1st half of Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

Charlie Spinale

AP Literature & Composition

8/29/14

Prompt: “Often we can learn a lot about a character through his relationship with another character or characters. Discuss a relationship you see between two characters in Gilead and what that relationship tells you about the characters and the novel as a whole.”

            The common saying that history repeats itself is interconnected with the novel Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. The narrator, John Ames, is seventy-six years old and is the son of John Ames and grandson of John Ames. Not only does his father and grandfather share his name but also his vocation as a minister. Throughout the novel the reader sees how Reverend Ames relationship with his father helps him shape an image for himself. Through Reverend Ames letter he ensures a deep relationship with his own son as well as providing him with an apprehension to the history of their family before his inevitable death.

            The ceaseless idea of history repeating itself is seen in the novel because from the beginning the reader learns that Reverend Ames is living a life generations of his ancestors have lived as a preacher: “My mother’s father was a preacher, and my father’s father was, too, and his father before him, and before that, nobody knows, but I wouldn’t hesitate to guess. That life was second nature to them, just as it is to me” (6, Robinson). In this quote Reverend Ames not only mentions how his entire family of men has been preachers but also that becoming one was “second nature”. This suggests that Reverend Ames had no doubt in his mind that he would become a minster because that is what his father had done and it was almost a natural instinct for him to start a life as one. It is made explicit that Reverend Ames looks up to his father and respects his position. The sheer fact that both men are so involved in religion allows them to share common qualities because they both strive for similar things that any minster would strive for in terms of religious success within their churches and lives. Reverend Ames and his father are not only similar in the sense that they both live religious lives but also the fact that they both cherish the presence of their children: “He was a fine, vigorous man into his old age. We played catch in the evenings after supper for years, till the sun went down and it was too dark for us to see the ball. I think he just appreciated having a child at home, a son. Well, I was a fine, vigorous old man, too, until recently” (17). This quote exhibits how much Reverend Ames enjoyed the time he spent with his father as a child. He describes his father as “vigorous” meaning he was healthy and always energetic. Reverend Ames states he himself was “vigorous” “until recently”. This suggests Reverend Ames feels guilty that he may not be able to share the same experiences he had with his father with his son due to his sickness. This allows the reader a greater comprehension as to why Reverend Ames is writing this letter. The similarities between Reverend Ames and his father are evidently clear. Both are minsters allowing an immediate bond in terms of respect for each other and both raised their children with the similar principles of their ancestors. However, Reverend Ames time teaching his son about the world is being cut short.

               The reader sees how strong of a relationship Reverend Ames has with his father through the stories and memories he shared with him. One of which was when Reverend Ames was twelve years old and went with his father to his grandfather’s grave in Kansas. Reverend Ames refers to this memory with his father as being a time of great joy: “[…] what a sweet strength I felt, in him, and in myself, and all around us. I am glad I didn’t understand, because I have rarely felt joy like that, and assurance. It was like one of those dreams where you’ve filled with some extravagant feeling you might never have in life, it doesn’t matter what it is, even guilt or dread, and you learn from it what an amazing instrument you are, so to speak, what a power you have to experience beyond anything you might ever actually need” (48-49). This quote explains how Reverend Ames felt when he was walking next to his dad the night they visited his grandfather’s grave. Reverend Ames felt “strength” walking besides his father that day. This suggests that his father provided him with the knowledge he needed in his life and the knowledge he would give to his own children. He also felt “joy” and the ability to experience things in life that he may never actually need to experience to feel fulfilled. This suggests that his father provided him with not only joy but the ability to experience life however he wanted even though he was happy with that moment alone. The reader also sees how Reverend Ames’ father influenced his beliefs that kept with him through his adult life. This is the scene on the same day they visit the graveyard and Reverend Ames' father is praying when the full moon began to rise as the sun was setting and the grave and Reverend Ames and his father were exactly between them. Reverend Ames’ father refers to this as something everyone saw not just them suggesting it was not a miracle of any kind: ‘[…] You know, everyone in Kansas saw the same thing we saw’ “[…] Later I realized my father would have meant that the sun and moon aligned themselves as they did with no special reference to the two of us. He never encouraged any talk about visions or miracles, except the ones in the bible” (48). This quote shows how Reverend Ames’ father refused to view that beautiful moment as a miracle. The way Reverend Ames describes the moment suggests he viewed it as a miracle. However, he states “later he realized” that his father meant it was not a miracle. This suggests that “later” in life as he got older he came to realize that miracles did not exist only the ones involving the Bible due to his strong religious beliefs. This shows how much a parent can influence a child because they want to be just like them in every aspect when they grow up.

            Reverend Ames talks about the conflict his father had with his father involving the Civil War. Revered Ames’ discusses how his father told him about his father’s church and how it was half empty after the war because the only people who stayed were widows, orphans, and mothers who lost their sons. All the graves at the church were new and what killed Reverend Ames’ father the most was how his father preached that all this had a meaningful purpose and it was something that needed to be done: “And there was his father, preaching every Sunday on the divine righteousness manifested in it all” (87). Reverend Ames’ father’s father would walk into church about to give a sermon wearing his bloody shirt and having his pistol on hand and then would preach about how God essentially wanted war. Reverend Ames’ father destroyed the items left behind from his father that involved his beliefs on this. He smashed the pistol and threw it into a lake, essentially, trying to make his guilt of what his father did go away. In telling his son this, Reverend Ames wanted his son to be aware of this to ensure he would not acquire any guilt. Reverend Ames essentially learns from his past ancestors mistakes and wishes to teach his own son what he learned from his experiences. Reverend Ames was aware that his father disrespected his grandfather but he also learned about the mistakes his grandfather made and impressed them upon his son: “He may, so to speak, have been too dazzled by the great light of his experience to realize that an impressive sun shines on us all. Perhaps that is the one thing I wish to tell you. Sometimes the visionary aspect of any particular day comes to you in the memory of it, or it opens to you over time” (91). In this quote Reverend Ames is trying to tell his son that his grandfather had a certain belief about the war and he refused to even look at someone else’s view on it. He is also saying that some visions do not come to you for a while when you have memories of those events. Reverend Ames’ guilt about his father’s disrespect toward his father essentially allows him to teach his son valuable lessons about life.

