The Scarlet Letter Chapters XVI - XIX Reading Tags
DUE BY 8am ON =TUESDAY, 12/5!Analyze the tags for Chapters XVI - XIX in this blog. Use the following format in your analysis of each tag:
1. Tag and page number where the tag can be found
A. Author/Facts (does not have to be in complete sentences)
oFacts from the novel according to the tag
oWho?, What?, When?, Where?
oDefine new words
oParaphrase/Summary
B. Reader/Response (SHOULD BE IN COMPLETE SENTENCES)
oHow? Why?
oApplication
oWhat do you think about the situation surrounding the tag?
oRespond to the quote.
oPredictions/Questions
DON'T FORGET TO BRING A HARD COPY TO CLASS ON THE DAY THE TAGS ARE DUE IN ORDER TO GET YOUR POINTS!
1. Tag and page number where the tag can be found
A. Author/Facts (does not have to be in complete sentences)
oFacts from the novel according to the tag
oWho?, What?, When?, Where?
oDefine new words
oParaphrase/Summary
B. Reader/Response (SHOULD BE IN COMPLETE SENTENCES)
oHow? Why?
oApplication
oWhat do you think about the situation surrounding the tag?
oRespond to the quote.
oPredictions/Questions
DON'T FORGET TO BRING A HARD COPY TO CLASS ON THE DAY THE TAGS ARE DUE IN ORDER TO GET YOUR POINTS!
posted by Jenni Vega | 1:07 PM
2 Comments:
23. The Brook (146)
A. Author/Facts
-Hester had wanted to talk to Mr. Dimmesdale for a while now.
-She did not want to talk to him while Mr. Chillingworth was around.
-She found out one day that Mr. Chilling worth would not be around and decided to go meet him in the forest while he was taking a walk.
-She took Pearl with her and Pearl asked her on the way if Hester had signed the black man's book.
-Hester said that the Black Man had left his mark on her.
-Hester compares the brook that they pass to her in that they are both worn down.
-She says thinks that Pearl is different from the brook and herself because the Pearl has not been worn down by any bad experiences in her life yet
B. Reader/Response
-It is obvious why Hester wants to talk to Dimmesdale while Chillingworth is not there. Is she afraid of Chillingworth?
-Why does Hester have to bring Pearl wherever she goes? Does it have something to do with Pearl being a scarlet letter herself?
-The brook isn't as significant in this chapter as the black man to me and quite frankly, I don't think that the analogy between the brook and her was a very good one.
-Hester again admits to Pearl about the adultery and Pearl still doesn't figure it out.
24. "He has violated...the sanctity of a human heart"
A. Author/Facts (153)
-Hester and Mr. Dimmesdale seem like they are amazed by each other's presence at first.
-They start talking and Dimmesdale asks Hester if she has come to peace with herself.
-Hester says she has but Dimmesdale says he is still being tortured by it.
-Hester reveals to Dimmesdale that Chillingworth was her old husband.
-Dimmesdale is initially really mad at Hester but forgives her really quickly.
-Hester wants Dimmesdale to run away with her so that they can both have a fresh start.
B. Reader/Response
-Hester and Dimmesdale both are almost surprised to see each other alive because of all that they've been through.
-I think it's kind of silly how Hester was able to get Dimmesdale to forgive her just by getting up next to him.
-The tag refers to Dimmesdale saying that what Chillingworth did is somehow a lot worse than what they did.
-Chillingworth just used the advantage given to him and was able to use this advantage only because Hester allowed him to. You can't blame him for doing that.
-Hester shows that she isn't all innocent by asking Dimmesdale to go back to Europe with her.
25. Laws of man vs. laws of nature (160)
A. Author/Facts
-The author says that Hester had a much tougher time keeping the puritan laws during the past seven years than Dimmesdale because she has been in the wilderness.
-Because of this, she has seen and done things that being a normal Puritan wouldn't have allowed her according to the author.
-Dimmesdale agrees to go with her immediately afterwards.
-Hester takes off the scarlet letter and many physical changes immediately begin to take place.
-She's sexy again.
B. Reader/Response
-The chapter starts out by giving excuses for what Hester has just done in the last chapter.
-It claims that Dimmesdale turned out a lot better than Hester after their incident because of his position. This may be true but this isn't an excuse for the deception that Hester has put a lot of people through.
-Hester threw everything she could at Dimmesdale just to get him to agree to go with her to Europe. Unfortunately, when you have to do this much convincing to get someone to do something, it usually doesn't turn out good.
-The tag refers to the laws that Dimmesdale has lived by and the laws that Hester has lived by and the difference that this makes in their lives.
26. "She had been offered to the world...as the living hieroglyphic" (163)
A. Author/Facts
-Hester takes Dimmesdale over to Pearl so that Dimmesdale can meet her.
-Pearl doesn't really want to go across the brook and repeatedly defies her mother when she tries to coax her across the brook.
-Hester puts the A back on her shirt.
