We reviewed and revised Joshua's homework essay , an analysis of contrasts in The Scarlet Letter. Joshua had a strong defensible thesis or interpretative statement and also in the first paragraph provided a line of reasoning. We worked on the body of the essay to eliminate sentences that were not germane or did not clearly support the essay's claim. I modeled a number of sentences for discussion and demonstrated how to connect the textual examples in the draft to the essay's thesis.
We concluded our study of The Scarlet Letter today by first exploring the distinction between the unreliable narrator and narrative perspective as evidenced in the text.I directed Joshua's attention to certain passages and had him identify diction that illustrates the narrative perspective. We then discussed how that perspective -essentially a condemnation of Puritan values that persisted in 1850 when the novel was published -informs the theme. We discussed how Dimmesdale's death is a byproduct of Puritan values that force people to pretend to be what they can not be -in Hawthorne's view-sinless. We also studied passages wherein the narrator purports to state the novel's message and discussed whether the narrator ironically misses the very point of his own story.
We studied the thematic value of two parallel scenes: Mistress Gibbons' confrontation with Dimmesdale and MIstress Gibbons' confrontation with Hester. Both Hester and Dimmesdale lie about their meeting in the forest. MIstress Gibbons ,an accused witch, however knows and reveals the truth thus ironically elevating an avatar of witchcraft over Puritan values.We also began to explore the role of the unreliable narrator as it applies to the frame narrative of the novel.
We practiced analyzing setting and symbolic passages that illustrate theme. We specifically focused on the symbolism of the brook which Dimmesdale notes"divides two worlds" ie the contrasting worlds of truth/realty and illusion /deception. We noted how Pearl bathed in sunlight represents a world of truth or reality while Dimmesdale ,as his name connotes, remans dim or in the darkness of deceit. We further studied parallel passages where the narrator comments on the futility of expatiation for both Hester and Dimmesdale.
Today we prepared an outline for an AP style literary essay that Joshua will be writing this week. To remain aligned with the AP style open essay, we first focused on forming an interpretation . From there I outlined on the board the literary elements of character , setting, and symbols. After we identified contrasting characters(foils) , symbols, and settings we discussed how these contrasts illuminate an interpretation : illusion vs reality as evidenced by the difference between an outward persona and inner truth.
Today we studied how an individual's response to societal laws reveals character . Focusing on the text, I noted how Hester's isolation and removal from society has unchained her from Puritanical values and opened a door to a philosophical reimagining of a society where women are equal to men. By contrast, we noted how Arthur Dimmesdale as a minister remains tied to societal laws and will always be so notwithstanding his momentary freedom with Hester in the forest. Again, we addressed the symbolism and use of sunlight in the reading particularly as it relates to Pearl who represents a type of freedom neither Dimmesdale nor Hester can experience. In this regard, Joshua discussed the importance of Hester's removing the symbol from her breast and tossing it into the forest only to have it refastened by Pearl.
We first completed an exercise identifying how diction in the Scarlet Letter conveys the narrator's perspective of Roger Chillingworth. We then studied how the scene wherein Pearl sees her fleeting reflection in a pool of water complements the theme of reality vs illusion and the similar conflict between a person's moral persona and his true inner self . In this regard ,we noted the role of sunlight imagery.Last, we explored how the author symbolically employs the settings of the forest and the town.
We continued to trace the role of symboiic interpretation as society and even Chillingworth now view the scarlet "A" as obsolete or a sign of dignity and honor.We further noted the narrative perspective of Chillingworth drenched in satanic allusions. Today , I also provided instruction on the life of Margaret Fuller a 19th Century intellectual and what we would today call a feminist. I discussed how Margaret Fuller's writings materialize in Heater Prynne's intellectual freedom. In the strict puritanical society ,Hester becomes an iconoclast and asserts that society's gender roles must be torn down and reimagined so that women can shed their "ethereal " existence.
Today we examined how symbolic interpretation adds complexity to the text. We noted how Dimmesdale perceives the meteor that lights up the sky as the letter"A" while the sexton interprets the A -like shape to signify "angel." We further analyzed textual passages the elucidate the conflict between a character's persona and his true self and then discussed the passages arguing that such disparity in effect causes the individual to evaporate or cease to exist. In this way, I addressed how ironically the narrator portrays the branded sinner ,Hester, as the character least tainted . I further introduced the symbolic contrast between light and darkness , and ,black and red, that pervade the novel.