            Although Reverend Ames recalls some negative aspects of his father’s life and actions he also recalls some of the memories that are most dear to his heart. Throughout the letter, the reader sees that Reverend Ames mentions the story of when his father helped take down a Baptist church several times, suggesting it is an exceedingly important memory of his childhood and father. He remembers how his father broke a piece of a biscuit and fed it to him by hand. He thought of the moment as if his father was giving him communion. It allowed him to feel truly connected to his father in that one loving moment. However, Reverend Ames mentions that his father never placed the bread in his mouth. He just remembers it that way because he wishes his father had placed it there. Since this moment was so important to him he gives his own son a similar experience: “[…] I broke the bread and fed a bit of it to you from my hand, just the way my father would not have done except in memory” (103). This quote shows how Reverend Ames recreated a memory that he wanted his own son to have because it was a moment that he looked back upon with true endearment. This relates to the theme of history repeating itself because Reverend Ames experiences with his father were recreated for his son and tweaked so that his son would not have to experience any regret or guilt that Reverend Ames experienced.

            Throughout the Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, the strong tie between Reverend Ames and his father allows the reader a greater apprehension of their characteristics while at the same time providing an understanding of the novel as a whole. Reverend Ames’ father is viewed as a loving man who sought to teach his son the principles that his own father taught him. He does this by teaching his son the religious beliefs he was taught by his father and so forth. Reverend Ames himself is also a loving man but he does not receive the full benefit of being there to tell his child right from wrong. He sadly, does not receive the benefit of watching his son grow up and have children of his own.  The relationship between Reverend Ames and his father allow the reader to really gain a grasp on Reverend Ames’ character. The reader learns that through this letter, Reverend Ames hopes to teach his son what he otherwise will not be able to teach him after his death. He provides him with similar beloved experiences he had like placing the bread in his son’s mouth for his communion and also provides him with a greater understanding of the world and the negative things that happened in his life so they will not happen in his son’s life. Reverend Ames and his father are both worldly men and that quality must be passed down among the generations as it has always. This letter allows this tradition to continue.  The letter goes to show the true importance of parents and in this case a father. Children come into this world with no one but their parents. So everything they have ever known is something their parents have done or said. It goes to show children grow up with their parents being their true best friends and the worldly knowledge they pass onto their children is immensely vital to the development of the world’s children. 

2nd half of Charming Billy by Alice McDermott

Charlie Spinale

AP Literature & Composition

8/12/14

2^nd half of “Charming Billy” prompt: “Though Billy Lynch is the title character of the novel, ‘Charming Billy’ presents several other well-rounded characters. Choose a character other than Billy and discuss the methods the author uses to create him/her. How does your chosen character contribute to the meaning of the novel?”

            In the novel Charming Billy, Alice McDermott develops several well-rounded characters whose lives are influenced and shaped by the title character, Billy Lynch. In spite of the fact that Billy is never able to forget his true love for Eva, he marries Maeve who somewhat allows him to move on with his life. Nevertheless, Billy keeps Eva in his heart as his first and only true love. Throughout the novel the reader sees how McDermott creates Maeve, a woman who deals with several hardships yet still manages to express love for those who truly hurt her. McDermott creates Maeve using indirect and direct characterization and builds an emotional attachment towards her. While McDermott informs the reader of Maeve’s hardships, this relationship is formed towards her out of pity.

            The novel begins with Maeve at the funeral party and the reader later finds out she is the wife of Billy Lynch. The reader’s curiosity of Billy Lynch and his life story allows the reader to also be intrigued by Maeve because at that point she is most likely the closest thing to Billy Lynch’s life. McDermott uses direct characterization to give the reader a first impression of Maeve, describing her as plain in terms of looks and clothing but at the same time this plainness is described as a form of courage: “[…] perhaps inspired by the perfect simplicity of what she wore—that there was a kind of beauty in her ordinary looks, in her plainness. […] but the courage it took to look out onto life from a face as plain as butter: pale, downy skin and bland blue eyes, faded brown hair cut short as a nun’s and dimmed with gray” (5, McDermott). This quote describes Maeve’s clothing and how it was exceptionally simple. Some people thought of this simplicity as a form of beauty while others thought that her simplicity represented courage. This courage is not the courage of a new widow who just lost her husband but the courage of a woman who could still manage to view the world positively while being so bland. McDermott also directly describes Maeve’s looks by pointing out her plain aspects. Her skin is described as “pale” and “downy”, her eyes “bland”, and her hair “faded” and “gray”. All of these aspects of Maeve’s looks and personality are symbolic because Maeve represents something “pale”, “bland”, “faded”, and “gray” suggesting that she is aged and also nothing special and someone who would not be with a man as great as Billy Lynch. To Billy, Maeve was his second option. She was something that could help him think he was moving on with his life when in reality his true love for Eva would endure for the rest of his life.  

            As the story progresses the reader learns more about Eva, the Irish girl Billy had asked to marry. Billy gets a job at Holtzman’s shoe store in order to get money to send to Eva so she can come live in America with him. Billy gets an advance of 500 dollars and immediately sends the money to Eva. Eva, being young and scared of starting her life decides to keep the money and stay in Ireland. She marries, has children, and opens up a gas station/coffee shop.  In order to protect Billy’s innocence, Dennis, Billy’s friend, tells Billy that Eva had died. This lie essentially leads to Billy’s downfall. He uses drinking in order to mend the pain of losing Eva. Maeve and Billy meet at the shoe store and it is immediately noticed that she is in love with Billy and is already thinking about her future with him: “She was the plain one with the father, the one who without him would have become a nun. She was the one who, having chosen this part, must stand steadily by as his future was formed for her” (156). This quote explains Maeve’s life at a glance. She was the bland girl with the drunken father who she had to take care of and she was the one that would have become a nun if it was not for Billy. She also was the one who caught Billy in a vulnerable part of his life. Billy had just lost Eva and he needed someone to help him deal with his pain and move on with his life. Maeve therefore represents a caretaker. She took care of her drunken father her whole life and she has to take care of Billy who is now half the man he was before he lost Eva. Maeve’s will also have to deal with yet another addiction to alcohol.  