-Finally, Pearl comes across the brook and Dimmesdale awkwardly gives her a kiss. Pearl immediately goes over to the brook to wash it off and that's how this awkward chapter ends.
B. Reader/Response
-Hester is still trying to convince Dimmesdale how great Pearl is and everything even as they're going over to talk to her.
-The tag refers to how much of a free spirit that Pearl is and how she lives by the laws of nature because that is all that she has known.
-Pearl doesn't obey Hester very well and this shows what a free spirit she is.
-Dimmesdale doesn't feel very comfortable around Pearl and Pearl doesn't feel very comfortable around him.
23. The Brook (145-146)
a. Author/Facts
• Up until this point, Hester and Pearl have been walking through the woods to try and intercept Dimmsdale on his way home from a settlement. Hester wishes to warn Dimmsdale of the true identity of Chillingworth.
• While there, Pearl is entranced about how the sunlight almost runs away from Hester. Pearl also asks if the sunlight touches her because she is still a child and does not yet have the scarlet latter as Hester does.
• Pearl, again, tantalizes Hester when she pursuingly asks if the scarlet letter is the mark of the Black Man who carries the big book, meaning sin or Satan. To quiet her Hester just answers yes to Pearl’s question. Pearl l later makes a statement asking if the man coming through the woods towards them, who turns out to be Dimmsdale, is the Black Man. Hester answers that it is the minister.
• The brook is made to represent Pearl’s life, having many things in its way like the fact that she is a result of sin and that her society will most likely never accept her because she does not abide by their laws, but the laws of nature, like a brook.
b. Reader Response
Pearl makes a surprising connection between the Black Man, the scarlet letter, and Dimmsdale. She asks if Dimmsdale puts his hand over his heart because he is marked by the Black Man, representing sin and things recognized as abominations to the Puritan society, as Hester has with the scarlet letter. Pearl also asks why Dimmsdale does not wear his mark received from the Black Man on his clothing, but under it. Pearl does not realize how accurate she actually is regarding the situation, but is not deaf to the connection.
24. “He has violated…the sanctity of a human heart.” (153)
a. Author/Facts
• Hester approaches Dimmsdale as he passes on the path. Both to the other seem as ghost, most likely ghosts of the past. They sit on the side of the path and begin awkwardly to talk of all that has happened.
• Hester eventually reveals to Dimmsdale the identity of Chillingworth and a dark transfiguration comes over him. It is then that Dimmsdale realizes the torture that he has undergone and blames the whole thing on Hester's secrecy about it. Not being able to stand Dimmsdale’s condemnation, she farces his face upon the scarlet letter and begs for forgiveness.
• When forgiveness is granted it is discussed how Chillingworth‘s sin is far grater than either Hester's or Dimmsdale’s because he had “violated, in cold blood, the sanctity of the human heart.” Meaning, he had caused great unbearable pain on someone and had crossed the boundaries of all things humane in doing so.
b. Reader Response
I personally think that at this point, it is clear that Hester still loves Dimmsdale, if she ever did. She cannot bear his unforgivenes and they hold hands and talk awkwardly like those in love but afraid to tell the other. It is ironic that a few sentences after this tag, Dimmsdale asks Hester what to do because she is stronger than him, while she has been the one most public all affected and he is a Puritan minister.
25. Laws of Man vs. Laws of Nature
a. Author/Facts
• Laws of Man
o Sin is horribly punished
o Cannot escape harsh prejudice by society
o Controlled and told what to do
o Living an imprisoned life
• Laws of Nature
o Freedom from society
o Sunlight allowed to shine on the sinner
o Hope for those who has broken laws
o Do not abide by civil or religious laws of man
• It is now that Dimmsdale and Hester have decided to run away on a ship to Europe together and to take Pearl with them. Hester releases herself of the scarlet letter by removing it and letting her hair down. Dimmsdale expresses that he has not felt joy in a long time.
b. Reader Response
Hester and Dimmsdale have for sure fallen in love now and want to leave the Puritan community with their child and escape to Europe, where they can start over and glorify God over there as Dimmsdale has where they are living now. The laws of nature and laws of man are very different, one offering freedom from prejudice and immediate judgment, the other offering order and routines.
26. The Child at the Brookside (163)
a. Author/Facts
• After Hester convinces Dimmsdale that Pearl will love him as she loves her, Hester calls the child. However, recognizing such a great change in Hester, does not come near and points to the letter on the ground, implying she should put it back on.
• When Hester places the letter back on her dress and her hair goes back under her hat, then Pearl goes and kisses Hester, also kissing her letter. When Dimmsdale kisses her though, she goes and washes it off because he will still not stand at the scaffold with Hester and herself.
b. Reader Response
It is sad Pearl cannot recognize that changes in Hester and Dimmsdale are for the good. She cannot accept her mother but as the way that she has always seen her-with sin. Pearl will also not accept Dimmsdale until he stands with them upon the scaffold and is publicly disgraced as they were.
Katherine Leigh Miller
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