"my child must seek. . . " p 30
She tries to teach Pearl to think of God as a literal father in place of the real father she doesn't have.
The Public Condemnation in Ch 1.
It told through Hesther - in her own head - very relatable.
Dimmsdale = "Tell us who it was. . . " p 46 "for thy soul's peace and salvation"
- On the pedestal of shame he asks Hesther to tell because he can't - - she doesn't - - it is an out in the open triumph over evil.
- D is scared - he is so important and he has so much to lose
- Capital punishment
- He wants to keep doing good works first
- Every man has a right to keep his secrets
- He does care about H. He loves her so makes it HER CHOICE
- He is a coward - - she is much more independent and strong.
- He was begging for her to tell so that he woulnd't have to
- He was throwing HER into the spotlight - forcing her to make all the decisions and be strong.
- Hesther was FREE - - Dimsdale suffered because of all this.
- BUT he could have told and he didn't He was so LOVED by everyone which made it worse
- and because of that he never got happiness - pg 83
- He knows he has to face God on judgement day and his happiness is up to God.
IS Dimmsdale a coward?
- tried to tell them in his sermons but it just made it worse - ironic.
- Chillingworth got retribution from him
- But all those peole will know on judgement day and he knows that.
An interesting idea is the contrast between Physical Beauty and Physical Deterioration
- Hesther has nothing to hide and so she has nothing to make her ugly
- She already admitted it - ironically it was physically visible in her body and so she wasn't destroyed by it.
- Dimmsdale was hiding it and that's what caused his physical deterioration.
Does Pearl know about Dimmsdale? that he is her father?
- D was always in pain - always holding his hand over his heart.
- p 105 - "Stand with mother and me. . ." ". . . only on judgement day"
What about p 63 with D twitching and screaming in his sleep. That's how Chillingsworth knows because of the A on D's chest.
Was Ch really a Dr?
- He learned his practice from natives = demonic = intense evil!
- wanted revenge so badly - that makes him so cool!!
- Ch's vengence was Captain Ahab-like - - he was obsessed!
- Was going to follow D around as a ghost if he had to.
- He kept D from salvation and that was his revenge.
Dimmsdale was actually really strong
- The Scarlet Letter on D's chest was actually the real Scarlett Letter from the title.
- The real Scarlett Letter is a secret - and so the title is acutally a big secret.
- EVERYONE has a secret hidden Scarlett Letter that they hide from the world
What is up with Pearl?
- She is not a typical puritan child.
- H = "I will live by these ideals so that Pearl doesn't have to" she is thinking this. . .
- Almost like Adam and Eve - - Pearl is left behind in paradise with the angels - she is the only innocent
- always described as "elf-like" "not human" "angel"
- from the Bible - "Pearl of great price"
- Heaven is available to her - - she is free as if she had not bitten the apple
- H thought Pearl was given by God "as a punishment" or "as perfect"
- She's a weird kid - - curious, different, represents the next generation
Pearl's relationship with the A?
- doesn't know what it means
- she wants to be like her mom
- loves that her mom is different from everyone else
- doesn't like Dimmsdale - - does that have to do with the A?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteRandee Huffman
ReplyDeleteIn our discussion someone said that the A symbolizes a secret that is withheld in each and every one of us. This is also my theory of the symbolization of the A. It makes sense because Hester describes in the novel that some women in the town judge her just because she let the whole world know her secret while they hold theirs in. Also because every day that D didn't tell of his secret the more pain he would be in and the more he would deteriorate. During this discussion I was thinking about how in the story that when Pearl was a child the first thing she saw was the scarlet letter on her mothers chest. And maybe that is why she thinks that the scarlet letter is normal and doesn't mean that she was convicted of a sin. This thought also explains why in the forest, when Hester took off the letter, Pearl wouldn't go near her unless Hester put the letter back on her chest.
