizes in her and is the reason why he left her his estate and small fortune which is contrite since she was the fruit of the root that he was trying to wilt away. It's clear throughout the novel that Hawthorne himself is enamored with Pearl's wild mirth and intelligence. Pearl's presence emerges to augur a new era. Pearl is the symbol of balanced innocence by an odd contrast of super-natural knowledge. She along with the letter represent what Hester did. Hester becaomes withdrawn from the town. She starts to loose her beauty.
4.I agree. The town violated her heart by displaying her around the town. Everuone prodded her soul and she had no privacy. They took her freedom away.
5. They’re plan fails because Chillingsworth had a ticket for the same ship. They weren’t careful enough that they were found out. Dimmesdale feels guilty because of his part in the whole thing. He believed he should be punished by not leaving. Chillingworth makes them even harder to get out of the place because he’s there watching their moves.
6.The relationship is similar to other stories in that they are examined closely by society. They have to have the right image. They have to follow strict rules put out by society. This novel relates to other “American” stories because the community in which they live in dictates what’s right or wrong. Hester and Dimmesdale felt guilty of their sins, but had hope to have things to get better in the future. Chillingworth is an example of darker nature of human beings. He wanted to take revenge on Dimmesdale for what he did. Human nature is played out.
1. On the outside, I agree that this is a story of people dealing with the consequences of their actions. In the beginning Hester is a frail human dealing with isolation from her community. However, I do not think that is the most important ‘theme’ conveyed in the novel. It is a story of a man and woman dealing with quilt and their self-conscience. Arthur Dimmesdale must deal with his conscience telling him that he needs to relinquish the secret he keeps inside. ‘"Hester," said he, "hast thou found peace?" She smiled drearily, looking down upon her bosom. "Hast thou?" she asked. "None!--nothing but despair!" he answered. "What else could I look for, being what I am, and leading such a life as mine? Were I an atheist,--a man devoid of conscience,--a wretch with coarse and brutal instincts,--I might have found peace, long ere now. Nay, I never should have lost it! But, as matters stand with my soul, whatever of good capacity there originally was in me, all of God's gifts that were the choicest have become the ministers of spiritual torment. Hester, I am most miserable!"’(166) This is a novel about what your conscience tells you to do.
2. In the beginning of the novel Hester Prynne is described as a beautiful young woman. Dimmesdale is described as a “godly pastor” who “very grievously [takes] to heart that such a scandal should have come upon his congregation.”(48) When we are first introduced to Chillingworth we know him as the ‘stranger’. Chillingworth is actually Hester’s husband, which we do not find out until later in the story. Dimmesdale is the father of Hester’s baby. It would be hard to place the blame on one person. Every person contributed in some way to get into the position that they are in during the novel. I think the reason she does not confess who the father is, is because she does not feel as if that is her job. If/When Dimmesdale felt that it was right to confess his identity as Pearls father is his decision and his job to do so. If Hester would have left her community then that would prove to the community that they had affected her and that she is ashamed of the scarlet letter. Instead she chooses to stay and although at first she isolated herself from the community she soon gained back their respect.
3. When the scarlet letter was first given for Hester to wear it was supposed to represent the sins she committed and it was made to shame her. At first it succeeded in doing so, but as she wore it longer it seemed to become a part of her identity. As Pearl become older she saw it as something to look forward to gaining, like a symbol of womanhood.
4. I agree that perhaps Hawthorne thought that the ultimate sin is violation of the human soul/heart. This is essentially the theme of his novel. Dimmesdale must deal with the secret he keeps inside. As time goes on his conscience is eating away at him. In the end, after he finally confesses his role of fathering Pearl he dies.
5. With the plot their plan failed because Chillingworth had found out and basically ruined their plan. Thematically it failed because they can never escape from their problems by fleeing.
6. This story fits with other stories I have read because in the end you must always pay for your actions. It fits with the literature book’s stories because they have ties to god and the puritan world.
