"Hester caught hold of Pearl, and drew her forcibly into her arms, confronting the old puritan magistrate with almost a fierce expression. Alone in the world, cast off by it, and with this sole treasure to keep her heart alive, she felt like she possessed indefeasible rights against the world, and was ready to defend them to the death.
'God gave me the child!' cried she. 'He gave her in requital of all things else, which ye had taken from me. She is my happiness!- She is my torture, none the less! Pearl keeps me here in life! Pearl punishes me too! 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? Ye shall not take her! I will die first!'
'My poor woman,' said the not unkind old minister, 'the child shall be well cared for!-Far better than thou canst do it.'
'God gave her into my keeping,' repeated Hester Prynne, raising her voice almost to a shriek. 'I will not giver her up!'- And here, by a sudden impulse, she turned to the young clergyman, Mr. Dimmesdale, at whom, up to this moment, she had seemed hardly so much as once to direct her eyes.- 'Speak thou for me!' cried she. 'Thou wast my pastor, and hadst charge of my soul, and knowest me better than these men can. I will not lose the child! Speak for me! Thou knowest- for thou has sympathies which these men lack!- Thou knowest what is in my heart, and what are a mother's rights, and how much the stronger they are, when the mother has her child and the scarlet letter! Look thou to it! I will not lose the child! Look to it!'"
Hester has learned from her sins because of Pearl and she wants to do right by her child. She wants to raise her in the way that she should go. This passage shows that Hester is still human capable of loving as is her daughter. They have not been completely taken over by their sin, and they keep each other sane. this passage has a parallel structure when it states, "I will not lose the child!". Pearl is all Hester has left besides the scarlet letter, (her sin and the mark she has to wear) and the secrets that she holds.
1) What does Hester mean when she calls Pearl the scarlet letter?
2) What is the importance otf the citations/quotes used in the passage that I extracted?
3) Why doesn't Hester just establish a life somewhere else where she is not know and doesn't have to bear the shame of the scarlet letter?
Friday, December 31, 2010
Chapters 6 & 7
"'Mother,' cried she, 'I see you here. Look!Look!'
Hester looked, by way of humoring the child; and she saw that, owing to the peculiar effect of this convex mirror, the scarlet letter was represented in exagerated and gigantic proportions, so as to be greatly the most prominent feature of her appearence. In truth, she seemed absolutely hidden by it. Pearl pointed upward, also, at a similar picture in the head-piece; smiling at her mother, with the elfish inteligence that was so familiar an expression on her smallphysiognomy. That look of naughty merriment was likewise reflected in the mirror, with so much breadth and intensity of effect, that it made Hester Prynne feel as if it could not be the image of her own child, but of an imp who was seeking to mound itself into pearl's shape.
'Come along, Pearl!' said she, drawing her away. 'Come and look into this fair garden. It may be, we shall see flowers there; more beautiful ones than we find in the woods.'
This passage is extremely significant. It seems as if Hester has gone slightly insane, but i beg to differ. I believe she is seeing an imp in her child. Many times the same demon/imp comes back or stays within a family, causing generational curses. Hester is being taken over by the scarlet letter and it is now shaping her life as well as Pearl's life. And since she is no longer allowed to be in church, she doesn't know how to handle the situation properly. She is stuck between a rock and a hard place. If she knew she could be forgiven of her sins, this story would not go on as it does, so this hyperbole of the scarlet letter being the most prominent in her reflection is now who she is. She has an imp on her to... depending how you descern it, it could be fear or even doubt, and even deciet.
1) Do you agree that this is a hyperbole? Why or why not?
2) Do you feel like Hester is going crazy from being only in social contact with Pearl?
3) How can Hester make her way back into the puritan society?
Hester looked, by way of humoring the child; and she saw that, owing to the peculiar effect of this convex mirror, the scarlet letter was represented in exagerated and gigantic proportions, so as to be greatly the most prominent feature of her appearence. In truth, she seemed absolutely hidden by it. Pearl pointed upward, also, at a similar picture in the head-piece; smiling at her mother, with the elfish inteligence that was so familiar an expression on her smallphysiognomy. That look of naughty merriment was likewise reflected in the mirror, with so much breadth and intensity of effect, that it made Hester Prynne feel as if it could not be the image of her own child, but of an imp who was seeking to mound itself into pearl's shape.
'Come along, Pearl!' said she, drawing her away. 'Come and look into this fair garden. It may be, we shall see flowers there; more beautiful ones than we find in the woods.'
This passage is extremely significant. It seems as if Hester has gone slightly insane, but i beg to differ. I believe she is seeing an imp in her child. Many times the same demon/imp comes back or stays within a family, causing generational curses. Hester is being taken over by the scarlet letter and it is now shaping her life as well as Pearl's life. And since she is no longer allowed to be in church, she doesn't know how to handle the situation properly. She is stuck between a rock and a hard place. If she knew she could be forgiven of her sins, this story would not go on as it does, so this hyperbole of the scarlet letter being the most prominent in her reflection is now who she is. She has an imp on her to... depending how you descern it, it could be fear or even doubt, and even deciet.
1) Do you agree that this is a hyperbole? Why or why not?
2) Do you feel like Hester is going crazy from being only in social contact with Pearl?
3) How can Hester make her way back into the puritan society?
Friday, December 24, 2010
Chapters 4 & 5
"'I will keep thy secret, as I have his,' said Hester"
This is significant because the fact that Roger would even have her keep this a secrets shows that he is a sneaky person. this also shows that he too is sinning. So if everyone sins, why focus on Hester's sin as if it is that much worse than Roger's, or even the gossipers? It is meaningful because these characteristics shapes the charecters in the book. This is dialogue.
1)Why does Hawthorne write many cumulative sentences instead of changing the syntax in these two chapters?
2) what do you think Roger's significance is?
3)Is Hester's sin worse than the sin of her husband? Is it worse than the sin of the gossipers?
This is significant because the fact that Roger would even have her keep this a secrets shows that he is a sneaky person. this also shows that he too is sinning. So if everyone sins, why focus on Hester's sin as if it is that much worse than Roger's, or even the gossipers? It is meaningful because these characteristics shapes the charecters in the book. This is dialogue.
1)Why does Hawthorne write many cumulative sentences instead of changing the syntax in these two chapters?
2) what do you think Roger's significance is?
3)Is Hester's sin worse than the sin of her husband? Is it worse than the sin of the gossipers?
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