The Outside Appearance

In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mr. Dimmesdale makes the statement, “So, to their own unutterable torment, they go about among their fellow-creatures, looking pure as new-fallen snow; while their hearts are all speckled and spotted with iniquity of which they cannot rid themselves.” Mr. Dimmesdale made this statement while he and Roger Chillingworth were discussing the possible cause of his illness. Dimmesdale thought that the reason he was sick was because of the sins hidden deep in his heart. He really wanted to confess the sin but since he was the reverend and was revered by the people he felt like he could not. Even when he tried to open his mouth and let the words pour out, nothing would come. So, Reverend Dimmesdale lived with a secret hidden in his heart that made his life miserable and caused him physical illness.

When Mr. Dimmesdale said this, he was referring to the deep sins and secrets that people can hide within their hearts without anyone knowing it. People can live having the appearance of being pure while their hearts are defiled with great wickedness. This statement is important to the whole story because there are many characters within the story that all appear one way on the outside but on the inside they are completely different. Mr. Dimmesdale was the reverend who people thought of as pure and righteous but he had hidden in his heart a sin worthy of death. He was an adulterer and yet on the outside people viewed him as being so holy that the ground on which his feet walked was considered holy. Roger Chillingworth also appeared to be a normal physician who was new to the town, but in actuality, he was Hester Prynne’s former husband. No one could tell that Roger even knew Hester but he had the secret hidden in his heart. These are just two of the characters from the story that have hidden secrets that the reader knows of. Based on the quote stated above, one cannot know the things hidden in a person’s heart. A person cannot be defined by what they appear to be on the outside. Who knows, there could be many other characters in The Scarlet Letter who have secrets that are unknown to the reader just like the ones stated above.

Pearl brings happiness and torture

In the book The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne makes the statement, “She is my happiness!-she is my torture, none the less! Pearl keeps me here in life! Pearl punishes me too!”(98) When Hester said this, she was referring to the range of emotions that her daughter, Pearl, brings to her life. Although Hester loves to watch Pearl play and have fun in pure innocence, Pearl is also a constant reminder of the sin and adultery that Hester committed. Although Pearl causes so much grief and torture to her mother, Hester could not live without her daughter; Pearl is her everything.
This quote is significant in understanding the character of Hester Prynne. Hester is very ashamed of what she did and is constantly faced with the guilt of it. It is bad enough that there is a constant reminder of her fall embroidered on her clothing, but Pearl is a living reminder that can look her mother in the eyes and pierce her to the heart. Hester viewed Pearl as a wonderful blessing from God as well as a type of punishment for her sin. She loved her Pearl dearly but it hurt her to see that she had bore a child into a disgraceful place in life.
It was a lose-lose situation for the officials who wanted to take Pearl from Hester’s guidance. If they took Pearl away, Hester would be very upset as it would be a form of punishment. However, when Pearl was with Hester, the punishment was just as harsh. It is very important to see that because of Hester’s sin, the greatest thing in her life also turns out to be the most terrifying. I personally believe that Pearl was the greatest punishment that Hester would ever receive, but without Pearl in Hester’s life, she probably would not make it through.

Quote from chapter 5 of The Scarlet Letter

In the book The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the statement is made, “Women derive a pleasure, incomprehensible to the other sex, from the delicate toil of the needle.” (78) The chapter in which this statement can be found describes Hester Prynne’s love for the art of needlework. It is explained that Hester makes a living by doing needle work on many cloths and robes etc. for many people in the town by which she lived. It is also implied that she is very good at needle work and made some beautiful clothing. The quote stated above describes how women find a sense of peace and pleasure from working with needles.
I think this quote is basically saying that although working with needles can be a very tedious and maybe even frustrating job, women find pleasure in it. The quote also mentions that this concept cannot be understood by men. Therefore, the tedious job of needlework is not a pleasurable job in general, but is only pleasurable for women. I think the reason that women appreciate and enjoy needlework is because women appreciate clothing and their appearance more than men do in most cases. It is enjoyable for women because by hand crafting materials together and making designs on clothing they are playing a part in creating the beauty of clothing and adornment.
This quote is significant to this book because it describes a way in which Hester can get some kind of relief from all the guilt and shame that terrorizes her. Although while she was on the pedestal she appeared to be almost unaffected by the scarlet letter of shame on her garment, it burned to the depths of her heart and her shame and guilt grew stronger every day. The needlework which occupied much of her lonely life gave her a sense of joy. It seems like Hester almost feels guilty for being able to do the needlework because she doesn’t think that she deserves to enjoy anything anymore. I think that the needle work that she does will play a big role in helping her cope and get through life.