1) I agree with parts of this statement, but disagree with others. I disagree with the part that says that "this story is a tale of frail humans dealing with the consequences of an act denied as sin by their society but not necessarily by themselves." I think that the characters in this story were very aware of the sins that they committed and definitely considered their actions to be sins. Also, Hester was not a frail human at all. Even when her entire community was against her, she was able to remain strong and raise her daughter alone. "Here, she said to herself, had been the scene of her guilt, and here should be the scene of her earthly punishment; and so, perchance, the torture of her daily shame would at length purge her soul, and work out another purity than that which she had lost"(Ch. 5) This line from the novel shows that Hester was very aware that what she had done was a sin, so much so, that she felt she needed to punish herself for the rest of her life. I do think the story is about isolation and the inadequacy of human relationships though. After making a mistake, Hester is isolated from her community for the majority of her life. Reverend Dimmesdale is in such pain from his guilt, that he isolates himself from the rest of society. The fact that Dimmesdale couldn't do the right thing by admitting his sin along with Hester, made his relationship with disintegrate. Together, they could have at least maintained some form of happiness.
2) In the beginning, Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and Hester were all described as good people that had taken a wrong turn somewhere along the road in life, causing their characters to change in a negative way. Even in the beginning of the story, we are able to notice that there is a deeper relationship between Dimmesdale and Hester, just by the way they talk to each other at her public humiliation. Chillingworth was Hester's husband back in England, and feels an immediate hatred for Dimmesdale after he discovers that he is the father of Hester's illegitimate child. The state of their relationships can only be blamed on the character's own behavior. If Chillingworth had been a better husband, Hester may have been able to love him, and then the affair might not have happened. If Dimmesdale told the truth, he might have been able to help Hester and her baby and redeem his sin. Hester doesn't confess the name of the father because she loves him too much to put him through the same pain she has too. Ironically, by not exposing him, he ends up dying a miserable death due to his own guilt. Hester doesn't leave after her punishment, because she feels that the only way to redeem her sin, is to live out the rest of her life where she committed it. Hester settled into her new life with little connections with other community members. She lived a simplistic life in her isolated little cottage. "Hester sought not to acquire any thing beyond a subsistence, of the plainest and most ascetic description, for herself, and a simple abundance for her child." (Ch.5) Hester was isolated from the rest of her community, so she didn't pretend to belong.
3) The letter A becomes many different symbols as time progresses throughout the novel. At the beginning it symbolizes Adulterer, and is a way of separating her from all of the "good people". As time goes on, the letter symbolizes that Hester is different from the majority of the members of the society even though some people don't know exactly why. Towards the end of the story, the letter changes meaning and became a good thing. Many people looked upon the Scarlet Letter as a way of identifying Hester as somebody who was special and good-hearted. As far as Pearl is concerned, the Scarlet Letter became a physical part of her mother. When Hester removes the letter in a passionate moment in the forest, Pearl refuses to return to her until she has retrieved it. "was the shadowy wrath of Pearl's image, crowned and girdled with flowers, but stamping its foot, wildly gesticulating, and, in the midst of all, still pointing its small forefinger at Hester's bosom!" (Ch. 19) The fact that Pearl has been isolated from the rest of her community has caused her to become a very strange child. She hasn't had any interaction with other children, and therefore has learned how to entertain herself.
4) I agree with this statement and I think that the proof is present in the outcome of the lives of Dimmesdale and Chillingworth. Because Dimmesdale doesn't stay true to himself and doesn't confess his sin, his last years are lived miserably filled with sickness and guilt. This shows that Hawthorne believes that if a person does not stand by the people they said they would and violate their own souls or others', they will not live a happy life. Chillingworth also meets a terrible fate. He becomes so engulfed in getting revenge on Dimmesdale, that he ends up betraying him. When Chillingworth befriends Dimmesdale just to hurt him more, he is violating his soul and heart. This evil takes over Chillingworth’s whole reason for existence, so it makes sense that after Dimmesdale dies, Chillingworth follows suit rather quickly. "...insomuch that he positively withered up, shriveled away, and almost vanished from mortal sight, like an uprooted weed that lies wilting in the sun." (Ch.24).