            In order to create Maeve, McDermott tells her life story enabling the reader to build an emotional relationship with her. The reader felt sympathy for Maeve right at the beginning of the novel when Billy’s death is made known. The reader later finds out about Maeve’s unpleasant childhood: “Maeve was only eight when her mother died” (154) and her drunken father who she takes care of until his death: “Her father drank most evenings […] And when things got out of hand—when, in his cups, he growled at her or cursed her or waved his arms about as if her love and attention were cobwebs she’d draped around him […]” (155). The first quote states that Maeve’s mother died when she was 8, implying Maeve had to become mature at a very young age in order to care for her father.  In the second quote the reader learns how Maeve’s father is a drunk because of the loss of his wife. However, Maeve still manages to show him love even though his drinking became severe. The reader feels considerable sympathy for Maeve who is being shooed away by her father for showing love yet she still “draped” around him showing him an untold amount of love when he was simply being a cold-hearted drunk.  The fact that Maeve cares for her father who lost his wife foreshadows that she will be caring for Billy who uses drinking as a way to ease his pain of losing Eva. The reader also feels pity for Maeve because it is made well aware that Billy truly does not love Maeve but, rather sought solace and was just waiting to be with Eva: ‘Ever since the night Dennis told him the news, he was waiting to die’ (24).  The reader cannot help but feel downhearted for a woman who loves a man so much yet she is only a second option, the girl who Billy had just happened to meet in the shoe store when he was in need of someone to help mend his wound from his loss of his true love Eva. The reader sees Maeve’s love for Billy through everything she did in order to be with him and the sheer factor that she deals with his drinking for so many years. The reader sees how in love Maeve is with Billy when she destroyed several of her father’s shoes just so she had a reason to go back to the shoe store to see Billy: ‘I threw my father’s shoe down the incinerator’ […] ‘Just to see Billy’ (186). The reader can see how strong Maeve’s feelings are towards Billy if she was willing to just destroy a shoe so she could go see Billy and maybe exchange a few words with him. McDermott’s ability to build a strong emotional relationship between her characters and the reader allows the characters to become fully developed and hence understood.  Without a background on Maeve’s life the reader would not feel emotional attached to her.

            Maeve’s willingness to love Billy even after everything he put her through exhibits how she does not give up on a life that she hoped would turn around for the best. McDermott shows in detail the struggles Maeve went through in her daily routine with Billy in order to create her as a character that was capable of loving someone that caused heartache every day.  Once again the reader sees Maeve as the victim with the struggles she goes through with Billy: “[…] a thousand and one moments she would never recount, things he had said to her, terrible things he had done, ways she had seen him (toothless, incoherent, half-clothed, bloodied, soiled, weeping) […] And the next thing she knew he had her by the throat” (182-183). This quote explicates how Maeve had to deal with Billy the way most people have to deal with alcoholics. The pain Maeve faced because of Billy’s drinking and things he did and said were things that she did not have the strength of repeating. The reader sees this as an emerging pattern because first she had to deal with her father’s drinking and now Billy’s. Both contained abuse, in Billy’s case physical abuse. One night when he was drunk and she called his name so he would go to bed he ignored her. She told him Dennis would not come and he too had had enough of him. All of a sudden Billy grabbed her by her throat and then after a few seconds he began crying at her feet. This symbolizes Billy’s struggle. As much as he just wanted a life with Eva he could not get it. One minute he is strangling Maeve and the next minute he is crying at her feet because he is well aware he needs her and she is his only way of attempting to cope with his loss and move on.  Maeve’s hopes in fixing the people she loved never turned out as she planned. She could never fix her father’s drinking problem and she could never essentially fix Billy’s or his ceaseless idea of keeping Eva in his heart as his only true love. This point is emphasized through Billy’s friend Dennis who describes Maeve’s faults: ‘Maeve made the same mistake we all did, Dan. She not only put up with him, she hoped he was right, in all his strange notions. She hoped the world would somehow turn out to be just the way he believed it to be. She hoped somehow that he’d turn out to be right in the end, with all his hanging on to the past. All his loyalty to the dead. Even if it meant she’d have no life of her own’ (224). This quote shows that Maeve made the same mistake all Billy’s family and friends made. They all put up with his drinking and never really put their feet down properly to stop him. She also hoped he was right with every idea he had about the world around him. She wanted it to turn out how he said it would turn out. But it never did because Billy is unrealistic as a character. He strives to high for things that will never happen and will just leave him in pain his entire life, and that’s exactly what happened to Billy Lynch because he could never erase Eva from his mind. Maeve, in hopes that her persistent help and endearment towards Billy’s drinking would show him that she really cared and loved him and would make him realize he needed to stop drinking never worked. She could not conjure up enough love for Billy to give him a reason to stop drinking; she could not conjure up enough love to show him that she truly loved him because Billy unrealistically kept the fact locked in his mind that Eva was his only love.