I agree that the A symbolizes a secret that we all have inside of us. While most of us dont want our secrets to get out because of what people might say about it. We can see what happens when our secret get out. We get judge like most of us fear we would. Hester got judge by the other women and people of the town. They judge her like if they didnt have a secret. When Pearl saw the letter A she didn't now that is was once a secret that she had. Pearl lookd at it like it is a normal thing like theres nothing wrong with it. We all have a letter A inside of us some of us show it and others keep it in for so long that it could destroy us like Dimsdale. His secert tortured him everyday.
DeleteI agree the people treated Hester as if she was the only one who has committed a sin. The difference is that her sin was out there for everyone to see.
DeleteDuring the discussion, many people sympathized with Dimmesdale becuase they felt that he couldn't really admit to what he did without losing everything that was important to him. However, I don't really feel bad for him. If he hadn't have done wrong in the beginning, or if he just took a break from his position then he wouldn't have had anything to lose or feel guilty about. I feel that Dimmesdale is a coward and shouldn't have let himself suffer the way he did.
ReplyDeleteI wish that sometime in our discussion we had brought up the fact that Hester dressed the most modest even though she was the most beautiful. I think that this was her way of self punishment, and that this was her way of keeping the attention from herself.
Dahlia Serrato (period 5)
DeleteSomebody in this period says that Hester's unwillingness to admit publicly that Dimmsdale was the father was " an out in the open triumph over evil." That I can absolutely agree with; Dimmsdale doesn't deserve all that much sympathy. He must have known what he was getting into, and it's easy for me to agree with Sidney that he is a coward. He began to care more about what the townspeople would think rather than how he would appear before god. However it is difficult for me to chastise Dimmsdale's actions completely, because he does make a slight effort to admit his sin, and it doesn't go with out remorse, he did it out of love (probably) to begin with, which isn't a bad thing. Not everybody can be as strong as Hester after all. And I like that Sydney brought up her modest way of dress. Hester new she was being watched to begin with so she probably was trying to down play her presence. Which is Dimmsdale's fault to begin with, which is why he's bad.
One topic that I liked during the discussion was if Dimmesdale was a coward. How he wasn't able to tell people his secret made him cowardly. However I agreed with the other group of people who said that Dimmesdale was not a coward. It took a lot of strength to keep that secret in. So much in fact, that it killed him in the end and left a scar on his heart. Also not being able to get the secret out during his sermons probably infuriated him.
ReplyDeleteI believe we could have talked about Chillingworth's and Hester's relationship before Hester left the country. Like how they felt about each other when they used to live together because I think that could have dictated events that played out in the future!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! d:):D
Wow this person has great ideas! whoever wrote this is soo cool! :D
DeleteJP Scheuble (a.k.a. J-money P-dizzle) period 5
DeleteAjith you do bring up a valid point! You are basically perfect in everything you do. I couldn't find one thing in this blog that I disagreed with. Your super cute, talented, smart, and wonderful. Keep up the good work ;)
Thanks JP you are too.
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During the discussion I especially enjoyed when the differences in Hester's and Dimmsdale's outward appearance and how it reflects on their inner turmoil or emotions.Hester being beautiful despite her coarse garb and disdainful reputation is an interesting contrast to Dimmsdale who is widely respected and honored by the community and yet is frail and haggard to the point of near death.Nevertheless I wish there had been more discussion about the effects of Dimmmsdale's confession on Chillingworth and his sole purpose in life of extracting revenge onDImmsdale and Hester.
ReplyDelete-Barry Brockmeier
Julia Baggett, period 5
DeleteThe link between physical well being and internal spiritual health is a motif I noticed throughout the book. Not only is it apparent in Hester and Dimmesdale, but the townspeople as well. For example, Hawthrone first demontrastes this connection when he descibes the women least merciful to Hester 's suffering as the ugliest. Furthermore, the childern who terrorize Pearl and her mother are characterized to be as ugly as their unsympathetic parents.