5) The escape plan that Hester and Dimmesdale plan to execute ultimately fails for a couple of reasons. First, it was rather foolish of Hester and Dimmesdale to honestly believe that they would be able to pick up and leave a town where they were so well known, without anybody finding out. In a more spiritual way, the plan failed because Dimmesdale and Hester were trying to run away from their problems. Dimmesdale needed to confess the truth to the town that he had been lying to for so long, and Hester needed to come to peace with her life and past sins. "a smile which--across the wide and bustling square, and through all the talk and laughter, and various thoughts, moods, and interests of the crowd--conveyed secret and fearful meaning." (Ch. 22) Chillingworth's smile in this line, represents evil and the fact that all of our commitments, responsibilities, and mistakes will always catch up with us, and will never allow us to forget them.
6) In the literature book, a relationship that also had tragic consequences was any relationship between white man and Native American. These relationships usually ended with betrayal and death. This story also tells about the effect that one's place in a community has on the way that they deal with a complicated situation. For example, Dimmesdale was respected member of his community, and didn't want to disappoint his parish, or become ashamed in front of them. This is true in modern societies: when people are well known, or feel like everybody is watching them, they are terrified to make a mistake, or admit that they have made one. As far as nature goes, this story shows us that feelings and emotions can be just as damaging as public humiliation. Dimmesdale doesn't undergo public humiliation, but the guilt that he feels inside is enough to make him physically ill. The character of Roger Chillingworth, directly represents the darker side of human nature, including hatred, and the want for revenge on those that hurt us. "there was no more devil's work on earth for him to do" (Ch.24) Here in the story, the author directly links the actions and character of Chillingworth with that of the devil, or evil.
1. I agree with the statement that the Scarlet Letter is a tale of frail humans dealing with the consequences of an act defined as sin by their society but not necessarily by themselves, a tale of isolation and community and the tragic inadequacy of human relationships. Puritanism has its roots in the church of England and Calvinism. Calvinism holds the belief that humans are initially evil. This leads to their belief of human beings being frail. Their knowledge of the evil of adultery stems from the fact that they broke off the Bride of Christ. They still retained parts of absolute truth. The fact the Hester doesn't fully understand this shows nothing. The second part of this initial statement is true because Puritan society was highly isolated and the relationships were inadequate.
2. In the beginning, Hester is shown as very courageous. Arthur Dimmsdale was shown in good light and Chillingworth in bad light. Hester is the wife of Chillingworth and their relationship is weakening because of distance. Hester doesn't confess the name of the father to protect his reputation. She had nowhere else to go. She then lives a humble lifestyle.
3. The letter "A" gradually takes on a symbolic meaning throughout the story. It symbolizes the degree of the sin because it contain a “scarlet hue from the flames of the infernal pit,” (pg. 63). It is connected to Pearl because its origen and meaning is an object of fascination to Pearl. She becomes a humble, hardworking lady. This is assuming the question is about Hester. Its wording is rather vague.
4. I disagree with this statement because the violation of the human soul or heart is not a sin. Hawthorne did not subscribe to this view and their are no passages to prove my insight. There are also none to prove the opposite.
5. Their flight fails because Dimmsdale dies. He dies after revealing that he bares his own scarlet letter. This had to happen because there was no way that Hester could run from her sin throughout the story.
6. This story of relationships played out within a community fits with the other American stories because of its themes of struggle and hardships. In the novel Hester struggles with her peers and her position in society. People from the American stories struggled with hardships of the terrain and environment.
1)The “ Scarlet Letter” is a tale of isolation and community and the tragic inadequacy of human relationships. The society looked down upon Hester for what she committed, adultery. They view her as immoral and don’t pay much respect towards her, therefore making her isolated. Overall, I agree with the second statement, but not the first.
