Scarlet Letter #4
"'I can teach my little Pearl what I have learned from this!' answered Hester Prynne, laying her finger on the red token. 'Woman, it is thy badge of shame!' replied the stern magistrate" (101)
In the text, Boston is much like Salem from The Crucible as society is unforgiving. There is no profound belief in the forgiveness of sins, and any mistakes that have been made cannot be corrected. Hester's actions have isolated her from society, and the men do not believe she could possibly teach Pearl and keep her from committing the same mistakes. By teaching Pearl about what she has done, Hester will not be redeemed and her shame will always be with her as long as the 'A' is on her chest.
"'It is easy to see the mother's part in her. Would it be beyond a philosopher's research, think ye, gentlemen, to analyze that child's nature, and, from its make and mould, to give a shrewd guess at the father?'" (106)
It is obvious that Chillingworth still thirsts for vengeance and her is getting close to finding his target. By now Chillingworth has used his great ability to read people to find that Dimmesdale is the father. Chillingworth undoubtedly has noticed the way Dimmesdale acts towards Hester and how he defends her. However, along with being a very keen and astute observer, Chillingworth is patient and will not make any spontaneous actions against Dimmesdale. He will contemplate what would be the greatest form of revenge on his enemy, and then execute his plan when the moment is right.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Scarlet Letter #3
"It is probable that there was an idea of penance in this mode of occupation, and that she offered up a real sacrifice of enjoyment, in devoting so many hours to such rude handiwork" (77)
Having the "A" stitched upon her chest, Hester continually felt the effects of her actions, especially when it came to embroidery. It is somewhat ironic that the same thing that caused her fall from society was the same thing that she could use for support. However, Hester's comfort gained from embroidery did not help as it was just a constant reminder of her pain and suffering. There was nowhere for Hester to hide from her sins, and that was the desired result of the punishment.
"Pearl was a born outcast of the infantile world. An imp of evil, emblem and product of sin, she had no right among christened infants" (85)
I understand why Pearl is painted as an outcast in society, but I strongly disagree with the motives for her exile. Banishing Hester was acceptable and arguably just for the time period, but Pearl had nothing to do with the actual process, she was only the result of bad judgement. She should not be so scrutinized for something that she had nothing to do with, especially for such a young girl. It is amazing to me how rutheless and unforgiving these people are. I would like to see one of them be put through such pain and suffering, and see how they do. It is obvious Hester is sorry for what she did, so I do not understand why she and Pearl cannot be gradually brought back into society. That is what a truly just society would do.
"It is probable that there was an idea of penance in this mode of occupation, and that she offered up a real sacrifice of enjoyment, in devoting so many hours to such rude handiwork" (77)
Having the "A" stitched upon her chest, Hester continually felt the effects of her actions, especially when it came to embroidery. It is somewhat ironic that the same thing that caused her fall from society was the same thing that she could use for support. However, Hester's comfort gained from embroidery did not help as it was just a constant reminder of her pain and suffering. There was nowhere for Hester to hide from her sins, and that was the desired result of the punishment.
"Pearl was a born outcast of the infantile world. An imp of evil, emblem and product of sin, she had no right among christened infants" (85)
I understand why Pearl is painted as an outcast in society, but I strongly disagree with the motives for her exile. Banishing Hester was acceptable and arguably just for the time period, but Pearl had nothing to do with the actual process, she was only the result of bad judgement. She should not be so scrutinized for something that she had nothing to do with, especially for such a young girl. It is amazing to me how rutheless and unforgiving these people are. I would like to see one of them be put through such pain and suffering, and see how they do. It is obvious Hester is sorry for what she did, so I do not understand why she and Pearl cannot be gradually brought back into society. That is what a truly just society would do.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
The Scarlet Letter #2
"She will not speak... wonderous strength and generosity of a woman's heart! She will not speak!" (64).
Dimmesdale continually remains to be a suspicious character to me because of the lack of pressure he places upon Hester. Perhaps it just seems this way because, when contrasted to many characters in The Crucible, his tactics seem pretty weak. I think he may not be pressuring Hester to give the man's name because he is the father. By interrogating Hester, he makes it seem like he wants to find the truth, but he may just be trying to hide it.
