Topics Discussed (through Ch.12)
Themes
Pearl
-"devil child"
- Hawthorne made Hester (Pearl's mother) to be broken by the town in this way
- arised out of nautre (removal from society)
- dressed by Hester to look like the Scarlet Letter (lack of ornamentation in puritan attire was commonplace) in fine fabrics, threads, and ornamentation
- society focuses on the fact that Pearl is born out of sin--influential?
- is, in some respects, a representation of Hester's guilt
- Hester's way of starting a new beginning
Sunshine (Light/Dark-ness)
- mentioned throughout nearly the entire book
- Hester starting "anew"
Romanticism
- influence on nature & dark side of man
- emphasis on individual v. society and thoughts/feelings over logic
* NOTE: The "n" in Nature is capitalized throughout the book: for emphasis, perhapts; acts as character/diety (?)
Individual v. Society
- what is Hawrthorne saying about society in this passage and those prior? (Ch. 13/14)
- Hester resides in a secluded cam
Additional Discussion Notes
- Hawthorne's writing style: "complex", "internal" and "psychological"
- Hawthorne views Hester much like John Proctor in Arthur Miller's The Crucible-- spends great lengths of time talkig about the leading lady/gentleman; goes on to do good thigns for others
- Situational irony: Pearl is Hester's hope and sanity, though Pearl does come from sin
Additionally, I
would just like to mention that a large portion of the information I present
here is based on notes I have taken in my AP English Language and Composition
class (compiled from notes presented by my course teacher, topics discussed in
the classroom, and personal interpretation/reasoning). Additional sources used
will be cited in the footnotes of each posting.
No comments:
Post a Comment