            Maeve’s loving character is pivotal to the novel, Charming Billy. Maeve provides Billy and her father, two men who cope with their losses with alcohol, with unconditional love. In today’s society some people give up on their loved ones realizing some things cannot change about them but Maeve never gives up. She fights to the end for Billy hoping he will change but he dies with Eva still being his only true love in his heart and as an alcoholic. Essentially, Maeve fails because Billy never changes. The novel shows how different certain personalities can be. Maeve is hopeful for change, while Billy is unrealistic and sticks to a love he had for a girl that he only spent a small portion of his life with. The novel ends with an unexpected twist: “They were married in March of 1991, my father and Maeve” (280). This indicated Dennis and Maeve got married later in their lives after both had lost their loved ones. This shows that death can bring new life and change. Although Dennis loses his wife and Maeve loses Billy, they both represent characters that are strong, prudent, and capable of moving on with their lives. Billy and Maeve both shared a deep love for Billy and a need to protect him and care for him all those nights they spent dragging him to his bed. The novel goes to show that just because something ends tragically it does not mean it cannot begin again beautifully at a different point in life. Maeve’s character manifests how deceiving first impressions can truly be. The reader first sees Maeve as this bland woman in terms of her features and clothing, but most of the world is bland in one way or another. It is just that most choose to cover up their blandness with nice clothing and other things that change their natural appearance. Maeve was never bland at all, she had bland features like everyone else but she chose to not hide any of her blandness because she never thought she would be loved. Maeve was always the one showing love and caring for her drunken husband and father. Maeve was viewed as the plainest character in the novel. But, deep down Maeve was the most elaborate, acquiring love after so many years of fighting for it at an age when most people would be telling their life story not creating a new one.  

1st half of Charming Billy by Alice McDermott

Charlie Spinale

 AP Literature & Composition

7/30/14

“Charming Billy” by Alice McDermott 1^st half prompt: “One of an author’s goals at the beginning of a novel is to fully engage her reader. Select a passage from the first half of “Charming Billy” that you found particularly interesting and explain how you think it contributes to engaging the reader in the novel.”

Charming Billy by Alice McDermott tells the story of Billy, a man who falls in love with a girl named Eva. The story commences by informing the reader of Billy’s death by starting the novel at his funeral party. His friends and family discuss Billy’s life and his struggles with alcohol and his loss of Eva who he never is capable of forgetting. Throughout the first half of the novel the reader sees how McDermott shows the background of Billy’s life and the reasons why he could not let go of Eva. The reader becomes thoroughly engaged by achieving a greater apprehension and image of Billy, who although a drunk, everyone dearly loved.

In the first chapter of the novel the reader is already engaged and left in suspense through McDermott’s evocative imagery and figurative language. These techniques enable McDermott’s readers to keep reading, essentially, hoping to find something in what seemed to be a mystery. Once McDermott reveals Billy and how he died as an alcoholic, the reader has something to endeavor more about. The reader strives to learn more about Billy because he is loved and remembered by everyone leading the reader to think that his story must be quite significant. McDermott also leads the reader into thinking Billy is a different kind of drunk because he is capable of gaining so much love by so many people and is never described as ruthless or discourteous. The scene at the funeral party allows the reader to become utterly engaged when the reader sees Billy’s family and friends discuss his character and everything they loved and still cherish about him even after his death. One of which was his letters which he wrote to his loved ones. One of these letters was kept by Billy’s friend Bridie, who reveals a letter she kept in her purse:

“'I have one,'” Bridie from the old neighborhood said. She dug into her patent-leather purse and found a greeting-card-sized envelope with two stamps that showed a harp and a fiddle. She looked at the postmark—June 1975—and then extracted a limp paper square of a cocktail napkin that contained Billy’s looping hand” (9, McDermott).

“The napkin was circulated, held as delicately as a fledgling, some even reaching into a purse or a breast pocket for reading glasses so as not to miss a word. All the way up the table to Maeve, who read it with a smile and a nod, and all the way back down again. Bridie took it back and read it once more before placing it into its envelope and back into a side, zippered compartment of her Sunday pocketbook” (9).

“Other letters from Billy were being mentioned: a note scribbled on a Playbill page, on a business card. The long missives he’d sent home during the war, whole lines blacked out by the censors but the homesickness coming through. He was so homesick. The postcards from the Irish trip, the place mats and napkins from various Long Island restaurants and diners, that summer he and Dennis were out there, fixing up Mr. Holtzman’s little house. You remember Mr. Holtzman. Dennis’s mother’s second husband. The shoe-store man” (9-10).

            The passage starts with Bridie, one of Billy’s neighborhood friends taking out a letter she had never thrown away from Billy. The shear fact that Bridie has kept the letter all this time shows she is not capable of letting go of her memories with Billy. Whilst the letter was written on a cocktail napkin, suggesting he was drinking, it was still a kind note stating Billy had seen a young girl who looked exactly like Bridie. The fact that Billy wrote this kind letter to a friend while he was most likely drinking shows he was not remembered by his loved ones as a mean-spirited drunk but as a kindhearted person who drank to get through the loss of his true love Eva. The letter is passed around the table at the funeral party and everyone handles it with great care. McDermott suggests this through a simile: “held as delicately as a fledgling” (9). A fledging is a young bird that has just left its nest. This suggests that they are all holding on to a precious memory of Billy like they would hold a small young bird that is delicate.  It shows how gentle they want to be with this letter because destroying it would mean destroying a memory of Billy. As the letter is passed around, it is also mentioned that people took out reading glasses in order to make sure they did not miss a single detail of Billy’s beautiful writing or miss out on a memory they would have of him. This allows the reader to understand how much his friends and family cared for him because they were not willing to miss anything involving Billy. At the end of the quote, Bridie rereads the letter again before placing it back into her purse, suggesting her ceaseless idea of keeping Billy’s presence fresh in her mind.  In the last quote of the passage, Billy is described as writing several letters to friends and family from wherever he may have been. He is described as writing letters on a Playbill page, a business card, letters he wrote during the war, postcards from his Irish trip, and napkins from restaurants. The fact that Billy wrote these letters wherever he may have been signifies that he cared for his loved ones. For example, rather than causing mishap at a bar when he was drunk, he would write a letter to a loved one like he sent to Bridie. Billy’s ability to think about others and show his feelings through letters no matter where he was shows his loving characteristics. McDermott, allowing Billy to be a lovable character makes the reader emotionally attached to him. As a reader we create an image of him as being a kind man sending letters to all his loved ones. This grasps the attention of the reader because the reader would not want to continue with the novel if they did not care for the main character and feel somewhat attached to them. This leads to the reader yearning to learn more about Billy.  

