The Minister's Vigil

"She silently ascended the steps, and stood on the platform, holding little Pearl by the hand. The minister felt for the child's other hand, and took it. The moment that he did so, there came what seemed a tumultuous rush of new life, other life than his own, pouring like a torrent into his heart, and hurrying through all his veins, so if the mother and the child were communicating their vital warmth to his half-torpid system. The three formed an electric chain."

I found this line to be important because it is the first time that we are seeing Hester, Dimmsdale and Pearl all together. It stood out to me because when they were all standing up there on the platform it said that Dimmsdale felt that Hester and Pearl were making him feel alive again, so maybe his sickness is more guilt than anything else. At this point I was also wondering a few things. I'm not sure if they have already told us in the story, but does Pearl knows that Dimmsdale is her father or does she still not know?  Also what made Hester want to go up onto the platform with Dimmsdale? Was it to benefit herself too in some way or was it just for him?

Venerable

Venerable: He is a venerable father in the church.

the Interior of a Heart

I don't know who is really supposed to be blogging tonight, so I really wouldn't be offended if not everyone commented/this is super late again...


"There were others, again, true saintly fathers, whose faculties had been elaborated by weary toil among their books, and by patient thought, and etherealized, moreover, by spiritual communications with the better world, into which their purity of life had almost introduced these holy personages, with their garments of morality still clinging to them" (128).  I just found this interesting because of the fact that the word faculties came up again.

"It was his genuine impulse to adore the truth, and to reckon all things shadow-like, and utterly devoid of weight or value, that had not its divine essence as the life within their life.  Then, what was he? - a substance? - or the dimmest of all shadows?  He longed to speak out, from his own pulpit, at the full height of his voice, and tell the people what he was" (129).  I found this interesting, but also a little bit confusing.  I find it interesting, yet sad how conflicted Mr. Dimmesdale is, part of him wanting to come clean, another part wanting to cover himself and tell no one at all.  I just don't get why he doesn't come out and tell everyone the truth.  It seems to have gotten to the point where this secret is just eating him from the inside out, yet he still won't come clean.  Is there a reason for this that I missed or is everyone else wondering this too?

Imperious

Dwight Schrute is imperious as he gives himself titles such as "Assistant Regional Manager" and tries to boss around his co-workers

Ignominous

The boy's ignominious exposure was a result of the girl pointing and laughing at him. (Page 106)

Pearl = Scarlet Figure

"The Governor, in advance of his visitors, ascended one or two steps, and, throwing open the leaves of the great hall-window, found himself close to little Pearl... 'What have we here?' said Governor Bellingham, looking with surprise at the scarlet little figure before him" (98, in The Elf-Child and the Minister).  I found this line very interesting and almost suspenseful, because at first I had no idea what the phrase "scarlet little figure before him" was referring to.  At first, I thought it was just going to be Hester's scarlet letter, just laying alone on the floor.  When the paragraph continues and reveals that the "scarlet little figure" is referring to Pearl, and how red her face gets when she is most likely just blushing.  I thought the choice of words was just interesting, how the whole book is about Hester and the scarlet letter, and the Governor happens to describe Pearl as scarlet, the same as her mother's letter.  Does the Governor do this on purpose, in a way shunning Pearl because he actually knows who she is and is saying she is scarlet, saying how she is in a way, another scarlet letter that Hester must carry with her at all times?

My Area of interest was with the appearance of our characters and how they are looked at by their peers. The superior peers of the town change their minds about the Pearl and "the Leech". In the beginning, the elders were close to separating Pearl and Hester but by the end of the chapter they say, "Even thus early had the child saved her from Satan's snare" (105). People look down on Pearl in the beginning but can so easily change their minds about her as well. The town does the same with Chillingworth. At the beginning when he shows up to town, people value the foreign doctors opinion bur by the end of the chapter people are calling Chillingworth Satan himself. "To sum up the matter... Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, like many other personages.... was haunted either by Satan himself, or SAtan's emissary, in the guise of old Roger Chillingworth" (115) The peers in the town changed their opinions very fast about Pearl and Chillingworth so what interests me is if they are going to find out the connection between Hester Prynne, Pearl, and Chillingworth (Mr. Prynne). If they do what will the consequences be? They have already changed their opinion of that family so many times, what will happen if they find out the truth?  

Hester's Shame

"She could no longer brow from the future, to help her through the present grief. To-morrow would bring its own trial with it; so would the next day, and so would the next; each its own trial" (71). This quote caught my attention when reading because it showed how Hester felt miserable and believed that the rest of her life was going to worse and that each day would be filled with a different grief. Although Hester still had her new born child, it seemed of little reassurance to Hester that she still had someone close to her who she could love. Hester also feels incredibly isolated and alone with no one to understand her.  

