Introduction: The Custom House (p. 269-309) 08 September 2018
This introductory starts off by giving a statement of the author nathaniel hawthorne however the hardships he has gone through to get a job as a waiter. The introductory applies to ethos because the author had a hard time however through his hardships he got through however the custom house was another hell he had to live with. The hopeless place where his ancestors were in the salem witch trial and put people to death for no reason. He altered his last name and to this day he is embarrassed of the custom house.
Vocabulary:
Vixenly (adj.)
Def: A woman considered to be sexually attractive.
Sentence: “Nevertheless, vixenly as she looks, many people are seeking, at the very moment, to shelter themselves under the wing of the federal eagle; imagining, I presume, that her bosom has all the softness and snugness of an eiderdown pillow”. (p. 271)
Chapter One: The Prison Door (p.1-2) 08 September 2018
In Chapter 1 the author starts by giving a plot to the novel and start what society was like in the time of this novel. It lays a foundation of a puritan society where it says “A throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments and gray, steeple-crowned hats, intermixed…”(p.1) this demonstrates a puritan and patriarchal society. A rosebush is symbolized as some type of variety and happiness around its dard surroundings. Not only does the rosebush stand as a rose bush but the variety gives a clue of what people think about variety in their society. The oaken door gives a sad and dard theme to the novel.
Vocabulary:
Inauspicious (adj.)
Def: Means unfavorable or boding ill.
Sentence: “Finding it so directly on the threshold of our narrative, which is now about to issue from that inauspicious portal, we could hardly do otherwise than pluck one of its flowers and present it to the reader”. (p. 2)
Chapter Two: The Market Place (p. 3-12) 09 September 2018
In the chapter Hester i put in front of many men and women who look like they are against sins however through the text it demonstrates how the townspeople enjoy sins and the punishments given out from it. Puritans enjoy the punishment for Hester. “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…”(p.6) demonstrates that they were waiting patiently to see what has happened to hester as for the sin she has committed. This sets a theme for sin and puritanism because the townspeople were fascinated of their own puritanic code of laws.
Vocabulary:
Hussy (adj.)
Def: a saucy or mischievous girl
Sentence: “If a Hussy stood up for judgement before us five, what are now here in a knot together, would she come off with such a sentence as the worshipful magistrates have awarded? Marry, I trow not.” (p. 5)
Chapter Three: The Recognition (p. 13-22) 10 September 2018
In this chapter all the main characters are introduced such as Hester, Chillingworth, Dimmesdale, and Pearl. In this chapter Hester is being sentenced for her crimes which was “adultery” however she notices someone that is later revealed. This indicates a theme of mystery to who that man was however the townspeople find Hester guilty and are going to punish her. “A wise sentence”(p.16) one of the crowd people say this as a form of sarcasm remarked by the townspeople. This shows it is predisposing the judgement if she is guilty or not.
Vocabulary:
Unavailingly (adj.)
Def: Means Ineffectual; futile.
Sentence: “In this state, the voice of the preacher thundered remorselessly, but unavailingly, upon her ears”. (p. 21)
Chapter Four: The Interview (p. 23-29) 11 September 2018
Chillingsworth comes out as a physician for pearl who cannot stop crying after the event that put Hester in the crowd. This could be a sign that Hester has a unfilling journey with Chillingsworth however the theme of this becomes betrayal when both apologize for their mistakes “Mine was the first wrong, when i betrayed thy budding youth into a man who has not thought and philosophized in vain, I seek no vengeance, plot no evils against thee. Between thee and me, the scale hangs fairly balanced. but , Hester, the man lives who was has wronged us both! Who is he?”(p.27) proceeding with what chillingworth said to Hester he immediately questions her and where she says “Ask me Not!” this shows signs that Hester is a individual and looks at herself as a person even though others do not.
Vocabulary:
Philosophized (Verb)
Def: To speculate or Theorize.
Sentence: “Therefore, as a man who has not thought and philosophized in vain, I seek no vengeance, plot no evils against thee”. (p. 27)
Chapter Five: Hester at Her Needle (p. 31-40) 12 September 2018
Hester is freed from prison and moves into a small abandoned cabin away from civilization with pearl she finds herself lost and confused. However she was very lonely “Lonely as was Hester’s situation, and without a friend on earth who dared to show himself, she, however, incurred no risk of want…”(p.34) this sets a theme of individualism because she does not want anything with anyone and no one wants anything to do with her. This is because of the “A” this sets a mood of loneliness but is accompanied by talent and the dedication to raise pearl as a normal parent would.