            In Charming Billy, Alice McDermott achieves every author’s goal of engaging her reading at the beginning of a novel. She does this by securing the reader’s trust through her use of vivid imagery and figurative language while introducing a heartbroken man, Billy, who uses drinking to deal with his loss of his true love Eva, who in his mind is the only women he can love to the extent that you can possibly love someone.  After gaining the readers trust and attention the reader is intrigued to keep reading in order to learn what events Billy went through during his life that allowed him to be loved and remembered the way he is. At the end of the first chapter, the reader is left in suspense when it is revealed that Eva had never died, “’Eva lived”’ (29). This plot changing revelation grants the reader a million questions, which finalizes McDermott’s success at truly engaging her reader at the beginning of her novel, Charming Billy. 

2nd half of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Charlie Spinale

AP Literature & Composition

7/16/14

2^nd half of The Scarlet Letter prompt: “Choose one of the three main characters and discuss his/her motivations throughout the novel. What is the final outcome for the character you are discussing, and what does this outcome suggest to the reader?”

In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne’s act of adultery leads her to inevitable mortification and shun in Puritan America which does not take such sins lightly in a time of strong religious and moral beliefs. Throughout the novel Hester copes with her shame and guilt by isolating herself while cleansing her soul by performing good deeds. Hester is motivated by her daughter Pearl who provides Hester with all her happiness but at the same time is an unceasing reminder of her sin and her partner in crime Reverend Dimmesdale who conceals his sin forcing himself into a life of guilt which ultimately leads to his death.

            

        In the first half of The Scarlet Letter the reader sees Hester’s motives in her needlework which allowed her to provide for her and Pearl. Her needlework was popular among many Puritans and she even spent time doing charity work. Nonetheless, she acquired hatred from the people she was helping who still continued to sneer at her: “Dames of elevated rank, likewise, whose doors she entered in the way of her occupation, were accustomed to distil drops of bitterness into her heart; sometimes through that alchemy of quiet malice, by which women can concoct a subtile poison from ordinary trifles; and sometimes, also, by a coarser expression, that fell upon the sufferer’s defenceless breast like a rough blow upon an ulcerated wound” (64). This quote shows the reader that the rich women who purchased Hester clothes would shrewdly insult her and other times they would attack her with degrading words. The reader understands how even when Hester is helping people she still receives “bitterness”. Although Hester’s guilt and shame never go away in the second half of the book, the public begins to respect Hester’s kindhearted actions such as her aptitude to help the sick. Rather than recognizing the “A” as her sin of adultery, people begin to recognize it differently: “They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength” (114). This quote states that Hester’s “A” began meaning “able” to a lot of citizens who began to appreciate her rather than ostracize her. Although Hester receives praise for her good deeds she refuses to except this praise and be recognized for it. In public when she sees a citizen who she has helped she will not even make eye contact with them because she does not believe she is deserving of this praise and she realizes she must suffer for her sin not be rewarded for it: “Meeting them in the street, she never raised her head to receive their greeting. If they were resolute to accost her, she laid her finger on the scarlet letter, and passed on. This might be pride, but was so humility, that it produced all the softening influence of the latter quality on the public mind…society was inclined to show its former victim a more benign countenance than she cared to be favored with, or, perchance, than she deserved” (115). Hester’s inability to accept praise shows that she is not willing to forgive herself for her sin and she must continue to repent. This is shown when she points at her “A” and does not acknowledge praise from people she has helped. The quote depicts how the community saw that Hester acted this way out of humility so in return they were kinder to Hester than she wanted. Hester’s good deeds did not deserve praise in her mind, and if she accepted praise she would not be capable of forgiving herself for her sin and would not be able to become pure again.

Hester’s motives and ability to cope with her sin is shown through her love for Pearl. Although Pearl provides Hester with all her happiness she is also a portrayal of the scarlet letter because although she can be sweet she mocks Hester and reminds her of her sin. As Pearl gets older she questions the true meaning of her mother’s “A” always asking about it. Hester believes Pearl’s wonder of it was given to her for a divine reason: “Hester had often fancied that Providence had a design of justice and retribution, in endowing the child with this marked propensity; but never, until now, had she bethought herself to ask, whether, linked with that design, there might not likewise be a purpose of mercy and beneficence…might it not be her errand to soothe away the sorrow that lay cold in her mother’s heart…” (126). This quote is saying that Pearl's wonder about the “A” could have been given to her to make her represent “justice” and “retribution” or punishment. Hester also wonders if the purpose has “mercy” and “beneficence” or kindness. She wondered if Pearl was meant to take away the sorrow in her heart. Although Pearl’s actions can be mocking and at the same time sweet towards Hester, Hester still shows Pearl love and would sacrifice anything for her. When Hester and Dimmesdale meet in the forest and they decide they will leave their guilt behind and start a new life somewhere else, Hester abandons her “A” and takes of her cap which covers her hair. After she does this her femininity, youth, and beauty came back to her. This led to a complete change in Hester in terms of not only appearance but a burden of “shame” and “anguish” had left her. This is further explained when the narrator states: “She had not known the weight, until she felt the freedom” (142).  As the quote states, Hester have become essentially free and her guilt and shame has departed from her. Pearl, when called by Hester begins screaming and making a fuss because she does not recognize Hester without her “A” and her hair covered. Hester responds by putting back on her “A” and her cap to cover her hair. Hester than asks Pearl to come to her: “Dost thou know thy mother now child? Wilt thou come across the brook, and own thy mother, now that she has her shame upon her, -now that she is sad (147)? This quote shows that now that Hester has put back on her “A” and covered her hair Pearl is now willing to come across the brook to her. Pearl in response kisses her mother’s forehead and also kisses the “A” showing both affection and mockery. Hester’s love is demonstrated here because she was willing to put the shame she had taken away from her and put it back on for Pearl. This shows she would do anything for Pearl even if it means taking away her own happiness. It also goes to show that she cannot escape the “A” and when she tries to she is forced back into relentless shame.