" 'Not thy soul,' he answered, with another smile. 'No not Thine!' " (72).
Hester's husband definitely eludes to his strong feelings of revenge, and that he is up to no good. He is on a mission to find out who the father is, and he will not stop until that happens. Honestly, Chillingworth's feelings are justified because his wife cheated on him and he deserves to know the truth. I must agree with almost anything he does to find the truth considering the severity of the situation, especially at this time period.
"She will not speak... wonderous strength and generosity of a woman's heart! She will not speak!" (64).
Dimmesdale continually remains to be a suspicious character to me because of the lack of pressure he places upon Hester. Perhaps it just seems this way because, when contrasted to many characters in The Crucible, his tactics seem pretty weak. I think he may not be pressuring Hester to give the man's name because he is the father. By interrogating Hester, he makes it seem like he wants to find the truth, but he may just be trying to hide it.
" 'Not thy soul,' he answered, with another smile. 'No not Thine!' " (72).
Hester's husband definitely eludes to his strong feelings of revenge, and that he is up to no good. He is on a mission to find out who the father is, and he will not stop until that happens. Honestly, Chillingworth's feelings are justified because his wife cheated on him and he deserves to know the truth. I must agree with almost anything he does to find the truth considering the severity of the situation, especially at this time period.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Scarlet Letter #1
"It [rose bush] may serve, let us hope, to symbolize some sweet moral blossom, that may be found along the track, or relieve the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow" (46)
My first impressions of the novel stem from this quote. It seems to me that obviously there will be difficult hardships by characters, especially Hester. However, the rose bush outside of the prison may be forshadowing possible redemption for Hester, perhaps not in society, but maybe she will forgive herself later in the story.
"'The Reverend Dimmesdale, her godly pastor, takes it very grievously to heart that such a scandal should have come upon his congregation'" (48-49)
Initialy, I received a suspicious view towards Reverand Dimmesdale. There are two theories that come to mind when examining his character, especially in this quote. First, it may be that the reverand just feels immense shame because he knows Hester and he is embarrassed to be connected to her in any way. Or, the reverand could possibly be the father of the child. His tremendous feelings towards the situation could be evidence to support the fact that Hester and Dimmesdale were involved with one another. The reverand is definitly a character to pay attention to later on.
"It [rose bush] may serve, let us hope, to symbolize some sweet moral blossom, that may be found along the track, or relieve the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow" (46)
My first impressions of the novel stem from this quote. It seems to me that obviously there will be difficult hardships by characters, especially Hester. However, the rose bush outside of the prison may be forshadowing possible redemption for Hester, perhaps not in society, but maybe she will forgive herself later in the story.
"'The Reverend Dimmesdale, her godly pastor, takes it very grievously to heart that such a scandal should have come upon his congregation'" (48-49)
Initialy, I received a suspicious view towards Reverand Dimmesdale. There are two theories that come to mind when examining his character, especially in this quote. First, it may be that the reverand just feels immense shame because he knows Hester and he is embarrassed to be connected to her in any way. Or, the reverand could possibly be the father of the child. His tremendous feelings towards the situation could be evidence to support the fact that Hester and Dimmesdale were involved with one another. The reverand is definitly a character to pay attention to later on.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Kevin McAdam
AP English 11/ Mr. George
1/4/10
The Crucible Essay
Abigail the Ultimate Villain
The only true witch in The Crucible was the evil power of public perception. In Salem, one could be crowned a leader as fast as they could be put to death based on how the eyes of society saw that person. This fact about Salem is no truer than with the case of Abigail Williams. Her fiendish schemes changed society’s opinion of her and placed her in a position of supreme authority. Neither Abigail’s attitude nor her moral process fluctuated prior to her superiority or after her fall; public perception lifted her to such immortality.