Beejen Patel Period 2
DeleteI found that interesting too that they were depicted in ways that were contrasting. I'd imagine, for example, it'd be like Hester being beautiful and respected and Dimmesdale being frail/haggard and having a disdainful reputation, but it was the opposite. Maybe Hawthorne did this to capture the reader's attention?
I never thought about the characters physical changes until reading this. It's neat how the characters physical changes represent how they feel on the inside, especially with Mr. Dimmesdale and how he began to look like he was dieing.
DeleteI also felt like their was a lot to analyze about the outward appearances of both Hester and Dimmesdale. It's strange that the townspeople were most likely under the illusion that they were righteous people, not judging by the outward appearance, but rather looking at the heart of a man like God does, when really they could never truly see what Hester and Dimmesdale's hearts looked like because they were blinded by their own stubborn judgements and pride.
DeleteI agree with you Allie because the towns people did juge Hester harshly without even knowing her true character and how she really was as a person.
DeleteIn the discussion it was mentioned that Dimmsdale suffered the most because of his choice of not coming forward and admitting the sin he had done, which I agree with. I believe that he thought he would have lost everything and lost everyone's trust if he had came forward, but he would have gained an important role, being a father to Pearl. I feel that Pearl wouldn't have been called "elf-like" if she had her father there to learn from.
ReplyDeleteI wish that sometime in the discussion they would have talked about how Hester was so helpful and caring towards people even though she was seen as an outcast because of her sin. Which made her character show that she wasn't going to be in grief all her life because of the A on her chest. She was brave and made the most out of it.
-Jasmine Marshall
It was brought up how Dimmesdale tried to get Hester to expose his part in the affair, but she wouldn't do it. Although she was seen as such a bad person in the community for a while, this act shows that she always put others before herself. She didn't care that she would take all the blame and shame of what they had BOTH participated in.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand how Dimmesdale's A is any more real than Hester's? Hers was open to the public and I feel like hers was just as real and maybe even more punishing than his because hers was under the scrutiny of the public eye.
-Rebecca Luna
Hester almost sounds like a heroine when you put it that way. Dimmesdale does seem cowardly just letting Hester take all the blame for something they both did. His "A" was felt more spiritually than earthly. He suffered internally while Hester bared the shame openly. It matters on the way you look at it. Would you rather be scorned publicly or wallow in guilt privately?
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDuring the discussion it was mentioned that Dimmsdale's "A" was the real scarlet letter. I would have to agree with this. As years went by, Hester learned how to cope with the "A" and the pain that came with it. She blossomed into this strong, capable women who ends up being praised for her good works. I think that the scarlet letter was actually something she became proud of, it became apart of who she was. Why else would she go back to her cottage at the end of the book when she could so easily escape? It was the only thing she knew how to be; the Adulteress (or more like Able) Women. In that case, Hester's "A" couldn't have possibly been the real scarlet letter. Dimmsdale, on the other hand, was so eaten away by the burden of his secret, he actually physically became the scarlet letter. As his strength weakened, his guilt became more overwhelming which made go completely crazy. He was the essence of what the letter resembles; sin, pain, suffering, guilt. In the end, "good" Dimmsdale became a hideous example of what evil can do to you.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I viewed Pearl as the good that came out of evil. She was everything the Puritans where missing. Because they didn't understand this, they saw her as a demon child, an "elf" child. This just shows the narrow mindedness of 17th-century Puritan culture.
-Kristy Still
Whoa Kristy, what an in-depth analysis of the seminar! Stellar job! Way to go! I found your description of Dimmesdale as physically being the scarlet letter quite thought provoking and intellectual! Keep up the good work!!
DeleteI very much agree that Dimmesdale had the real scarlet letter and that he represented the scarlet letter.