2)In the beginning, Dimmesdale is portrayed as an intellectual religious man. Hester is described as a woman of shame for what she committed Chillingworth is a doctor and very well useful in society. She doesn’t confess her father’s identity because she doesn’t want to ruin Dimmesdale’s status and how close she is to him. She doesn’t leave the village because she thought punishment would be right for her there. She felt she needed to suffer for what she did, and felt too close to the village.
3)The letter “ A” has a symbolic meaning to it. It is for humiliation for what she committed, a sinful act. This also lets her realize that she has to be smart, and make the right choices next time. This is connected to Pearl by her being the result of a sinful act. She symbolizes the outcome of adultery.
4)I agree with the statement, perhaps the ultimate, and possibly unforgivable, sin is the violation of the human soul or heart. The exploitation of Dimmesdale was viewed as harsher than adultery. It was almost as if society viewed adultery as very sacred.
5)Chillingworth discovering their plan ruined their flight plan. Also, it could not be possible to commit adultery and try to run from all of this. Dimmesdale died, so it could not be done at all.
6)The communities in the story have a close relationship and share similarities. It fits in with the other “ American “ stories mainly because of the people’s ideals. Also with the portrayal of close communities.
Questions: The Scarlet Letter
1. If we define frail as someone who is not strong enough to go against the pre-set rules of his or her community, then I cannot agree or disagree that the Scarlet Letter is a tale of frail humans dealing with the consequences of an act defined as sin by their society but not necessarily by themselves. In the novel, it is not proven if the main character, Hester Prynne, and the people of her community feel that Hester Prynne’s punishment was wrong or right. Even if the community agreed that she deserved her punishment, the people, individually, might have felt differently inside but were too coward to admit it. We do not even truly know if Hester Prynne thought she deserved her punishment. Therefore, we cannot assume that Hester Prynne or her community were frail since we do not know if they were cowards, who could not go against their community’s system of unjust punishments, or truly believed in the preset rules and the punishments of their society. Though, I do agree that the Scarlet Letter is a tale of isolation and community and the tragic inadequacy of human relationships. The Scarlet Letter tells of a woman who is isolated from her society for committing adultery, a sin as defined by her community. It is also the tale of how a community can go to great extents to outcast what they believe is evil. For instance, one of three old women of Hester’s people said, “At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne's forehead.” The novel also displays how human relationships are not perfect since the novel puts emphasis on how people can suffer from betrayal in their relationships. As an example, Chillingworth was betrayed by his wife Hester who had an affair with Reverand Dimmesdale.
2. In the beginning, Dimmesdale is described as an educated man with a great religious fervor. Though, he is a man who had a melancholy look and does not seem to understand his path as a human. The novel states, “…a being who felt himself quite astray and at a loss in the pathway of human existence…” to describe Dimmesdale. Chillingworth on the other hand is described as an extremely educated man. In fact, he is so intelligent that its intelligence is molded with his physical features making it visible to almost everyone. Hester Prynne is described as a very independent woman with a great deal of pride. In fact Hester has so much pride that she repells the town-beadle when he puts his hand on her shoulder to guide her out of the prison, as if she was saying that she needed nobody’s help. Each of these characters shares a relationship. Hester is the wife of Chillingworth, and is Dimmesdale’s lover, while Chillingworth becomes Dimmesdale friend to gain revenge on Dimmesdale for having an affair with his wife. However, the one who is to be put to blame for everyone’s relationship troubles should be Hester since she chooses to have an affair with Dimmesdale. If Hester had chosen not to have an affair with Dimmesdale for the sake of her husband, she could have prevented her punishment, Chillingworth’s need for revenge, and even Dimmesdale’s guilt for having an affair with Hester, which led to his death. After being punished, Hester could have left the village to escape her troubles, but she felt bound to the village probably because of her love for Dimmesdale, and probably because she felt that she should stay to undo her mistakes. She does make her place in society by acting as someone who seeks repentance for her sin, and eventually, Hester becomes a guide for women who are undergoing difficult problems or have committed adultery.