Abigail’s actions before her rise to supremacy display the fact that the people of Salem were incorrect in changing their opinion of her and that she never should have been able to be in power over the town. Abigail’s past actions would not merit being placed in such an influential position, especially when those events include drinking blood and threatening to kill her own friends: “Abigail: Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the terrible things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you” (Miller 20). Abigail even showed her poor character by insulting Goody Proctor to cover up her even worse act of adultery with John Proctor: “Abigail: She hates me, uncle, she must, for I would not be her slave. It’s a bitter woman, a lying, cold, sniveling woman, and I will not work for such a woman!” (12). Society would loathe her for her wrong-doings instead of worship her. The reader is shocked and appalled that someone like Abigail, with such a corrupt and misguided past, could reach such heights. Her wild and eccentric personality got her into hot water with the town, but she also used it effectively to get herself out of trouble and to change people’s minds about her. Abigail’s character and the troubling acts she had committed leading up to her ascension were blatant warning signs of the terrible developments that would come to pass later in the novel. When the people of Salem handed power over to Abigail Williams, it was basically the same as giving a loaded gun to a young child.
Salem’s perception of Abigail changed and put her atop society because she used her skills of deception and the townspeople’s overwhelming obsession with finding witches to influence their beliefs about her. Throughout the novel, Abigail performed no action to merit any rise in society. Abigail’s rise was mainly an illusion, specifically when it came to her active step in rising. Abigail mainly road on the coattails of other characters to get to the top and let others take the punishment while she went free. For example, when Abigail proclaimed that she was a witch, the idea was not hers in the first place. She had only followed Tituba after realizing that they would not punish her. Once she had professed her witchcraft, she decided to falsely name off other individuals to back her case: “Abigail: I danced for the Devil; I saw him; I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss his hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!” (48). From then on Abigail could coast on the fact that the entire town would listen to anything she said. She was clever enough to realize the advantages of being a witch, in that everyone followed her command and did not focus on who she really was. In Abigail’s case, she was a young, inexperienced, and unlawful girl. Back in those days, no girl like Abigail would ever be given as much control as Abigail. However, society’s view towards her changed and all they saw was the witch Abigail, not the girl. Because the people of Salem lost focus on what was true and allowed their perception to change, they allowed Abigail to wreak havoc in the town when it could have been avoided. After Abigail and the townspeople had continuously made outlandish accusations of anyone who crossed them the wrong way, people started to consider if Abigail’s story was true. Abigail’s constant accusations were like the child shooting the gun at the people who gave the gun and the people started to regret their decision.
The relentless accusations that were made had eventually overwhelmed the community even more than the witch-hunt had. Even Reverend Hale, the expert of witchcraft, started to doubt the legitimacy of the accusations: “Hale: Excellency, it is a natural lie to tell; I beg you, stop now before another is condemned! I may shut my conscience to it no more- private vengeance is working through this testimony!” (114). Abigail was fast-acting and hard-hitting as she was removed from her throne of power just as quick as it was given to her. Abigail’s tremendous fall from society’s good graces is not surprising in the novel because she had not changed her own character from start to finish. She had committed several bad deeds before she came into power, she completed even more bad deeds while she had power, and so it was not surprising that she continued the same disgraceful lifestyle after her reign of Salem. As the doubts of Abigail’s truthfulness started to roll in, it was as if the child had finally run out of bullets and was left to face those that were left standing. The townspeople had brought the entire crisis on all by themselves because they had become overpowered by the feeling that witches were among them. Abigail’s reign over Salem was exciting while it lasted, but she could only deceive everyone for so long.
Abigail’s immoral character and desire to do whatever necessary to stay atop society were both constant throughout the story. The townspeople would see Abigail in this situation as having a large rise and fall in society, when, in fact, Abigail stayed the same the entire time. Abigail had always been a static character in The Crucible, but there was a dynamic change in society’s perception of her character that allowed her to rise to such heights and fall to such depths in such a short period of time.
AP English 11/ Mr. George
1/4/10
The Crucible Essay
Abigail the Ultimate Villain
The only true witch in The Crucible was the evil power of public perception. In Salem, one could be crowned a leader as fast as they could be put to death based on how the eyes of society saw that person. This fact about Salem is no truer than with the case of Abigail Williams. Her fiendish schemes changed society’s opinion of her and placed her in a position of supreme authority. Neither Abigail’s attitude nor her moral process fluctuated prior to her superiority or after her fall; public perception lifted her to such immortality.