DeleteDuring the discussion, I liked the conversation we had about how Hester is physically beautiful because she didn't have anything to hide and nothing was bothering her on the inside whereas Dimmesdale was physically deteriorating because he was hiding his sin from everyone. Also, Hester's sin was visible because of the scarlet letter on her chest but Dimmesdale kept putting his hand on his heart because of the internal pain he felt from not admitting his sin. I never thought about it that way so I liked being open to a new perspective. One thing that I wish we could have discussed more about is Chillingworth. What was his relationship with Hester before she left? How did he change, physically and mentally, due to his obsession with revenge? I think it would be a nice comparison to see how doing certain things and acting a certain way can change a person's physical appearance.
ReplyDelete-Rupanshi Garg
One interesting part of this socratic seminar was when someone brought up the quote "Pearl must seek a heavenly father, for she will never know an earthly one." Hester Prynne never told her daughter who her father was, or what the scarlet letter meant. I think this reveals something intruiging about her; maybe she didn't trust Pearl with the secret. Or maybe she was so ashamed of the story, and the symbol on her chest, that she couldn't bear to tell her young daughter the truth. Either way, Pearl is kept in the dark throughout the whole book, until the very end.
ReplyDeleteMy class also never discussed exactly why people might have thought of Pearl as an "elf child". I was shocked and confused as to why Hester would see in her own child any kind of maliciousness. Did she truly love Pearl? Or was she resigned to taking care of a child that had come out of her bad deed? I'd like to think that there was affection, and that Hester loved Pearl, even though she saw her as a living "scarlet letter".
-Alena Dinh
Rebecca Nealeigh Period 5
DeleteGreat job Alena. I had never thought about Hester as being ashamed before, because toward the end of the novel she didn't even notice the scarlet letter on her it just became a part of her. What you said made total sense though, maybe she could not bring herself to reveal the truth about Pearl's father and the scarlet letter's true meaning because of trust and a shaming memory of her sin. I also wonder why Pearl is described numerous times as an elf child; could it be because of her free spirited actions?
One topic that I found interesting was how some considered Dimmsdale to be a coward. I would have to disagree with this statement. He did in fact try to confess in the Sermons of his sins, but wasn't able to. He also was able to keep this a secret for 7 years, which can't be an easy thing to keep inside with so much regret to begin with. By keeping in this secret, he developed health issues, a change in physical deterioration, and in the end, it killed him. Everyone has a secret, and how I noticed Pearl had realized: Everybody at one time will sin. Even though many positions could point towards him looking like a coward, I actually agree that he was quite strong since most probably couldn't keep that big of a secret in and especially not for that long of a time. I also think that in a way, he might have done this to save Hester and Pearl from even more public discrimination.
ReplyDeleteA topic I wish was brought up during the discussion would have to be how Pearl saw that everyone sins. I remember reading the forrest scene and how Pearl noticed that the sun follows her but not her mother because Pearl has yet to sin. That Pearl is just a child without any worries or sadness, just how she had stated.
-Kelly Thornock
I agree with Kelly about Dimmesdale not being a coward. If he would have shared his sin in the beginning it would have been taking the easy way out. instead, he suffers for his people. He is looked up to and idolized, to speak his horrible sin would break people's faith, so he keeps it to himself and suffers the consequences.
DeleteSee what I really found interesting was the whole situation when Hester was being questioned on the podium and then Dimmesdale and how he was questioning her. He was asking her who was it that she committed adultery with and it was him the whole time. I just feel that its kind of sadistic or something to mess with her like that while she's standing there holding his kid.
ReplyDeleteSomething I wish we could have talked about would have been the scene where Hester was in the prison and Chillingsworth walks in as the medical expert and then they have an intimate conversation regarding their pasts and him trying to get who it was she did this with out of her.
-Kayden Warren
Sadistic was a very good word for this scene. I was also interested in the fact that Dimmesdale had talked about her adultery right then and there. I felt that she was already humiliated enough and he should've saved it for another time. He knew she was being shamed and so maybe this was a way for Dimmesdale to get back at her.