3. The letter A gradually takes on symbolic meaning by representing her will to live on even with the weight of her shame. Although her community degrades her for her sin, she shows great strength to live on, which eventually makes the scarlet letter on her bosom her strength since she uses it to identify herself as a strong and able woman. Pearl eventually grows attached to the scarlet letter and looks upon the scarlet letter as part of her mother. As a matter of fact, when Hester Prynne takes off the scarlet letter when she is spending her time with Dimmesdale, Pearl is in shock and does not even recognize her mother until Hester Prynne puts her letter back on. Pearl also becomes a constant reminder of the scarlet letter for Hester since Pearl recognizes her mother through the scarlet letter. Many thought that Pearl was a demon of some sort because she was born out of sin. However, Pearl grows up to be a normal girl who would walks around graciously giving people the impression that she could float.
4. I agree that violating someone’s soul or heart is a terrible sin. If someone learns a secret about a person and abuses this knowledge, he or she truly commits a dreadful sin. There is a reason why we keep certain secrets hidden within ourselves, and if someone discovers these secrets, he or she should try and be nice enough to respect our privacy and not reveal these secrets to the public.
5. Hester and Dimmesdale's flight from New England ultimately fails since Dimmesdale was never able to escape his sin. When Hester Prynne was undergoing her punishment on the day that she received the scarlet letter, the people wanted to know who was the father of Hester’s child. Dimmesdale, the child’s father, instead of revealing himself, kept himself hidden when he could have saved Hester’s public embarrassment for he was a powerful preacher. Dimmesdale could have revealed himself as the father and then used his power of speech to convince the people that Hester was not evil and that she did not commit a sin. I believe that with his gift of speech he could have succeeded. The novel even stated his ability to speak, “This vocal organ was in itself a rich endowment; insomuch that a listener, comprehending nothing of the language in which the preacher spoke, might still have been swayed to and fro by the mere tone and cadence.”
6. Of the American stories that I have read, I have not read any stories that revolve around love. Nevertheless, I have read a Chilean book called “Daughter of Fortune,” written by Isabel Allende, where the main characters’ love story is influenced by the community, a situation very similar to the Scarlet Letter’s love story where Dimmesdale’s and Hester’s relationship was also greatly influenced by the community. Both communities would not accept the relationship of the lovers. Therefore, the lovers from both stories had to keep their relationships a secret.
1)I defend the statement that “this is a tale of frail humans dealing with the consequences of an act defined as sin by their society but not necessarily by themselves, a tale of isolation and community and the tragic inadequacy of human relationships.” Hester Prynne was punished by her community for committing adultery. She would be shamed for years and years to come. It would be never ending. “Throughout them all, giving up her individuality, she would become the general symbol at which the preacher and moralist might point, and in hich they might vivify and embody their images of woman’s frailty and sinful passion. Thus the young and pure would be taught to look at her, with the scarlet letter flaming on her breast,--at her, the child of honorable parents,--at her, the mother of a babe, that owul hearafter be a woman,--at her, who had once been innocent,--as the figure, the body , the reality of sin. And over her grave, the infamy that she must carry thither would be her only monument.” (Ch. 5) “Continually, and in a thousand other ways, did she feel the inumberable throbs of anguish that had been so cunningly contrived for her by the undying, the ever-active sentence of the Puritan tribunal.” (Ch. 5)
2)At the beginning of the book Dimmesdale is described as a very young and poised gentleman. “A young clergyman who had come from one of the great English universities.” “His eloquence and religious fervor had already given the highest eminece in his profession.” (Ch. 3) Chillingworth is described as a small intelligent man. “There was a remarkable intelligence in his features, as of a person who had so cultivated his mental part that it could not fail to mould the physical to itself, and become manifest by unmistakable tokens.” (Ch. 3) Hester is described as tall, beautiful, and elegant. “The young woman was tall, with a figure of perfect elegance on a large scale. She had dark abundant hair, so glossy that it threw off the sunshine with a gleam, and a face which, besides being beautiful from regularity of feature and richness of complexion, had the impressiveness belonging to a marked brow and deep black eyes. She was lady-like too.” (Ch. 2) Their relationship is complicated. Chillingworth is Hester’s husband, but while he was gone for two years, Dimmesdale was her lover. I believe that Chillingworth is to blame for the whole thing because he left Hester by herself in a new place for two years. If he had been there with her, the whole thing would not have happened. I think Hester doesn’t confess the name of the father because she was him to confess it himself, or he somehow forced her not to. She doesn’t leave the village after she leaves prison because somehow she is attached to it by her sin. “But there is a fatality, a feeling so irresistible and inevitable that it has the force of doom, which almost invariably compels human beings to linger around and haunt, ghostlike, the spot where some great and marked event has given the color to their lifetime; and still the more irresistibly, the darker the tinge that saddens it.” “The chain that bound her here was of iron links, and galling to her inmost soul, but could never be broken.” (Ch.5) After she gets out of prison she makes a home out of a cottage and a job out of needlework. “On the outskirts of town, within the verge of the peninsula, but not in close vicinity to any other habitation, there was a small thatched cottage…in this little, lonesome dwelling…Hester established herself, with her infant child.” “She possessed an art that sufficed…to supply food for her thriving infant and herself…it was the art…of needlework.”