Hester’s motives are exhibited through the risks she takes with Reverend Dimmesdale's secret. Rather than exposing the fact that her and Reverend Dimmesdale committed adultery together she chose to protect his reputation. However, her love for Reverend Dimmesdale was too strong and she knew her previous husband now known as Roger Chillingworth was causing Dimmesdale to become weaker and weaker every day: “There had been a period when Hester was less alive to this consideration; or, perhaps, in the misanthropy of her own trouble, she left the minister to bear what she might picture to herself as a more tolerable doom. But of late, since the night of his vigil, all her sympathies towards him had been both softened and invigorated. She now read his heart more accurately. She doubted not, that the continual presence of Roger Chillingworth,—the secret poison of his malignity, infecting all the air about him,—and his authorized interference, as a physician, with the minister’s physical and spiritual infirmities,—that these bad opportunities had been turned to a cruel purpose” (135). This quote shows that Hester use to think that Dimmesdale having to deal with Chillingworth was a better fate than the shame he would receive if she had not kept his secret. After she saw him on the platform where she was originally shunned she realized the feelings she had for him and also saw how damaged he was from Chillingworth’s idea of curing him, which really just made him go insane. The reader sees Hester’s motive of love when she first declares she will not divulge Dimmesdale’s secret and instead takes on all the shame alone. The reader sees her endearment for Dimmesdale at a greater depth when she risks the revenge her and Dimmesdale will face after she reveals Chillingworth’s true identity as her previous husband in order to save Dimmesdale from Chillingworth. Hester’s love for Dimmesdale is stated clearly: “…still so passionately loved” (136)! But, it is also shown when she tells Dimmesdale she is willing to leave the area and no longer be forced to live in shame and guilt: “Thou shalt not go alone” (139)! Hester having the ability to leave an area where her sin is attached shows how far she has come in terms of allowing herself to live with her life even though she is well aware the “A” will be with her until death. It also shows her love for Dimmesdale because should would risk having nothing and leaving an area where her sins were rooted.

In the end Hester did not allow her guilt and shame to kill her like it did to Dimmesdale who dies at the scaffold after he admits his sin of adultery with Hester and frees his guilt. However, her guilt and shame inevitably lived with her forever because she returns to her isolated cottage and lives there suffering through shame and guilt interminably. Although she would still face shame and guilt the scarlet letter was no longer looked at in regret but rather wonder and respect due to Hester’s kind and hard work throughout the rest of her life. Women began getting advice from Hester involving love and unhappiness and she responded by promising: “…a new truth would be revealed, in order to establish the whole relationship between man and woman on a surer ground of mutual happiness” (181). However, this new world Hester describes where men and woman will act for their mutual happiness cannot have Hester as the “prophetess” like she thought because she is sinful, shameful, and unhappy. The woman would have to be pure unlike Hester. Hester’s daughter Pearl transitions to a women and obtains an ability to see human sorrow once her father dies leading her to becoming happily married and willing to have Hester live with her. Hester, however, believes she must stay where she sinned, where her misery is, and where her self-punishment will be. Hester therefore loses Pearl and Dimmesdale and was unable to defeat the scarlet letter and turn pure again. It goes to show that some things are permanent and you can try to change them but in the end they will always endure; just like Hester’s shame, guilt, and the scarlet letter which will forever remain on her bosom. 

1st half of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne July 2nd, 2014

 Charlie Spinale

AP Literature

7/2/14

1st half of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne prompt #1: “Setting includes more than just time and place. It also concerns social conditions and customs of a given location and time period. Discuss the setting of The Scarlet Letter and how it contributes to your understanding of the book so far.”

            The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a novel that takes place in seventeenth century Puritan Boston, Massachusetts. Hester Prynne is a young woman who perpetrates adultery and has a child named Pearl leading her into relentless ignominy and ridicule. Throughout The Scarlet Letter the strict social conditions and traditional customs of the era demonstrate the setting of the book and grant the reader a better understanding of the book allowing insight on why Hester Prynne feels guilty and is shunned for her crime and sin of the time period.

            The reader sees some of the social conditions and customs of the time period as the story begins in the chapter “The Market-Place”. This is where the reader sees Hester for the first time exiting the prison to proceed to her punishment and the reader gets a glimpse of the beliefs of the time through the narrator and some citizens talking amongst each other. The narrator elucidates the Puritan character allowing the reader to see how cold-hearted and strict the people of the time period truly were: “The grim rigidity that petrified the bearded physiognomies of these good people…It could have betokened nothing short of the anticipated execution of some noted culprit…But, in that early severity of the Puritan character, an inference of this kind could not so indubitably be drawn. It might be that a sluggish bond-servant, or an undutiful child, whom his parents had given over to the civil authority, was to be corrected at the whipping-post…It might be, too, that a witch, like old Mistress Hibbins, the bitter-tempered widow of the magistrate, was to die upon the gallows” (41-42, Hawthorne). This quote exhibits the faces of the people who show a group in a different era who are about to witness the punishment of a very serious criminal who is so well-known that the decision of the court is already known by the citizens. Nevertheless, since the Puritans have such a “severe” character, the reader cannot be sure of the crime. As described in the quote, the Puritans character and expressions show that they would take the execution of a witch just as serious as the whipping of a disobedient child.  The shear fact that this is a time were “Mistress Hibbins” a witch is being hanged among the “gallows” shows the utmost beliefs of the Puritan people because it is a time were witches are thought to be nonfictional. The reader already gets an idea of the beliefs and social conditions of the era if witches are being publically executed and children whipped for something that would be laughed of today. The severity of the citizens allows the reader to have a better understanding of the feelings the Puritans will have toward Hester who has committed adultery which is much worse than a disobedient child or servant who does not follow orders. This quote signifies that Hester will face dreadful guilt and shame in a society that takes any crime as serious as the death penalty. The reader gets an even better understanding of the social conditions and customs of the time when some of the women discuss Hester and how she has put shame to everyone: “’This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die. Is there not law for it? Truly there is, both in the Scripture and the statute-book. Then let the magistrates, who have made it of no effect, thank themselves if their own wives and daughters go astray’” (43)! This quote conveys how angry the female population is with Hester and how they believe adultery is morally wrong. This women points out that she brought shame to all of them and In return for that she should die. Although the women of the time period were not soft, they still believed it was morally wrong to cheat on their husbands. Such a crime to them puts them to disgust and shows the severity of their moral beliefs. The strict religion of the time is demonstrated when the women mentions how there are laws against adultery in the “scripture” and she then looks down on the city officials who did not follow these rules or take them serious enough on Hester’s punishment. The harsh women of the time period and the general Puritan character warrant the reader an understanding of why Hester received so much hatred and shun for a “sin” that although looked down in even today’s society, was so unethical in Hester’s time period that it changed her life perpetually.