DeleteMorgan Lawrence
ReplyDelete-In the discussion, it was asked about Pearl and her relationship with the A. And I thought it was ironic that Pearl somewhat praised the A because she was the only one who didn't base her relationship with Hester upon the A. But near the end, the A did in fact represent something good, so all those people who hated Hester for the A changed their opinion on her, but Pearl's view of her has stayed constant though the whole novel. I wish that this was brought up in the discussion because I think it's important to see Pearl as more than just the "elf child".
Lissette Vaca :D
ReplyDeleteAlright, so in our discussion we talke about when DImmesdale revealed the "A" that was on his chest and i thought that was really interesting. The part about this that I find most interesting is the origin of this mark. Did this mark appear on his skin as a physical manifestation of the internal battle that is raging on within him, or did Dimmesdale inflict this scar upon his own skin because he believed that he deserved to have a mark Like Hester because he is just as guilty of this as she is? It could be that he caused the mark, however, he chooses not to show it which implies cowardice, which brings up the question of whether or not Dimmesdale is a coward for hiding his sin while Hester is outwardly showing it and being condemned and rejected by society.
One thing that i really wish we had discussed more in depth was whether or not Pearl was indeed a demon child or if she was a sort of saving grace for Hester.
okay bye guys :)))
That is a very interesting analysis of the unknown symbol Chillingworth saw that day and what Dimmesdale revealed to the town. I also question whether this "symbol" marked on him reflected the battle inside him or if he just put it there himself. Good Job Liz.(:
DeleteGood point Lissete. I had the same question when I read through that part.I also agree with you on how Dimmesdale shows cowardliness while Hester is being punished for something she didn't do alone. It however shows the bravery women have by how Hester goes about doing her daily chores, even though there is a society that rejects her.
Delete- Susana Cabrera Period 2
What I found interesting about this discussion was the fact that nobody gave they're opinion on why Hester was on the pedestal and not Dimmesdale. Many gave their opinion on why Dimmesdale didn't confess himself and what that made of him. Some said that this made Hester braver than him, but really Hester did not have a choice, she was forced to let everyone know because of her pregnancy. This could fit in the part that God did make men superior therefore he is giving Dimmesdale the choice to keep his secret or not.
ReplyDeleteI would have liked to hear the opinions of my classmates on the topic of Pearl thinking her father was the Black Man. That child sometimes convinced she really was a "demon-child".
I agree with Fernanda, that sure Hester had committed this big sin and everyone saw it right away, while Dimmesdale finally said the truth through guilt. Dimmesdale should have gone through the same treatment as Hester went through even if he is looked upon. Even if he is seen to be so great, he is still able to make a sin that impacted his life forever.
DeleteWell Hester is on the pedestal yes because of force and because everyone knows of her sin since she had Pearl. As for Dimmesdale no one knew he was the man at which Hester had an affair with so there is no one forcing him to go onto the pedestal. So I do agree with you but, I do not feel as though Hester is braver than Dimmesdale as she probably wouldnt have confessed her sins either until the guilt caught up with her like it did Dimmesdale.
DeleteKyra Espinoza
ReplyDeleteOne topic I found interesting was the debate over which punishment was more painful, Hester’s visible scarlet letter and the eyes brought upon it, or Mr. Dimmesdale’s hidden scarlet letter and his pain at his secret sin. I found it very interesting when comparing the two. On one side, Hester’s continuously evident mark of sin was constantly stared upon, and, in the beginning, constantly ridiculed upon and made an example of. She had to endure every person’s hate and disapproval of her sin. Whereas Mr. Dimmesdale’s pain and suffering was hidden. He alone had to endure this constant burden, and I believe that though he may have wanted to expose his sin, he tried desperately to hide it; and for that, he loathed himself. I believe that Mr. Dimmesdale’s punishment was worse that Hester’s, because enduring self-hate is so much harder that enduring hate from others.
I wish that we had discussed more about Pearl, I thought we were too brief on the topic. I’m still not quite sure whether she was more demonic or angelic than humanistic. Hawthorne describes her as resembling an “angel of judgment,--whose mission was to punish the sins of the rising generation.” Yet she is also described as an evil and merciless witch.