Vocabulary:
Martyrdom (noun)
Def: The condition of suffering or death.
Sentence: “Here, she said to herself, had been the scene of her guilt, and here should be the scene of her earthly punishment; and so, perchance , the torture of her daily shame would length purge her soul and work out another purity than that which she had lost; more saintlike, because the result of martyrdom”. (p.33)
Chapter Six: Pearl (p. 41-50) 13 September 2018
Pearl grows up to be a normal girl but she is fascinated by the way pearl and her mother live. An isolated family that for no apparent reason cannot go into the public. Pearl raises suspicion on her mothers “A”
But Hester wants to keep it a secret. Pearl reminds Hester of what she has done like a reoccuring curse only to haunt her by memory. “Hester Prynne often dropped her work upon her knees, and cried out with agony which she would fain have hidden, but which made utterance for it self, betwixt speech and a groan, O Father in Heaven-if Thou art still my father what is this being which i have brought into the world?” this reminds her of what she had done and thinks its is a curse. This is a recurring theme which is sin and cult.
Vocabulary:
Imbibing (verb)
Def: to take in or up
Sentence: “…during the momentous period while Pearl was imbibing her soul from the spiritual world, and her bodily frame from its material on earth”(p. 42)
Chapter Seven: The Governor’s Hall (p. 51-58) 14 September 2018
Hester is afraid that the authorities will take Pearl away from her because she will be possessed from the scarlet letter however she wants to clarify with the government so she goes to talk to governor burningham and give him a pair of gloves he has ordered. Children taunt Hester and Pearl as they walk through town and this makes Pearl feel uncomfortable. “But Pearl, who was a dauntless child, after frowning, stamping her foot, and shaking her little hand with a variety of threatening gestures…” this demonstrates individualism and sets a angry mood towards people.
Vocabulary:
Dauntless (adj)
Def: incapable of being intimidated or subdued
Sentence: “But Pearl, who was a dauntless child, after frowning, stamping her foot, and shaking her little hand with a variety of threatening gestures, suddenly made a rush at the knot of her enemies, and put them all to the fight.”. (p. 53)
Chapter Eight: The Elf-Child and the Minister (p. 59-68) 15 September 2018
Hester is threatened to lose Pearl however she will not stop until she is dead. However Hester will not give up Pearl and fights for her child. The governor asks pearl where she if from and Pearl respond “…but had been plucked by her mother off the bush of wild roses that grew by the prison door.” this gives theme of individualism from a child and also a sarcastic harmful mood to the governor the way the child responded.
Vocabulary:
Snare (noun)
Def: A device, often consisting of a noose, for capturing small game.
Sentence: “Even thus early had the child saved her from Satan’s snare”. (p. 68)
Chapter Nine: The Leech (p. 69-79) 16 September 2018
Chillingworth lies to the authorities to protect Pearl and Hester and she quickly notices that he has lied for them but she doesn’t know why. Chillingworth fools the authorities and the puritans. The government allows Hester to live with Pearl and now Hester is grateful of what chillingworth did. “…the child also will bring its parent thither! Herein is the sinful mother happier than the sinful father…” this shows that chillingworth lied and it is a sin to lie.
Vocabulary:
Melancholy (noun)
Def: A gloomy state of mind, especially when habitual or prolonged; depression.
Sentence: “His form grew emaciated; his voice, though still rich and sweet, had a certain melancholy prophecy of decay in it; he was often observed, on any slight alarm or other sudden accident, to put his hand over his heart, with first a flush and then a paleness, indicative of pain”. (p. 71)
Chapter Ten: The Leech and His Patient (p. 81-90) 17 September 2018
Chillingworth has become the permanent doctor for dimmesdale however he tries to diagnose him different types of illnesses to get this secret dimmesdale has been keeping however he does not ever explain his secret. The doctor also called leech ironically starts becoming a leech for answers from dimmesdale. “Satan comports himself when a precious human soul is lost to heaven and won into his kingdom.” this means that chillingworth has become happy with what he has found and the actual sick one might be the sinner chillingworth.
Vocabulary:
Ominous (adj.)
Def: Portending evil or harm; foreboding; threatening.