VAP word: Sojourn (pg.56)

Late at night she sojourned to a nearby hotel for she was getting tired after driving for so long.

Matt's Scarlet Letter quote response

"Hester Prynne had been standing on her pedestal,still with a fixed gaze towards the stranger; so fixed a gaze,that, at moments of intense absorption, all other objects in the visible world seemed to vanish, leaving only him and her"(57).  The reason I found this quote interesting was because when Hester was being stared at everything seemed to stop.  her eyes were affixed on one person amongst a huge crowd.  The letter on her shirt and the infant in her arms proved to be assurance of all her wrong doings. This is a very unique situation because Hester felt safe in this situation.  All of the people between her and the man provided a barrier.

Throng, Edifice

The throng of people protesting in the town square grew and grew, until there were people packed in every inch of the town.

The edifice loomed eerily in the distance, the large building's shadow cast a gloomy darkness on the town.  

Hawthorne Vs. The Puritans

Hawthorne being a very strong believer in Romanticism, has much different beliefs than the Puritans. The Romantics believed in individualism. The Puritans however believed that God has already chosen your fate in whether you are going to Heaven or Hell and that you life is just time to prepare for the after life.

Romantics (vs. the Puritans)

The Romantics was from 1830-1870(ish)
They focused on intution, imagination, individualism, and nature.  Nature was their inspiration, the past was their wisdom, and the common man is their hero.  The Romantics wanted to embrace the spiritual root that was planted by the Purtians, and combine it with nature (the Romantics find God in nature).  The Puritans wanted nothing to do with this, they repented this idea and believed that nature was savage.

Hawthorne would have felt the same way all the Romantics felt about the Puritans.  They completely clashed ideas.  The Puritans believed that no matter what you did throughout your lifetime, it was predetermined whether you were going to Heaven, or to Hell and that was God's choice to make.  However, since Hawthorne and the Romantics deeply believed in individualism, they most likely did not agree with God deciding where you were headed after death.  Even the basic beliefs of the Purtians and Romantics were conflicting, because the Puritans believed in God and promoting their religion, while the Romantics stressed on imagination.

Hawthore and the Puritans

Explore how Hawthorne (super Romantic) would feel about the Puritans based on what you learned today. 

Hawthorne would not agree with the Puritans.  He would not have the same ideas that they so because he believed in individualism, imagination and intuition. These beliefs were the opposite of what the puritans believed in. Instead the puritans focused on how God had a predetermined fate for you, before you were born, and that there wasn't anything that you could do in your life to change that. This caused the puritans to obsess about anything that they did,not knowing whether you were going to heaven or hell. These two beliefs contradict one another because one is saying to be your own person and the other is forcing you to do what everyone else is doing. 

Hawthorn and Puritan beliefs

Explore how Hawthorne (super romantic) would feel about the Puritan based on what you learned today.

Hawthorn would not agree with the Puritan beliefs. Hawthorn believes in the ideas of intuition, imagination, and individualism. The romantics were based on individuals expressing themselves as an individual person rather than a group of people following the same beliefs. This conflicts with the Puritan beliefs because they believed that god determined your fate before the individual was born an there was no way to change whether you were going to hell or heaven. Even if an individual lived their life doing good deeds, if god decided they were going to hell, that is where they would go. Hawthorn wouldn't agree with this because as an individual you determine your own fate, while god determined what lies in the fate of the Puritans.

Puritans VS. Romantics

Hawthorne would have went against Puritans beliefs because they were very religious, trying to promote their religion and lived life based around their one religion. Puritans also worried over if they were going to heaven or hell based on their decision making. While Romantics believe in a life based around individualism, imagination, inspiration and freedom.

Degenerate

Seymour degenerated into a creepy pedophile as a result of coming back from the war with nobody to understand him but a two year old girl.

Romanticism can be seen as a rejection of the precepts of 
order
calm
harmony
balance
idealization
rationality 

The whole idea of Romanticism was to be free and live your own life the way you want to
Hawthorne, being a Romanticist, would have despised the Puritans as their beliefs focused around order and stress over if one will remain the after life in heaven or hell because of every decision and choice they make

Romantic Literature
-A movement where literature focused on intuition,imagination, and individualism.
-Nature was seen as a from of inspiration
-invoked the past for wisdom
-Seeing the common man as a hero
Dark Romantics
-human frailty
-fallibility
-focused on the predestination nature of the human mind towards mental illness.

Intrinsic

The puzzle pieces were intrinsic, they belonged together naturally.

Gregarious

My mother wants me to be more gregarious when we have family reunions, but they are a bit too talkative for me.