Taylore Cantu
ReplyDeleteDuring our sacratic seminar I thought it was interesting how some people thought that pearl was a devil child and how she wasn't a Puritan child. I agree that pearl wasn't a Puritan child at all because she wasn't she was a free spirit who needed to be wild and not stuck in a church learning the Puritan ways and about god. I honestly think pearl was Hester. She was wild and beautiful just like Hester before all of Hester's beauty was locked away behind the A. I think the A made Hester an entirely different person to everyone even to pearl for example when they're in the forest with Dimesdale and she lets her hair out from her bonnet, she's seen for who she really is pearl doesn't even know her own mother at all. But during the entire did we even really know who Hester was?
One topic that I would've liked to go into more detail with would have to be the Scarlet letter and what it represented to everyone since I think it meant many things threw the book besides what it really stood for.
Aliya khan
ReplyDeletein our sacratic seminar we disscussed if Dimmesdale was a coward or not. i personally dont think Dimmesdale was a coward, i beleive that Dimmesdale wanted to let the town know that he was the father of pearl. Dimmesdale wanted to tell the town, but only if Hester was okay with it. when he asks Hester to name the father in front of the entire town, hes asking Hester to let him tell the town. Dimmesdale has real feelings for hester and doesnt want to say anything that could hurt her anymore, which revealing Dimmesdale as the father would.
what wasnt very much disscussed was who is the "black man" some thought it was Roger Chillingsworth, like me, but some thought
First off, I have to say how much I loved this Socratic seminar! I enjoyed how much we discussed how Hester is. I admire how independent she is.Throughout the novel, Hawthorne explains her as so dull and hated and alone, but this is what spoke out to me. She is so radiant. Her beauty seems neverending. It is interesting to note that that even though she was criticized by everyone, she was loved and appreciated. She helped the poor and those who were less unfortunate; there was actually a point where the people thought she should just take off her scarlet letter, but of course, she never did. This idea of being so helpful and judged by everyone in a puritan community not only explains how closed minded the puritans were (Hawthorne must have done that comparison to puritans for a reason)but how this has an effect on people even today. It also might have explained how women were especially judged if they stood out from the rest of the crowd. People are always judged for helping others, thinking it's and odd or different to do. Dimmesdale to me was a coward and holding his sin in has made him hate himself and i feel we were meant to feel pity for him, but I just don't want to. Hawthorne centers around these adults who have this sin and involves Pearl so strangely. There were times where she was mentioned so angelic like by her actions but and then like a demon child for being Hester's daughter. This explains the Puritan beliefs, but I love to compare a child to an adult. A child is so innocent and young, with no regrets, this is why everyone seems to center around her beauty. Suddenly, Hester, an adult is scarred by this sin from her scarlet letter that both dimmesdale and her share. Unfortunately, I would have liked to talk about how the surroundings and timing of the book fit in with the story.
ReplyDelete-Maite Garcia
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOne topic discussed in our socratic seminar was whether or not Dimmesdale was a coward. Personally, I find Dimmesdale not to be a coward. I believe that since the very beginning he wanted to tell the town, to tell everyone, that he was indeed the sinner he knew he was at heart. When Hester first stood on the scaffold, looking out over the crowd, we thought she was alone. However, she never was alone because Dimmesdale was standing in view of her and begging her, I believe, to let the town know and let his secret out. When he was questioning her who the father was I truly believe that he was trying to secretly tell her to give him up. He wanted to endure her pain and live right there with her, but he just didn't have the strength to admit the truth himself. In this way, some may consider Dimmesdale a coward, but I believe him not to be one. I think that instead of actually not having the strength to tell, he was giving Hester the option of whether or not she wanted him to be by her side in the long run. In the end, however, I believe that Dimmesdale suffered more pain than Hester did.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Dani. I believe Dimmesdale is not a coward and that he suffered more than Hester. Although she was punished upon the scaffold, he had to live everyday after that with the guilt of his sin. Hester's sin had already been revealed and all she had to live with was regret. But Dimmesdale couldn't find a way to tell the town about his sin, although he wanted to. I agree with you that he was secretly telling her to give him up when she was on the scaffold because he didn't have the strength to do it himself, being the guy he was made out to be.
