The first chapter is mostly about describing the setting in the story which is the outside of a prison. Outside of the prison there is a crowd of people standing in front of the door waiting for someone to come out. I think the way the scene was described was depressing because even in the first sentence of the chapter it says "A throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments and gray, steeple-crowned hats,intermixed with women, some wearing hoods, and others bareheaded, was assembled in front of a wooden edifice , the door of which was heavily timbered with oak and studded with iron spikes." ( Hawthorne 45). The author describes that people were wearing sad-colored garments which obviously shows that not only is the scene depressing but so are the people. By the end of the chapter the author talks about a rosebush which is outside of the prison. I think the rosebush may be important because it could be a foreshadowing of something that will happen later in the story. The author says "It 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." (Hawthorne 46) The quote supports the fact that the rosebush may have some kind of foreshadow or symbolism.
In the second chapter Hester Prynne comes out of the prison holding a baby. As she walks down the market place I kind of felt bad for her because people are staring at her and making bad comments about her. The way people reacted to her committing adultery is very different from the way people would react today. So I felt sorry for her that the locals did not mind their own business and made her the center of attention because of her wrongdoing. "Reminiscences, the most trifling and immaterial, passages of infancy and schooldays, sports, childish quarrels, and the little domestic traits of her maiden years, came swarming back upon her..." (Hawthorne 56) As Hester starts to think about her past she seems more relatable and I started to realize she was really just a regular person who happened to make mistake. At the end of the chapter Hester starts to realize her own reality and does not want to believe what is actually happening to her. She is in disbelief of the shame she has after reminiscing about how good her life used to be.
In the beginning of chapter three while Hester is on the scaffold she sees a man dressed as a Native American and then the author says "When he found the eyes of Hester Prynne fastened on his own, and saw that she appeared to recognize him, he slowly and calmly raised his finger, made a gesture with it in the air and laid it on his lips." (Hawthorne 58) Clearly these two characters know each other, but what I'm curious about is why the man is not revealing who he is and why he is wearing a disguise. From what I read it looks like he is trying to hide any kind of evidence that shows he knows Hester and has a past with her but eventually I think this character will play a big part in the story as it goes on.
I felt bad for her too when everyone was talking bad about her, but in my opinion it did not seem like it mattered that much to her. I think people were so not used to affairs and stuff like that happening, that when it did happen, they thought the person should be punished for the rest of her life. I have to keep the time frame that it was set in, in mind while reading this story.
ReplyDeleteI never connected the "sad-colored garments" to the people before, that's a really interesting point. It really describes the mindset of the people. You could possibly event connect that to Hester's Scarlett letter. The letter is described as beautifully embroidered, and compared to the way all the people's clothes are described its yet another way that Hester sticks out. (Obviously other that the fact that she is wearing the A at all.)
ReplyDeleteYeah the color of the garments was a very good pick up. As I read I was getting this dull and depressing tone in my mind but did not realize it may have been contributed by the colors. Also the rosebush had been something that interested me because like a rosebush is spikey from the beggining of the stem to the the top, I think it could symbolize most of the story. At the end of the stem is the rose which represents beauty or elegance which i think may represent our conclusion to the story. As far as everything else I pretty much felt the same way.
ReplyDeleteNice start Rita. Continue to make personal connections to the literature and nice job with the quotes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything you said. I think that the rosebush will later on symbolize the hope of Hester, and whether it will wilt or continue to grow stronger, in comparison to Hester's character. Chapter two really does show how strong she is, and she doesn't seem ashamed by her mistake, but only that she was ashamed to be ashamed(hope that makes sense,) and she doesn't have a reason to be. Everybody makes mistakes, and none of these people have a right to judge her. I feel like the strange man and the Indian somehow know what happened to Hester, but we will find out later I guess!
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