3)The letter A gradually takes on symbolic meaning in the way that people begin hearing about what she did, and they identify her as the one who sinned by the letter on her breast. “From first to last, in short, Hester Prynne had always this dreadful agony in feeling a human eye upon the token; the spot never grew callous; it seemed, on the contrary, to grow more sensitive with daily torture.” In the beginning of the novel, it is supposed to be a symbol that it is supposed to torture and shame her for the rest of her life. Towards the end of the novel it takes a different meaning in the way that the letter changes from “Adultery” to “Able” showing that she is a strong person and somehow came out of this a better person. Somehow Pearl is connected to it. “But that the first object of which Pearl seemd to become aware was the scarlet letter on Hester’s bosom!” Pearl became her mother’s daughter; an outcast who had the determination and strenght like her mother.
4)I agree that for Hawthorne, perhaps the ultimate, and possibly unforgiveable, sin is the violation of the human soul or heart. Throughout The Scarlet Letter it seemed as if he could not let the sin go. Even though, in the end, Hester made a pretty positive life, the letter was never forgotten. It was always there as a constant reminder of that time in her life that changed the direction of the path her life was supposed to go down.
5)I think that Hester and Dimmesdale’s flight from New England ultimately fails because of Chillingworth. Because Chillingworth wants to get revenge on Dimmesdale, he follows his every move and takes every opportunity to make his life more miserable. When Chillingworth finds out that they are trying to flee the country and take passage on a ship, of course he makes his way on board as well. Hester and Dimmesdale find out and decide not to risk it.
6)This story of relationship with tragic consequences played out within a community do not fit with other “American” literature; that is why this book is so unique. No wonder it became popular so quickly. I mean, most books in American literature are tales of happy people with happy endings. The Scarlet Letter, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. It is very depressing. It shows how much people in a community can affect how everyone thinks and acts. It shows how much nature is a part of this world and how we should be a part of it too. In this book nature represents freedom, new life, joy, and happiness. It’s one of the only good constant things in Pearl’s life. This book reveals the darker nature of human beings, especially in Roger Chillingworth. Revenge is a powerful emotion which is fueled by anger. It’s amazing how heartless people can be sometimes. No sympathy to their fellow human beings. Sometimes I wonder how we all get along in this world.
Reply to kzich:
Hello! Go blue sweatshirts!
dconlay p5
Reply to Lina
I agree with your answer for the first question. I also believe that Hester was a strong woman and handled her problems well. I also agree with the second part of your answer. I believe that a lot of what happened in the book dealt with the inadequacy of the human relationships. I liked the point that you made about the specific relationships as well. You noticed that as Hester's relationship with Chillingworth died, Hester was able to eventually reconnect with Dimmesdale and rekindle that relationship.
