Literature Analysis #2 : The Scarlet Letter

 1. The Scarlet Letter begins when Hester is released from prison so that she can be paraded through town, displaying her scarlet "A" while standing on top of the town public stage. She carries her baby daughter, Pearl, in her arms. Pearl was born in prison. Hester steadfastly refuses to reveal the name of Pearl’s father, so that he might be saved from punishment.
   Hester Prynne’s long lost husband arrives in the midst of this parade through town. He visits her in prison before she is released and asks her not to tell anyone that he’s in town. He wants to disguise himself so that he can seek revenge on her lover.
   Hester’s husband tells the townspeople that he’s a physician, and he adopts a fake name: Roger Chillingworth. Hester keeps his secret. Chillingworth soon realizes that the minister, the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, is the likely father of Hester’s baby, and he haunts the minister’s mind and soul, day and night, for the next seven years.
  The minister is too afraid to confess his sin publicly, but his guilt eats away at him; Chillingworth’s constant examination really makes him antsy. Seven years pass and, finally, Hester realizes the evil her husband has done to the man she loves, the father of her child. She reveals Chillingworth’s true identity to Dimmesdale, and the two plan to runaway together.
   The minister can't follow through with the plan. Dimmesdale confesses his sin to the townspeople on the public stage that had, seven years earlier, been the scene of Hester’s public shaming. His dying act is to throw open his shirt so that the scarlet A that he has carved onto his chest is revealed to his parishioners. Dimmesdale finds peace through confession.
   When Chillingworth dies approximately a year after his rival, Dimmesdale, he leaves all his money and property to Pearl. Hester and Pearl finally escape the community where they have been outcasts for so many years and return to the Old World (England). However, many years later, Hester returns to the New England community that had been the site of her shame, resuming the scarlet letter of her own will.
   When she dies, she is buried near the minister, and they share a gravestone. The gravestone contains an image, described as follows: "On a field, sable, the letter A, gules." In other words, marked on the headstone is a scarlet letter A drawn over a black background.

2. Some themes that can be interpreted by this book are sin, knowledge, the human condition, the nature of evil, and idenity and society.

3. The tone of this novel varies between contemplative and somewhat bitter in the introduction, thoughtful, fairly straightforward, yet occasionally tinged with irony in the body of the narrative.
- "In our nature, however, there is a provision, alike marvellous and merciful, that the sufferer should never know the intensity of what he endures by its present torture, but chiefly by the pang that rankles after it."
-"A bodily disease, which we look upon as whole and entire within itself, may, after all, be but a symptom of some ailment in the spiritual part."
-"It is to the credit of human nature, that, except where its selfishness is brought into play, it loves more readily than it hates.  Hatred, by a gradual and quiet process, will even be transformed to love, unless the change be impeded by a continually new irritation of the original feeling of hostility"

4. Some Literary devives used in The Scarlet Letter are symbolism, allegory, and imagery.

-The prison door is described as having never known "a youthful era". It’s made of iron and very old and creepy. Yet, the wild rosebush that grows at the side of the portal is its saving grace. The rosebush represents kindness and forgiveness to the prisoners who must face either a prison sentence or a death sentence. The iron door seems to represent all that is strict and unrelenting in Puritan society, while the rosebush seems to represent the concept of "grace" or forgiveness.

- Pearl, Hester’s daughter, is a symbol of all that Hester gave up when she committed adultery and gave up her place in Puritan society. Hester has gone through hell as a result of giving birth to a child. She lives in perpetual punishment because of Pearl, and that is why she loves Pearl so much. The name “Pearl” makes us think of  jewels, and there is indeed something very regal about Pearl – we know that she becomes a great and wealthy heiress. The name “Pearl” also reminds us that pearls come from oysters, and oysters are hard to pry open at times. Pearl definitely is not an easy nut to crack – she mysterious and full of mischief.

- The symbolism behind the scarlet letter A changes throughout this novel. Though initially this letter A symbolizes the sin of adultery, Hester Prynne alters its meaning through her hard work and charity. Some people begin to suggest that the A stands for "able," since Hester is such a capable woman. Others begin to recognize that the scarlet letter has begun to achieve holiness, righteousness. It has "the effect of the cross on a nun’s bosom. It imparted to the wearer a kind of sacredness, which enabled her to walk securely amid all peril. Had she fallen among thieves, it would have kept her safe". Many years later, when Hester returns and voluntarily takes up the scarlet letter again, it has become, for her and others, a symbol of grace.

Tool's That Change The Way We Think

  The evolution of technology has definitely made our generation a ot more lazy. We rely on the internet to give us answers instead of the newspaper or books from the library. When my parents are grandparents were kids, they relied strongly on the newspaper, and going to the library and doing physical research. Now, the internet has evolved so immensely that we have created filter bubbles without even realizing it. We only see what the computer thinks we want to see. Some people think this is affecting people in their workplace even. We rely on the information our computer right in front of us is giving us, not realizing that we are not seeing every piece of information we could see. We really need to make sure we arent just stopping our research right at our first keyword serach on Google.

In Search Of...