DeleteI agree with the first part of what you are saying. Your comment is just too long and I got bored and stopped reading. Keep up the good work.(:
DeleteHa, whoops, forgot to mention a topic that I think should've been brought up. Ok well one topic that I definitely would've wanted to talk more about (since technically it was brought up a tiny bit)during the seminar was what exactly the "scarlet letter" represented. I would've wanted to go into more detail about how some people think that there is a scarlet letter in all of us and that at some point, maybe when you admit the truth, it is set free. Or maybe that it slowly burns its way to the outside of your soul and exposes you for who you really are. I just thought that would be really interesting to talk about again.
ReplyDeleteAidan Turnley
ReplyDeleteI don't have a topic that I wished was brought up.....but I wish that we would have went more in depth on what the scarlett letter meant and the thoughts on what people saw on Dimmesdale's chest because I don;t think anyone saw anything at all they just think they did based on his confession.
Pablo Munoz
ReplyDeleteThe topic i was more focused into was Dimmesdale and how he was either the brave proganist or the coward proganist in the book. But i thought he was more coward because he could have just stand up for what he had done, to the townspeople ,at the scaffold when Hester had to deal with her punishment. And all that time between those seven years, was he just there to think about it while he dealt with the pain of the sin. He could have just stand up for him, Hester, and Pearl. The other topic i wanted to have some discussion in it was those historical events that were in the scarlet letter a couple times, and if the events had some sort of repesentaion in the book.
The main topic of the discussion seemed to be that of whether or not Dimmesdale was a coward. I believe that he was a coward because the only reason he refused to reveal himself as Pearl's father was that he didn't want to tarnish his image as a saint-like priest. I wish that we could have talked more about the hidden meaning behind Pearl's name. I took it to mean that, in this horrible situation that everyone is going through, Pearl is the one amazing gift that Hester can take away from it.
ReplyDeleteAlex Meyer
ReplyDeleteTo start off with I'd like to say that I enjoyed the discussion we had and felt it was a major improvement from the last seminar, which seemed to bring up new topics without actually using information. This time we did a lot better of a job of staying on topic and especially with supporting our claims with evidence. I agreed with the majority of the things discussed as well, which leads me to believe i got a very good understanding of the novel. One thing i do not agree with whatsoever is the thought that Dimmesdale was portrayed to have any strength in the novel whatsoever. The only reason he continues to live is because he is afraid of what the people will think if he doesnt finish out his duty as a pastor. When this is done at the end of the book with his final and greatest sermon, Hester literally carries him so that he can finally come to terms upon the scaffold. Yet even then he does not fully admit his sin, his vagueness is meant to let the people believe he was an even greater man than they had thought before. To me, it's quite pitiable actually.
Rosa Alcazar
ReplyDeleteIn the discussion it was mentioned Mr. Chillingworth was demonic but I believe he was just a good man who had a big ego. He could not deal with the fact someone had cheated on him since he was a wealthy scholar. I believe anyone would have thought of doing the same thing at the moment especially since Mr. Dimmesdale is held at such a high pedestal but the only difference is Mr. Chillingworth actually had the guts to do it. Some people would believe it to be sad that Chillingworth to give up his life to pursue a life ling task of ruining someone, but in my opinion it was more sad that the people living in the village did not ask for any proof of Chillingwoth being apt to care for their idol. I found these people to be very ignorant and somewhat like sheep. This is where the book alludes to the Bible Dimmesdale being the Shepard guiding the ignorant sheep which would be lost without him. I think the reason the people of the community would not see Dimmesdale for who he really was even though everything was right in front of them was because they didn’t want to lose hope that there was a God. By accepting Dimmesdale was a sinner they would admit the only holy thing they were made to believe existed on the earth was a sinner worse than themselves then they would start to question everything else they believe in. All the questions that would rise would bring extreme change and since people don’t enjoy change the people of the community preferred to stay ignorant. A topic I wish would have been brought up would be how Chillingworth left land and money to Pearl. I wonder if he was trying to do something honorable since Pearl was not even his child and he still made sure she would be well off when he was dead or if he just felt guilty for taking away Pearl’s father, and trying to gain an entrance in heaven.
