'''I have thought of death,'''said she ''' have wished for it,-would even have prayed for it, were it fit that such as I should pray for anything. Yet, if death be in this cup, I bid thee think again, ere beholdest me quaff it. See! It i even at my lips."
The quotes dimly shows what the scarlet letter's impact had on Hester. The fact that she wanted and was willing to die because of her sin showed how deeply she was influenced by her punishment,yet her actions contradict what she claims to have wanted by death. Her normal behavior is of a person who is sure in herself and unfazed by her punishment and scrutiny of people of the town. This quote shows Hester's inner emotions she does not like to portray onto her image. This is one of the few times where Hester allows the audience, as well as Roger to see how she truly feels. Providing insight into reasons for her actions. When Hester was sitting in the prison and Chillingworth gave her the medicine, she thought it was poison, and contemplated whether or not to drink it, but Roger assures her that he doesn't want her to die, but his evil smile makes Hester think he's like the devil. With Roger she second guesses herself which is not the person she wants others to see. She would rather have people think she were strong as opposed to a weakling who deserves such severe punishment.
Question
What scares Hester so much about Roger? Why is Roger's presences so peculiar?
In what ways does the development of suspense develop Hester's Condition?
When describing new characters why is the introduction sytacticlly long?
Why does Hawthorne bounce back and forth in the description areas of the text?
What is the purpose of the narrator?
Yay Lori you posted!
ReplyDeleteOkay well in response to your first question, what scares Hester so much about Roger is the fact that Roger is the husband of Hester. Since she cheated on him, you can understand why confronting him and being in his presence scares her so much as she had wronged him. As of your last question, the purpose in having a narrator, in this case, is so that you can see the different points of views among the different characters rather than just through the one-sided view of a single character. Furthermore this also allows the reader to be able to outweigh and make their own assumptions about particular characters rather than what the main character wants you to believe.
Hester fears Roger because as her husband, he has authority over her. Women were to be submisive to men in these days. Even with this in mind, she just cheated on her husband and had a child. Suprisingly, however, even though she has done him wrong, he is not punishing her the way she would think. He did not yell at her, or even tell a soul that they were married, yet he tells her to keep it a secret and to go about her life in the shame that she will forever face with the scarlet letter.
ReplyDeletethe development of suspense in Hester's condition develops when Hawthorne writes all these cumulative, periodic sentences in order to stall the readers from knowing everything at once. this is also why the introduction is long,although it is also to give decriptions of the characters and the town and the time period in order for the readers to comprehend the actions of the townspeople better. it is also so the readers can get acquainted with the occassion as well.
the purpose of the narrator is to tell the story in a subjective way; to provide emotion and draw the readers in to feel the characters feelings and get a clearer picture on what is going on.
Hawthorne describes almost all the characters with great definition, because they each play a role, in the events that will occur throughout the novel. He bounces back and forth with description (as Lori said) because it is so important that we recognize who each of the characters really are and learn exactly the antagonist and the protagonist (which are few, Hester, Pearl, two so far.). Hawthorne's purpose for the narration might be to tell the story from a different point of view, not necessarily his but the view of an imaginary person- one who tells the story of a woman who has committed a sin so great that she has been condemned to a life of misery. The narrator is there to tell her story, to side with her and defend her and perhaps teach us of the oppressive religious government.
ReplyDeleteyaaay, best friend. I know you had some issues with it, but i'm glad you posted finally (:
ReplyDeleteHester is afraid of Roger for the simple fact that he's her husband and any woman that has cheated will be in some way afraid of the confrontation after the fact. The reaction from the person that you cheated on is always something hard to handle since they have been greatly wronged and often want you to feel their pain.
The narrator is there to serve as some what of a "middle man" between the different people and opinions while giving detailed descriptions to provide clearer understanding for the readers.
I'm glad you posted too. There will be a minor deduction for tardiness, but I'm glad it's here.
ReplyDeleteAnd group members: How nice that she can rely on you all to respond.