            In the next chapter “The Recognition”, the reader sees a greater profundity of the religious beliefs of the time period as well as the severity of shame Hester receives for her wrong-doings. The reader sees the humiliation Hester encounters for her crime of adultery through her punishment with the scaffold: “It was, in short, the platform of the pillory; and above it rose the framework of that instrument of discipline, so fashioned as to confine the human head in its tight grasp, and thus hold it up to the public gaze. The very idea of ignominy was embodied and made manifest in this contrivance of wood and iron” (46). Hester punishment for her crime was to stand on the scaffold for 3 hours as everyone stared at her making her feel humiliated and also to keep her scarlet letter embroidered on her as a constant reminder of her wrong-doing.  The scaffold as described holds the human head in place so the head cannot be hidden from the public’s view.  This scaffold was built for humiliation and expresses a time period where punishment was not taken lightly even in the slightest cases. The scaffold signifies the beginning of Hester’s guilt because although she faces a lot of guilt at this one moment her guilt and shun will sustain for the rest of her life. The reader gets a greater comprehension of why Hester was shunned so severely through Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale’s plea to Hester to reveal Pearl’s father:  “…thou hearest what this good man says, and seest the accountability under which I labor. If thou feelest it to be for thy soul’s peace, and that thy earthly punishment will thereby be made more effectual to salvation, I charge thee to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow-sufferer’” (53)! In this quote Dimmesdale is stating that he has the authority to tell her that if it makes her soul feel better to admit who she sinned with than she should publicize his name in order to help her eternal salvation for what she has sinned for. This quote allows the reader to see the religious influence of the time period. In getting Hester to confess her lover a reverend is used in hopes she will admits his name because otherwise she would be living in sin to them. The constant mention of the “scripture” and the use of religious officials show how adultery is a consequential sin in the religion of the Puritan people. The time was distinctly strict due to the fact that people did not have free-will that did not come with punishment. In today’s society no one would be obliged to admit something using religious force not to mention public shame through force.

In the chapter “Hester at Her Needle” the reader learns how shunned Hester becomes in society but at the same time how her needle works becomes popular among many Puritans who desired fancy decorations that Hester created such as her scarlet letter. The reader sees a society who wants Hester’s decorations for public ceremonies or for a night were they wanted to feel scandalous, either way they purchase these decorations even though they look down on the women who produced them.  The reader also sees how Hester makes these decorations for all types of occasions except she was never asked to make a white veil for a bride: “Her needle-work was seen on the ruff of the Governor; military men wore it on their scarfs, and the minister on his band; it decked the baby’s little cap; it was shut up, to be mildewed and moulder away, in the coffins of the dead. But it is not recorded that, in a single instance, her skill was called in aid to embroider the white veil which was to cover the pure blushes of a bride. The exception indicated the ever relentless vigor with which society frowned upon her sin” (63). This quote is stating that Hester’s needlework was worn by just about everyone including the Governor, military men, the minister and babies. However, she was never asked to create a white veil for a bride. This showed how society still did not let go of Hester’s sin and they still believed that shame would be justifiable. Hester’s work, although popular among the Puritans did not make her any less shameful, if anything it brought her even greater shame: “Dames of elevated rank, likewise, whose doors she entered in the way of her occupation, were accustomed to distil drops of bitterness into her heart; sometimes through that alchemy of quiet malice, by which women can concoct a subtile poison from ordinary trifles; and sometimes, also, by a coarser expression, that fell upon the sufferer’s defenceless breast like a rough blow upon an ulcerated wound” (64). This quote shows that the rich women who bought decorations from Hester would slyly insult her when she went to their homes. It also shows that they would sometimes attack her calling her horrible names and forcing her into more shame. Both quotes show a society who looks down upon Hester for her sins of adultery and her scarlet letter yet they request to have the same scandalous decorations she wears proving that they are endeavoring to mimic her ways. The Puritan society at large is hypocritical because they wear Hester’s decorations and insult her when buying them even so some of them have committed the same if not worse “sins” than Hester but they have just not owned up to them. Hester was also shunned whenever she was in public: “Clergymen paused in the street to address words of exhortation, that brought a crowd, with its mingled grin and frown, around the poor, sinful woman. If she entered a church, trusting to share the Sabbath smile of the Universal Father, it was often her mishap to find herself the text of the discourse. She grew to have a dread of children; for they had imbibed from their parents a vague idea of something horrible in this dreary woman, gliding silently through the town, with never any companion but one only child” (64). This quote conveys that when Hester went into public she would be stopped by a priest who would begin to preach about how sinful she was as a group of people surrounded her in disgust. It also states that when she tried to go to church she found that she was the subject of the sermon. She even grew hatred toward children because their parents had told them how horrible she was. She has become completely isolated from society because people and places where Hester should feel safe, they have become places and people she cannot consult with or go to and feel safe. The fact that Hester cannot even walk the streets or go to church without being shunned shows the severity and ability for the Puritan society to latch on to what she did and never forget it.

