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?
The English Dork Club: A real-time ongoing conversation for Readers, Writers, Thinkers, and Discussers in English 4
I agree with your point Madi. I also don't understand why if Dimmsdale feels so much guilt wouldn't he want to come clean? Wouldn't telling everyone the truth make him feel better and he wouldn't constantly have to worry about people finding out? It seems like the only way that his problem is going to get better is if he tells the truth, but for some reason he is choosing not to.
ReplyDeleteI think that this is a very good point. When you feel guilty about something you are usually conflicted on what to do or say. This can result in a changing mindset that results in sometimes coming clean and sometimes trying to lie your way out of the problem. Maybe he is afraid to tell the truth because he is afraid of what the townspeople will think of him.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Matt. As a class when we wrote out our letters and showed them to each other we were scared of what others were going to think. We wondered if people would find out what the letter stood for and how they would react. Dimmesdale could have been having a very similar experience. He wasn't sure how the townspeople would react. Obviously the reaction cannot be positive but he wasn't sure, of course the townspeople will question their leader if he is a hypocrite and as much of sinner as Hester.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point Madi. I am confused why Arthur Dimmesdale's doesn't come out clean and admit to everyone what he had done. Instead Mr. Dimmesdale decides to let the guilt continuously stay inside of him and make him feel worse by not coming out of the truth. Although he is afraid of how the townspeople would judge him, he wouldn't be judged by Hester and Pearl, and he would finally be able to go against what he believed and stop hiding behind the puritans townspeople's belifs and ideologies.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your question about why he wouldn't come clean if it would make everything better. I wonder if there is a reason we do not know about for not telling. Also i found the quote interesting you picked Madi because it talked about shadows. I don't remember which chapter it was in but it talked about Hester being in the shadow and eventually being in the light. I think the darkness of the shadow could be related to how they feel about the secret of who the baby daddy is.
ReplyDeleteGreat to read about that
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