Scarlett Letter pg. 49

Entry 5 

'the door of the jail being flung open from within, there appeared, in the first place, like a black shadow emerging into the sunshine, the grim and grisly presence of the town-beadle, with a sword by his side ad his staff of office in his hand.' 

'stretching forth the official staff in his left hand, he laid his right upon the shoulder of a young woman, whom he thus drew forward; until, on the threshold of the prison-door, she repelled him, by an action marked with natural dignity'

Living in this community is like being in jail; everyone is the same and no one is independent. Everyone has thoughts, looks, and beliefs that are the same. I think the town-crier in this case is like the Grim Reaper. He's taking her away from the jail to a society full of judgement and accusations. Living in a jail cell is better than living or trying to live there.

The Grim Reaper is a personification of death. From the 15th century onwards, came to be shown as a skeletal figure carrying a large scythe and clothed in a black cloak with a hood. It's thought the Grim Reaper is able to actually cause the victim's death, or sometimes serve to sever the last ties between the soul and the body and to guide the deceased to the next world without having any control over the fact of the victim's death.

The Scarlett Letter pg 50-51

Entry 4

'on the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A. It was so artistically done.... had all the effect of a last and fitting decoration to the apparel which she wore.' 

'Her attire, which, indeed, she had wrought for the occasion, in prison, and had modeled much after her own fancy, seemed to express the attitude of her spirit, the desperate recklessness of her mood, by its wild and picturesque peculiarity.'

The letter A symbolizes the wildness of her character which refers back to the wild rose which is also red like the letter. The wild roses that surrounds and somewhat refurbishes the decaying jail is one of the first things they see as they enter. The letter A is the one of the first things people notice when Hester Prynne walks towards the crowd. 

The Scarlett Letter pg 47

Entry 3

'antinomian, a quaker, or other heterodox religionists, was to be scourged out of the town, or an idle of vagrant indians, whom the white man's fire-water had made riotous about the streets, was to be driven with stripes into the shadow of the forest. It might be, too, that a witch, like old Mistress Hibbins, the bitter-tempered widow of the magistrate, was to die upon the gallows. 

Antinomian; a form of religious enthusiasm that frees the individual from control of the moral or civil law (man-made law) because he has surrendered to God's law. Anne Hutchinson is an example. 

Mistress Hibbins: She was accused of being a witch but though the jury found her guilty, the magistrates refused to accept the verdict. Her case went to the Grand Court and was condemned and hanged. 

Witch: a woman thought to have evil magic powers.

Indian: the indigenous people of America. 

What do these four things have in common? Indians and Mistress Hibbins (witch) are outsiders to their community. They're antinomian to their governments religion, and instead believe what they think is right. 

Mistress Hibbins being an allusion to a witch, is compared to Hester Prynne who was accused of adultery. 

The Indians are what connects punishments to the 'outsiders' to the 'wrong doers' which proves that once you sinned you were an outcast to society. 

Witches and Indians both relate back to nature whereas witches were in tune with the forces of nature and performed rituals or casted spells there. Indians home land was in nature where they respected the land they lived on. 

The Puritans had their own ideas of life and didn't agree with anything different. The people who were Antinomians who have 'surrendered to god's law' didn't necessarily know god's law, but had an idea of the 'nature' of it depending what they saw in the world. 

9/21/10

Obtuse: Adj: Anna is obtuse and likes to argue even though she's unknowingly wrong.

Adroit: Adj: The adroit basketball player recieved a scholarship to UConn.

Deleterious: Adj: Fielding is deleterious to my health.

Scarlett Letter Questions

What colony is the setting for the novel?

Boston Massachusetts 

Where in the colony does the opening chapter take place?

At an aged worn out prison located on a burial ground. 

For what 2 “practical necessities” did the new colony set aside land?

A cemetery and the other portion as a site for a cemetery. 

Who is Anne Hutchinson? How does Hawthorne feel about her?

Anne Hutchinson, a brave woman, was a preacher who shared her thoughts. She spread her beliefs, and said that god could speak to her. The Puritans didn't believe what she said and instead persecuted her and put her on trial. Being a woman with an open mind and ideas to speak was wrong, especially in this time period. Hawthorne, in chapter one, compares Anne Hutchinson to a wild rose because of her untamable ways. In this colony, everyone was alike, and a 'wild rose' was punished for their unusualness. 

What 2 possible symbols do the rose have for the reader?

The wild rose symbolized the uniqueness and wild side of a person, and Anne Hutchinson was compared to it because to be a wild rose you have to have an individual personality. She believed what she wanted, and no one could tell her different.

The 'delicate gems' were the last sight of beauty before they entered the prison. With the beauty of a wild rose, it brought a prisoner hope that they would be given some sympathy. It could only be their dream to have people want to be a 'wild rose' as they did, to be different, and original. 

2. The Scarlett Letter pg 46

"But, on the other side of the portal, and rooted almost at the threshold, was a wild rose bush... their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner as he went in... came forth to his doom, in token that the deep heart of nature could pity and be kind to him."

Here I'm not only looking at the symbol of the wild rose itself. Yes, people want the freedom to think and be individuals, but later on in this sentence they bring up nature. Nature is everywhere, even in the darkest of places like the jail cell. Before that even, the personification of giving nature a heart is saying all they want is the kindness of the heart. So maybe, if people realized that 'nature' is the ability to be free and wild, then they will find the kindness out of their hearts to show pity on those who are already discovered it.

1. The Scarlett Letter pg 45

"The wooden jail was already marked with weather stains and other indications of age, which gave it a yet darker aspect to its beetle-browed and gloomy front. The rust on the ponderous ironwork of its oaken door looked more antique than anything else in the new world.."

The New World was a place for people to start new fresh lives. The Puritans however, had to be all alike, and being different was disapproved of. That didn't allow opportunities to explore new ideas or learn more about themselves. The weather stains showing age, the gloom, darkness, and rust was tainting the new world. I think this was saying it was causing the new world to grow faster in a undesired yet in an oblivious way.