Sentence: “Sometimes, a light glimmered out of the physician’s eyes, burning blue and ominous, like the reflection of a furnace, or, let us say, like one of those gleams of ghastly fire that darted from Bunyan’s awful doorway in the hillside and quivered on the pilgrim’s face”. (p. 81)
Chapter Eleven: The interior of a Heart (91-97) 18 September 2018
Chillingworth rips hell on dimmesdale when he finds out dimmesdale is Pearl’s father and now with this guilt dimmesdale has to live with drives him crazy and creates a hatred mood towards chillingworth.
“ There might be a moment’s a peace in it.” this gives him a way to be cured of all his sins and rest easy for what has happened to Pearl and Hester’s life. There is a theme of uncult and innocence in the characters.
Vocabulary:
Vengeance (noun)
Def: Infliction of injury, harm, humiliation, or the like, on a person by another who has been harmed by that person; violent revenge.
Sentence: “All that dark treasure to be lavished on the very man to whom nothing else could so adequately pay the debt of vengeance!” (p. 91)
Chapter Twelve: The Minister’s Vigil (p. 99-110) 19 September 2018
This part of the novel Dimmesdale is feeling guilt and sharing the same sin that Hester is sharing now he cannot find himself any innocent than Hester so he is going crazy therefore he finds a plan. While they are in a rendezvous point Pearl notices a light in the sky at this point they find Chillingworth spying on them. “There was a singular circumstance that characterized Mr. Dimmesdale’s psychological state at this moment. All the time that he gazed upward to the zenith, he was, nevertheless, perfectly aware that little Pearl was pointing her finger towards old Roger Chillingworth, who stood at no great distance from the scaffold. The minister appeared to see him with the same glance that discerned the miraculous letter. To his features, as to all other objects, the meteoric light imarted aa new expression…” (p.107) everyone at the scene remarked the “A” scarlet letter as a celebration however this is a theme of sin, nature, and cult.
Vocabulary:
Tumult (noun)
Def: Violent and noisy commotion or disturbance of a crowd or mob; uproar.
Sentence: “A dusky tumult would flap its wings from one house to another”. (p. 103)
Chapter Thirteen: Another View of Hester (p. 111-119) 20 September 2018
Hester and Pearl are becoming more accepted in their society and now she has found a talent with sewing and her work is becoming popularized by her society. A metaphor found in this chapter “…wandered without a clew in the dark labyrinth of mind…” (p. 117) this metaphor means that life is full small choices we make in are void called a mind. Hesters experiences in the society to gain a sense of individualism and set a recurring theme of individualism.
Vocabulary:
Ignominy (noun)
Def: Disgrace; dishonor; public contempt.
Sentence: “Chillingworth as on that night, abased by sin, and half maddened by the ignominy that was still new, when they had talked together in the prison chamber”. (p. 118)
Chapter Fourteen: Hester and the Physician (p. 121-127) 21 September 2018
At this point Hester find out of the torment Dimmesdale has been receiving from chillingworth and declares him to stop. “…Whom the scarlet letter has disciplined to truth, though it would be the truth of red-hot iron…” (p.126) means that whoever goes against the scarlet letter and uses it as evil or manipulation then that person most feel the truth of the scarlet letter and know what it feels like. This is like the color of the book. The sin of scarlet letter will mark you literally like red-hot iron. The hot iron will cast a negative thought on both Pearl and Hester because her mother has to wear a “A” at all times. The sin for which she has committed marks her like red-hot iron.
Vocabulary:
Gloated (verb)
Def: To look at or think about with great or excessive, often smug or malicious, satisfaction:
Sentence: “This unhappy person had effected such as transformation by devoting himself, for seven years, to the constant analysis of a heart full of torture, and deriving his enjoyment thence, and adding fuel to those fiery tortures which he analyzed and gloated over”. (p. 122-123)
Chapter Fifteen: Hester and Pearl (p.129-135) 22 September 2018
Pearl with her own curiosity ask Hester about the “A” on her chest however quickly she ends the conversation for which she is embarrassed to tell Pearl that because of me we live this independent and lonely life. “ Hold thy tongue, naughty child!” (p.135) this visualizes what Hester might feel when Pearl asks her about the scarlet letter. This is ironic because when she threatens Pearl to lock her in the dark closet this brings up loneliness and how she will always be alone no matter how she explains the scarlet letter. This theme of loneliness due to sins reoccurs many times.