Reply to Kyle Fopma's post:
1. I agree with Kyle on this question since he made a good point. In the Scarlet Letter, the main characters do view a certain action differently than how their community views the action. In addition to proving this point, Kyle used a great quote from the novel that Hester, the main character, remarked. She said, “What we did had a consecration of its own.” This quote clearly showed the gap between the main characters’ and their community’s view. Though, Kyle did not clarify why the characters were frail. Therefore, I cannot agree with him on their frailty.
2. I agree with all of Kyle’s points in this question. I especially agree with how Kyle described Hester Prynne as an elegant woman who according to the book, the Scarlet Letter, was “tall, with a figure of perfect elegance, on a large scale.” I also especially agree with Kyle on how Hester eventually becomes a kind and merciful person in the end of the novel since the narrator states within the novel, “And, as Hester Prynne had no selfish ends, nor lived in any measure for her own profit and enjoyment, people brought all their sorrows and perplexities, and besought her counsel, as one who had herself gone through a mighty trouble.”
3. I agree with Kyle in his point of how the scarlet letter first begins as a symbol of “adultery,” and on the fact than as Hester Prynne continues to live through her years, she changes the meaning of the scarlet letter on her bosom to “able” since she proved to be an able and strong-willed woman within the novel. I also agree with Kyle’s views on Pearl who acts as a physical embodiment of the scarlet letter. Hester Prynne asks the governor, “See ye not, she is the scarlet letter, only capable of being loved, and so endowed with a million-fold the power of retribution for my sin?” Hester’s question is a valid quote to prove that Pearl is connected to the scarlet letter since it shows that Hester believes that Pearl is a representation of her own sin.
4. I agree with Kyle that the subject of “the worst sin being the violation of the human soul” was in the context of Hawthorne’s novel. Nevertheless, I feel that Kyle’s first example was too weak to prove his point while his second example was stronger in proving his point. Kyle mentions how the puritan community’s intolerance was repressive and destructive. Is this fact truly the violation of the human soul? “The violation of the human soul” is somewhat difficult to understand and classify, and Kyle’s first example did not have any supporting evidence to justify that it was “the violation of the human soul.” Kyle’s second example is more fortified as an example of “the violation of the human soul” since he uses a quote from the novel, “That old man’s revenge has been blacker than my sin. He has violated, in cold blood, the sanctity of a human heart. Thou and I, Hester, never did so!” This proves that his second example was truly a violation of the human heart because the author of the Scarlet Letter explicitly defines it.
5. Plot wise, I agree with Kyle since the lovers could not have escaped because Chillingworth knew about their secret, and the town people would attempt to stop the lovers from leaving New England. Chillingworth even proved that he knew their secret when he said, “Wave back that woman! Cast off this child! All shall be well! Do not blacken your fame, and perish in dishonor! I can yet save you! Would you bring infamy on your sacred profession?” I also agree with Kyle that escaping from public perception is almost impossible. To escape public opinion, one would have to change that opinion.
6. I agree with Kyle on this question since he does make a point about early American stories and how they depict close communities. In fact, an example of an early American story of a close community could be Mark Twain’s, “Tom Sawyer,” which had primarily a Christian community that behaved similarly to the Puritan community of the Scarlet Letter.
irzreeReply to SStratton:
I agree with your answer to the third question. The letter "A" starts out as being a symbol of sin, shame, humiliation, reminder for everything she did at every time of the day, no matter what, but as the novel progresses and time moves on, society's view of Hester becomes less harsh and more sympathetic towards her and the life that she has to lead here-on-out. Many people became so soft-hearted as to say that the "A" on her breast stood for "Able" instead of "Adultery." Pearl, Hester's daughter, somehow seemed to become very attached to the letter, even though at one point the letter just "fell off" for one second, and Pearl immediately noticed. "Pearl was the one person who saw the letter as something special all the time.
Response to Taylor Brown
I strongly agree with what you said in the first question. Hester was strong and definitely not “ frail” and keeping the sin a secret, was isolation to the community. Overall, your answers seemed very logical. The usage of quotes would of made it more stronger. There was plenty of explanation, but no support. Nice job Taylor.
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