Abigail’s actions before her rise to supremacy display the fact that the people of Salem were incorrect in changing their opinion of her and that she never should have been able to be in power over the town. Abigail’s past actions would not merit being placed in such an influential position, especially when those events include drinking blood and threatening to kill her own friends: “Abigail: Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the terrible things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you” (Miller 20). Abigail even showed her poor character by insulting Goody Proctor to cover up her even worse act of adultery with John Proctor: “Abigail: She hates me, uncle, she must, for I would not be her slave. It’s a bitter woman, a lying, cold, sniveling woman, and I will not work for such a woman!” (12). Society would loathe her for her wrong-doings instead of worship her. The reader is shocked and appalled that someone like Abigail, with such a corrupt and misguided past, could reach such heights. Her wild and eccentric personality got her into hot water with the town, but she also used it effectively to get herself out of trouble and to change people’s minds about her. Abigail’s character and the troubling acts she had committed leading up to her ascension were blatant warning signs of the terrible developments that would come to pass later in the novel. When the people of Salem handed power over to Abigail Williams, it was basically the same as giving a loaded gun to a young child.
Salem’s perception of Abigail changed and put her atop society because she used her skills of deception and the townspeople’s overwhelming obsession with finding witches to influence their beliefs about her. Throughout the novel, Abigail performed no action to merit any rise in society. Abigail’s rise was mainly an illusion, specifically when it came to her active step in rising. Abigail mainly road on the coattails of other characters to get to the top and let others take the punishment while she went free. For example, when Abigail proclaimed that she was a witch, the idea was not hers in the first place. She had only followed Tituba after realizing that they would not punish her. Once she had professed her witchcraft, she decided to falsely name off other individuals to back her case: “Abigail: I danced for the Devil; I saw him; I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss his hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!” (48). From then on Abigail could coast on the fact that the entire town would listen to anything she said. She was clever enough to realize the advantages of being a witch, in that everyone followed her command and did not focus on who she really was. In Abigail’s case, she was a young, inexperienced, and unlawful girl. Back in those days, no girl like Abigail would ever be given as much control as Abigail. However, society’s view towards her changed and all they saw was the witch Abigail, not the girl. Because the people of Salem lost focus on what was true and allowed their perception to change, they allowed Abigail to wreak havoc in the town when it could have been avoided. After Abigail and the townspeople had continuously made outlandish accusations of anyone who crossed them the wrong way, people started to consider if Abigail’s story was true. Abigail’s constant accusations were like the child shooting the gun at the people who gave the gun and the people started to regret their decision.
The relentless accusations that were made had eventually overwhelmed the community even more than the witch-hunt had. Even Reverend Hale, the expert of witchcraft, started to doubt the legitimacy of the accusations: “Hale: Excellency, it is a natural lie to tell; I beg you, stop now before another is condemned! I may shut my conscience to it no more- private vengeance is working through this testimony!” (114). Abigail was fast-acting and hard-hitting as she was removed from her throne of power just as quick as it was given to her. Abigail’s tremendous fall from society’s good graces is not surprising in the novel because she had not changed her own character from start to finish. She had committed several bad deeds before she came into power, she completed even more bad deeds while she had power, and so it was not surprising that she continued the same disgraceful lifestyle after her reign of Salem. As the doubts of Abigail’s truthfulness started to roll in, it was as if the child had finally run out of bullets and was left to face those that were left standing. The townspeople had brought the entire crisis on all by themselves because they had become overpowered by the feeling that witches were among them. Abigail’s reign over Salem was exciting while it lasted, but she could only deceive everyone for so long.
Abigail’s immoral character and desire to do whatever necessary to stay atop society were both constant throughout the story. The townspeople would see Abigail in this situation as having a large rise and fall in society, when, in fact, Abigail stayed the same the entire time. Abigail had always been a static character in The Crucible, but there was a dynamic change in society’s perception of her character that allowed her to rise to such heights and fall to such depths in such a short period of time.
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