Scarlet Letter

In the article, “The Status and Role of Women,” found in the book The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the role that women play in society is discussed. This article includes four different documentary excerpts that give an overview of where women ranked socially and what role they played in society. A common theme throughout all of the excerpts was that in America, women are considered equal with men in everything. It is very interesting how the role of women in society has changed over time.
In Biblical times, women did not take part in society as much as the men did. They were quiet in church, and stayed home to take care of things rather than participate in work. For a long time women were just supposed to stay home while the husband provided support for the family. Women also did not have much of a say in political issues or in the government. In the early 1900’s women finally earned the right to vote. They had gone hundreds of years having no say in the government and finally they had moved up one more step in society. More recently I have noticed more and more women involved in jobs like construction work and semi truck driving which are jobs intended to be for men. This shows that the line socially separating men from women has become less and less distinct over time. There have also been a lot more women involved in government and political affairs. The most recent example that comes to mind is Hillary Clinton running for president. It was a huge deal for a woman to even attempt to be placed in such a big leadership role in America, but at the same time, it was okay. Women have risen higher socially compared to men over the last one hundred years.
I think it is good that women have proved themselves capable of doing the things that only men have done for so long. I sometimes get offended when people make sexist comments that make women seem inferior to men. The way I look at it, there are certain things that are only for women and certain things that are only for men. Things like hard labor, tough jobs and dangerous jobs are typically things that fit the genetic make-up and capabilities of men. Women should not feel like they have to do these “manly jobs” to simply prove that they can. Women and men were made differently and are good at different things. I do believe that men and women are equal but on different levels. Men are better at tough physical jobs while women are better at things such as bearing children and taking care of household things. Just because it may seem like the jobs that men have are the more important ones to society, without women around to do the things they are good at, things would probably be very hectic.

"Adultery"

In the book “The Scarlet Letter,” by Nathaniel Hawthore, there is a section that discusses adultery laws in the colonies of Massachusetts Bay and New Plymouth in the 1600’s. All of the laws that were created stated that adultery is punishable by death. Although the law stated that an adulterer should be put to death, many times people got away with being whipped severely and being banished from that colony. Today, death as a punishment seems so harsh and unrealistic. In the 1600’s, people held more firmly to the law of God which states that adulterers should be put to death. So what has happened over time that makes adultery much less of a deal than it was 400 years ago? Is it right to be more lenient now or should adulterers be put to death even today?
Today, adultery isn’t such a huge deal. If a spouse is caught having an affair, usually the married couple ends up getting a divorce and that’s it; there is no punishment by law on the adulterer. As soon as I started reading this passage, I thought of the situation that Tiger Woods recently found himself in. He had an affair with more than ten women and no punishment was given to him except humiliation from the media and possible separation from his wife. I don’t even think it crossed anyone’s mind that he should be put to death for such an act. However, if this were the 1600’s, Tiger Woods would be on trial and possibly be sentenced to death.
Although I do not think that anyone should be killed for committing adultery, I think it should be punished by law somehow. When a man and a woman get married, it is a legal covenant between the two where they promise to be faithful to one another. When one of the two breaks that covenant by committing adultery, it is almost like breaking a law since marriage is a legal thing. Society has compromised many standards and laws over the years including whether or not adultery is a big deal. I do not think it is right and I believe there should be some sort of legal punishment for the act.

“Surfin’ the Louvre”

In the writing “Surfin’ the Louvre” Elizabeth Larsen describes her experience with online museum websites. She talked about how she experienced many different paintings and sculptures from many different museums all over the world. Throughout the writing Larsen takes the reader on a tour of three or four different museums starting in Italy and going all the way to Japan. She also mentioned the fact that she does not require every symphony she listens to, to be live. This made me ask, “Is it more beneficial to physically experience a museum, or are online exhibits just the same as seeing them in person?” I believe that it is more beneficial to actually experience a museum in person rather than online.
Larsen makes a good point by describing the vast majority of museums she visited in a short amount of time. By visiting the museums online, she could go to many different exhibits that are hundreds of miles away from each other within a few minutes. I think that it is important to actually visit museums in person. There are many things that a simple picture or video on a website cannot capture that one could see in person. There are many different angles and ways to look at art and with a picture they cannot all be captured. Also artwork has texture and color. With a picture a person cannot fully grasp the whole experience of a piece of art (angles, texture and color) like one could looking at the artwork live.
Although experiencing artwork in person is far better, one does not always have the opportunity to go to many different museums to experience it all. It is good that museum websites have updated and are allowing people to view the work online and get that much of an experience. It is also convenient to be able to go to more than just one museum in a day online. If a person was given the choice between actually visiting a museum and going online, it would benefit them more by going. Seeing a piece of art live is a completely different experience than viewing the work online.

"Coming Home"

The writing “Coming Home” found in the book “The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers” on page 259 describes a sad war story of one man who became a prisoner of war for six years. This man, named Robert Stirm, was finally reunited with his family after spending six years in a North Vietnamese prison camp. The article discusses a photo taken by a nearby journalist and how the photo captures the awesome moment when this man and his family were reunited. However, toward the end of the writing it is stated that this man and his wife ended up getting a divorce a year later. It makes me wonder if the war was a main cause for this divorce. Since the wife could not see her husband for such a long time their relationship grew farther apart and caused a divorce. War can have a negative effect on families.

The concept of war never really made sense to me. Countries fight with each other in order to get on peaceful terms with one another. This is at least the way most countries make it appear. I think the reason for war is selfish. One country wants to be better than the other so they try to prove that by trying to kill more of the opposing country. When government leaders declare war, I wonder if they think about families of the soldiers and how they might be affected. It is important for them to be concerned about the country as a whole, but families and citizens are what make up a country. If war is destroying and tearing apart families, is that bettering the country? In a lot of cases war may not affect a family as bad as it did the Stirn family, but it still makes it hard for families to grow together if one member is gone at war for years. I understand that countries have to defend themselves and sometimes war is the only option. When a country just decides to go to war for no good reason, it is selfish, ignorant, and it tears apart families.