            In the chapter “Pearl” the audience learns that Hester’s daughter, who was born an outcast to society possess odd traits that are arguably demonic. The reader learns that Pearl is not allowed to play with the other children and understands this and in return shows hatred and resentment towards them: “Pearl was a born outcast of the infantile world. An imp of evil, emblem and product of sin, she had no right among christened infants…If spoken to, she would not speak again. If the children gathered about her, as they sometimes did, Pearl would grow positively terrible in her puny wrath, snatching up stones to fling at them, with shrill, incoherent exclamations that made her mother tremble, because they had so much the sound of a witch’s anathemas in some unknown tongue” (70). This quote illuminates the fact that Pearl was not allowed to play with the other baptized children. This emphasizes the religious beliefs of the time, because Hester had Pearl through adultery making Pearl an outcast to society. This is a common theme Hawthorne is bringing up because in every society and time period people feel resentment towards a certain group like people during the Civil Rights Movement showed resentment towards African Americans.  If Pearl was spoken to by the other children she chose to ignore them. Also, if they came near her she would begin to scream and throw stones at them in a way that made her look like an evil witch. The fact that Pearl already does not get along with the children in her society shows her understanding of her mother’s situation and the fact that she is hated due to her mother’s adultery. Pearl, symbolizes the scarlet letter because she is a constant reminder to Hester of her wrong-doings but at the same time she is all Hester’s happiness. The religious belief of the Puritans of the time is shown when Pearl is asked where she comes from and it is automatically assumed by Hester that she came from God: “’He sent us all into this world. He sent even me, thy mother. Then, much more, thee! Or, if not, thou strange and elfish child, whence didst thou come’” (73)? In this quote Hester tells Pearl that everyone comes from God and if she came from God then her own daughter obviously came from God. This quote shows how there was no question about religion at the time. Today, a lot of people are atheist or have no religious preference. Pearl’s lack of understanding of her religion and where she came from worries Hester because she assumed Pearl would know in an era were religion was a significant part of people’s lives.

During the time period there was speculation that demons and witches existed. This is shown when Pearl is assumed to be a demon: “She remembered—betwixt a smile and a shudder—the talk of the neighbouring townspeople; who, seeking vainly elsewhere for the child’s paternity, and observing some of her odd attributes, had given out that poor little Pearl was a demon offspring; such as, ever since old Catholic times, had occasionally been seen on earth, through the agency of their mothers’ sin, and to promote some foul and wicked purpose” (73-74). This quote emphasizes that the Puritan people believed Pearl was a demon because during that era the Catholic religion believed that sinful mothers produced demon babies. This assumption plays a large role in the story because the society’s belief that Pearl is a demon leads to even more detestation toward Hester. The religion of the time period was strict and Pearl, being a suspected demon essentially caused a large uproar in the community because people were scared of such things and prayed against them during the era. The fact that Pearl is believed to be a demon which leads to the official town’s people, especially the governor, to want to take Pearl away from Hester and find someone who can take care of her suitably and fix her: “The point hath been weightily discussed, whether we, that are of authority and influence, do well discharge our consciences by trusting an immortal soul, such as there is in yonder child, to the guidance of one who hath stumbled and fallen, amid the pitfalls of this world. Speak thou, the child’s own mother! Were it not, thinkest thou, for thy little one’s temporal and eternal welfare, that she be taken out of thy charge, and clad soberly, and disciplined strictly, and instructed in the truths of Heaven and earth? What canst thou do for the child, in this kind” (81)? This quote is saying that they want to take Pearls demonic soul and put it in the hands of someone who can dress her right, discipline her strictly, and teach her the right way to live. This shows not only the strict religion of time and the belief that the girl is a demon but also the strict power of government during the era. In The Scarlet Letter’s time period it is compelling to think that politicians would be allowed to decide if Hester gets to keep her daughter. It shows that politicians involved themselves in the small matters such as: “The period was hardly, if at all, earlier than that of our story, when a dispute concerning the right of property in a pig, not only caused a fierce and bitter contest in the legislative body of the colony, but resulted in an important modification of the framework itself of the legislature” (75). This quote shows that the ownership of a “pig” was debated among politicians and led to changes in the structure of the legislative body. This indicates the strictness of the period if the ownership of a pig generated such problems and changes and also goes to show how serious they are taking the case of Hester and her accused demonic child Pearl. The politicians came to the conclusion, after the persuasion from Dimmesdale that Hester was the only one who truly knew Pearl enough to care for her, that Pearl could stay with Hester as long as she went to school and church: “Indeed hath he,” answered the magistrate, “and hath adduced such arguments, that we will even leave the matter as it now stands; so long, at least, as there shall be no further scandal in the woman. Care must be had, nevertheless, to put the child to due and stated examination in the catechism at thy hands or Master Dimmesdale’s. Moreover, at a proper season, the tithing-men must take heed that she go both to school and to meeting” (84). This quote states that the governor will leave things as they are as long as Hester does not cause any more scandalous things and under the condition that Pearl gets a genuine religious education and goes to school and church. This again emphasizes the religion in the era because the only way Hester was allowed to keep Pearl was if she had a religion in her life.

The first half of The Scarlet Letter provides the reader with a profusion of information proving the severity of the Puritan character, the strict religious rules, government rules, and social conditions of the time period which give the reader a better understand of the novel permitting an understanding of why Hester was looked down upon at the level she was. The setting therefore allocates the reader with everything indispensable to an understanding of what Hester went through. The reader can therefore deduce that Hester’s adultery and the incalculable punishment she receives for it can be associated with any time period and society that has certain beliefs and social conditions that if not followed will lead to some form of punishment and shun.