One-Pager #15

• “The paradox of vengefulness is that it makes men dependent upon those who have harmed them, believing that their release from pain will come only when their tormentors suffer.”– Laura Hillenbrand, Unbroken

In your own words, explain the paradox Hillenbrand is describing.

Relate the ideas in this quote to a book, a film, historical event, or personal experience.

Examples of Newspapers you can use for your SL Research Assignments:

• LA Times• NY Times• Chicago Tribune• Washington Post• Wall Street Journal• Boston Globe• USA Today

Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter

Raising guilt to an art form . . .

The Scarlet Letter

• What color is scarlet?• Scarlet: very bright red with a slightly orange

tinge; of sin; sinful; specifically whorish• Red: primary color or any of a spread of

colors at the lower end of the visible spectrum; political radical or revolutionary

• Crimson: deep, vivid purplish read; bloody

The Scarlet Letter

• Puritans had many versions of punishment letters:• T• I• D• B• M • (Thief, Indolence, Drunk in Public, Blasphemy, Murder)

• Consider what the scarlet letter stands for in this novel as you read

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)• Added the W to his name

to distance himself from his family

• Story of sin, guilt, and the dark side of human nature

• Takes place in the late 17th century, but he is really concerned about the changing definitions of marriage and family in his 19th century world

Genre

• Hawthorne considered his novel a romance– Not how we think of “romance”– Has to do with taking liberties with reality– Lines between actual and imaginary are blurred– Though it contains “fantastical” elements, it still

demands emotional honesty– Many of the “romance” elements center on the

character of Pearl

• The action in The Scarlet Letter takes place in 1642 – 1649

• This is about 50 years before The Salem Witch Trials (the setting of The Crucible)

• The Scarlet Letter was written in 1850– The story is only apparently about the Puritan era– The true issues dealt with in the novel are 19th century

ones – the changing definition of family and marriage• Men leaving home to work; adultery is a threat to society as a

whole (it’s dangerous)• A new kind of marriage develops – affectionate marriage• Marriage becoming less a legal connection and more of a spiritual

connection

Scaffold Scenes

• Chapters II and III• Chapter XII• Chapters XXII through XXIV

• Action is determined by:– Puritan Community (Chapters I – VIII)– Chillingworth (Chapters IX – XII)– Hester (Chapters XIII – XX)– Dimmesdale (Chapters XXI – XXIV)

Scaffold Scenes

• Give the novel a formal structure• The scaffold is a central “character” – a place of

punishment, but a place where law is defined, where law take human form

• The Puritans believed sin must be publicly admitted and publicly atoned for

• The Puritan community says what it will and will not tolerate

• The people in the community say who they are by showing who they are NOT

Hawthorne’s writing – full of ambiguity (open to more than one interpretation)

• Oxymoron – “exquisitely painful” (51) [describing Hester’s beauty]

• Paradox – “so sacred even in its pollution” (62) [describing Hester’s sin]

• Double negatives – “not ill-fitted” (60) [describing Gov. Bellingham’s ability as a leader]

• Diction – Roger says he cannot “conceive” of Hester’s sin

• Figurative language – “my heart was a habitation large enough for many guests” (69) [Roger speaking of how he “wished” for friends]

Antithesis!

Antithesis• Science vs. religion• Love vs. hate• Confession vs. repression• Reality vs. illusion• Forgiveness vs. revenge• Life vs. death• Courage vs. cowardice• Being vs. seeming• Honesty vs. lies• And many more!

Motifs• Night vs. Day• Civilization vs. Wilderness• Garden of Eden (i.e. original

sin revealing knowledge)

Let’s look at the first chapter of the book

Reading The Scarlet Letter

• Main Characters who you will see quotes from/about on your reading quizzes:–Hester Prynne–Pearl–Roger Chillingworth–Arthur Dimmesdale

• Read through the end of Chapter 5 for your first reading quiz on Friday!