Vocabulary:
Nuptial (noun)
Def: Of or relating to marriage or the marriage ceremony.
Sentence: “Attempting to do so, she thought of those long-passed days, in a distant land, when he used to emerge at eventide from the seclusion of his study and sit down in the firelight of their home, and in the light of her nuptial smile”. (p. 130)
Chapter Sixteen: A Forest Walk (p. 137-143) 23 September 2018
In the forest Hester can be honest with dimmesdale therefore “the black man” came up as a man who worried both Hester and Dimmesdale the nickname for the devil was black man however this brings up what Pearl is worried about. “But you may sit down, if you will tell me a story meanwhile” (p.139) this puts cutriosity on how much sinning has affected her mother and what the black man means to both Hester and Dimmesdale however both of them try not to show it. The dark forest portrays the darker minds of both Hester and Pearl. Only the sun was shining on Pearl therefore this means maybe she is not as dark inside as Dimmesdale and Hester because they have both sinned.
Vocabulary:
Mischievously (adj)
Def: maliciously or playfully annoying.
Sentence: “taking hold of her mother’s gown and looking up, half ,earnestly, half mischievously, into her face.”. (p. 139)
Chapter Seventeen: The Pastor and his Parishioner (p. 145-154) 24 September 2018
Vocabulary:
Vehemently (adj.)
Def: Means zealous; ardent
Sentence: “Yet uttering his long-restrained emotions so vehemently as he did, his words here offered her the very point of circumstances in which to interpose what she came to say”. (p. 148)
Chapter Eighteen: A Flood of Sunshine (p. 155-160) 25 September 2018
Vocabulary:
Boughs (noun)
Def: A branch of a tree, especially one of the larger or main branches.
Sentence: “Hester smiled, and again called to Pearl, who was visible at some distance, as the minister had described her, like a bright-apparelled vision in a sunbeam, which fell down upon her through an arch of boughs”. (p.159)
Chapter Nineteen: The child at the Brookside (p.161-168) 26 September 2018
Vocabulary:
Typified (Verb)
Def: To serve as a symbol or emblem of; symbolize; prefigure.
Sentence: “So it is ever is, whether thus typified or no, that an evil dead invests itself with the character of doom”. (p. 166)
Chapter Twenty: The Minister in a Maze (p. 169- 179) 27 September 2018
Vocabulary:
Mutability (adj.)
Def: Liable or subject to change or alteration.
Sentence: “They looked neither older nor younger now; the beards of the aged were no whiter, nor could the creeping babe of yesterdays walk on his feet today; it was impossible to describe in what respect they differed from the individuals on whom he had so recently bestowed a parting glance; and yet the minister’s deepest sense seemed to inform him of their mutability”. (p. 171)
Chapter Twenty one: The New England Holiday (p. 181-189) 28 September 2018
Vocabulary:
Countenanced (noun)
Def: Appearance, especially the look or expression of the face
Sentence: “Then, too, the people were countenanced, if not encouraged, in relaxing the severe and close application to their various modes of rugged industry, which, at all other times, seemed of the same piece and material with their religion”. (p.185-186)
Chapter Twenty two: The procession (p. 191-201) 29 September 2018
Vocabulary:
Effervescence (verb)
Def: To give off bubbles of gas, as fermenting liquors.
Sentence: “Little Pearl at first clapped her hands, but then lost, for an instant, the restless agitation that had kept her in a continual effervescence throughout the morning; she gazed silently, and seemed to be borne upward, like a floating sea bird, on the long heaves and swells of sound”. (p. 191)
Chapter Twenty three: The Revelation of the Scarlet Letter (p.203-211) 30 September 2018
Vocabulary:
Apotheosized (verb)
Def: To deify; glorify.
Sentence: So etherealized by spirit as he was, and so apotheosized by worshipping admirers, did his footsteps in the procession really tread upon the dust of earth?”. (p.205)
Chapter Twenty Four: Conclusion (p. 213-219) 30 September 2018
Vocabulary:
Armorial (adj.)
Def: Of or relating to heraldry or heraldic bearings.
Sentence: “All around, there were monuments carved with armorial bearings; and on this simplest slab of slate–as the curious investigator may still discern, and perplex himself with the purport–there appeared the semblance of an engraved escutcheon”. (p. 219)