Eli Pariser's TED talk on "Filter Bubbles"
 
    I had no idea that Facebook, Google, and other sites were tailoring the information we see to what they think we want to see.
   Now, I feel like there is a lot that I am missing out on online. I think there is a lot more information that I cant see because the algorithms have decided (for me) that I am not interested in that particular information.
  For me, this video raises the question of whether or not I am getting the full experience i should be allowed to recieve online. It is secluding us into our own "filter bubbles", only allowing us to see what the algorithms think we want to see.
   I can improve the effectiveness of my searches by taking more time to look at different sources for what I am looking for. Checking all and any websites, articles, videos, etc. that I can.


Re-researching William Shakespeare is hard because I am not entirely sure if I am seeing all the possible information that is out there. Using Google Search Engine, I typed in "Life of Shakespeare" and looked  at some of that information. Then I searched "Life of William Shakespeare" and compared the information from that search to the other search. Lastly I searched "Biography of William Shakespeare" and compared that information. Each time I changed the key words in the search box, new information appeared. I think that by changing up the key words in the search box, you have a better chance of seeing new information that you havent already seen. By only  searching one topic, one specific way, you're limiting yourself to certain information and allowing yourself to stay in your "Filter Bubble".

Notes on Hamlet

   In Act III, Hamlet is faced with many decisions. Claudius and Gertrude (The King and Queen), are worried about Gertrude's son Hamlet and want to find out information on why he is so depressed. They think he is upset due to the death of his father and the wuick marriage between Hamlets uncle, Claudius and his mother Gertrude.
  Hamlet is deliberating on whether to kill himself or not. He doesnt want to live in this life anymore, yet he isn't sure if after death the hell is worse than the mortal hell he is in now. Ophelia interrupts him in his deliberation, offering to return any gifts he has sent her way. Hamlet denies ever sending her anything and tells her he has never loved her. He goes on about how he is bitter with women, and how they are fake and intend to drive men insane.
    Hamlet creates a play in which he plays out the death of his father by Claudius. No one knows that it is about Claudius and Hamlet's father, except Hamlet and Claudius. Claudius is so appalled by the play that he orders them to stop.
   Hamlet gets the chance to kill Claudius but he is praying at the time. Hamlet will not kill Claudius while he asking the Lord for forgiveness because then he will not get what he deserves.
  Hamlet has gone mad in rage and from dealing with everything himself. I think Hamlet will get the revenge he is looking for, but will realize that it doesn't give him the satisfaction he expected. Yet, will still put Claudius through a living hell. So, to Hamlet, it will all be worth it.

Who was Shakespeare?

    William Shakespeare is a mystery. There are a lot of "accepted" facts about him, but no one actually knows anything for certain about him. Even the way he looked is a mystery. Many people have allegations about him and his life but not one person has actual evidence of any of it.
 Shakespeare was an amazing writer, and today he is known for his historical works. He wrote about 38 plays and 6 poems. People today still marvel and study his writings and he is admired.
 I had no idea that Shakespeare was such a complete mystery. When studying his works, everyone seems to have him all figured out. In his writings anyways.
   William Shakespeare will always be admired for his wonderful plays and poems, and will continue to be studied for years to come.

To Facebook, or Not to Facebook?

   First impressions tend to leave a mark, good or bad. Facebook strategized well with it's first impression on new users, and the world. When you first sign up to be a member of Facebook, you're doing it for the fun of it! All of your friends and family are users of the site, and it's a great new opportunity to learn new things and catch up with friends. Facebook is a great way to communicate with classmates you have now, or classmates you had years ago in school, see what your friends are up to, keep in contact with family, or even meet new friends. The trouble with Facebook is that we dont really understand the whole aspect of the site. Once you post something online, it is no longer yours. someone could steal your photos or even post unwanted photos of you without your permission. You're essentially inviting people into your personal life without even always realizing it.
 There are a lot of young users on Facebook, that don't even have to capability to know about the dangers of being a part of Facebook. As we speak, the creators of this social site and other executives are deliberating on making it illegal to use Facebook if you are under the age of thirteen years old. I dont necessarily think this law will keep kids from being a part of the social site because there are always ways around the system when online. Parents need to be aware of what their children are doing on the internet and enforce parental controls on their computers.
    I am a user of Facebook, and after reading the article "Why Facebook Is After Your Kids" I was informed of a lot of things that I had no idea were the case. Facebook is all about advertising. They are careful to put things that you are interested in on your profile, and show others that are interested in the same things who else is interested. It relys strongly on advertising through you and your profile information. You may set your settings to "private", but a month from now they could say, "Oops! Technical difficulties." and your information is now public for anyone to see. When posting things online, you should treat it as if the entire world is going to see it. I upload a lot of photos that I take on my cell phone. I knew when I took a photo that my GPS on my phone tagged the exact location of where I was in the picture. What I didn't know, is that when I upload that photo to Facebook, the rest of the people that can see my profile, can also view the information of my whereabouts.
    There is a lot that we need to be aware of when using the interenet. Facebook is not a terrible, identity stealing, life ruining site. Yet, we do need to be careful in what we post, knowing that once it is online, it is no longer in our control.