Something i really enjoyed from the discussion was why Pearl is the way she is. From a small way everyone did treat Pearl differently, and called her the "demon-child," and she was described as an elf, however she did have a very curious nature. For example, her always constantly asking Hester what the A was for. Pearl was also quite intelligent as she knew her mom was different from everyone else.
ReplyDeleteSomething I wish would've been more discussed was what the Scarlet Letter really meant to each person. It was definitely a different definition for each character.
September De Soto :)))
The main thing I engaged in when it came to the discussion was what Pearl was placed into Hester's life to represent and how she felt about the Dimmesdale vs Hester situation. I don't think that Pearl was put to symbolize Hester's sin and to torment her every day as much as I think she represented the good in Hester, almost as if she was placed to help remind Hester that she can move on from this sin and carry on to teach Pearl. There was still hope for Pearl, she wasn't dammed to hell because of Hester's sin and I believe that the fact that she was so quirky and strange caused the people to believe it was based on her being a symbol of sin when she was just acting odd because all eyes were on her and her mom since the time she was born. As to how Pearl reacted to Dimmesdale, I think she just wanted to understand. I believe she was just confused as to why every meeting they were involved in having to do with Dimmesdale was private and why it was as though he didn't even know her when it came to public affairs.
ReplyDeleteI wish that we discussed how Pearl thought of Chillingsworth as well, I'd like to hear the thoughts on how people perceived how she might have thought of him.
-LeAnn Brown
The main thing I engaged in when it came to the discussion was what Pearl was placed into Hester's life to represent and how she felt about the Dimmesdale vs Hester situation. I don't think that Pearl was put to symbolize Hester's sin and to torment her every day as much as I think she represented the good in Hester, almost as if she was placed to help remind Hester that she can move on from this sin and carry on to teach Pearl. There was still hope for Pearl, she wasn't dammed to hell because of Hester's sin and I believe that the fact that she was so quirky and strange caused the people to believe it was based on her being a symbol of sin when she was just acting odd because all eyes were on her and her mom since the time she was born. As to how Pearl reacted to Dimmesdale, I think she just wanted to understand. I believe she was just confused as to why every meeting they were involved in having to do with Dimmesdale was private and why it was as though he didn't even know her when it came to public affairs.
ReplyDeleteI wish that we discussed how Pearl thought of Chillingsworth as well, I'd like to hear the thoughts on how people perceived how she might have thought of him.
-LeAnn Brown
The main thing I engaged in when it came to the discussion was what Pearl was placed into Hester's life to represent and how she felt about the Dimmesdale vs Hester situation. I don't think that Pearl was put to symbolize Hester's sin and to torment her every day as much as I think she represented the good in Hester, almost as if she was placed to help remind Hester that she can move on from this sin and carry on to teach Pearl. There was still hope for Pearl, she wasn't dammed to hell because of Hester's sin and I believe that the fact that she was so quirky and strange caused the people to believe it was based on her being a symbol of sin when she was just acting odd because all eyes were on her and her mom since the time she was born. As to how Pearl reacted to Dimmesdale, I think she just wanted to understand. I believe she was just confused as to why every meeting they were involved in having to do with Dimmesdale was private and why it was as though he didn't even know her when it came to public affairs.
ReplyDeleteI wish that we discussed how Pearl thought of Chillingsworth as well, I'd like to hear the thoughts on how people perceived how she might have thought of him.
-LeAnn Brown