The first piece of writing I chose for my blog was writted after reading The Scarlet Letter, I wrote an essay discussing the effects Pearl had on Hester Prynnes life. In this piece my goal was to have a thesis and support and explain it with examples from the text. II thought this was a very creative idea that I think will help develop my writing skills as a student. The next piece I wrote this nine weeks was the nature essay, on the concept of transendentalism, concerning the philosophers Emerson and Thoreau. A large part of my writing this nine weeks had to do with making connections between ideas and a piece of literary work. For example in my Emerson and Thoreau essay I was showing how the idea of transendentalism can be reached in our world today by citing examples in my life. I like to write, so this class has been very enjoyable for me. In this class my favorite thing that I have learned is how you can pick any random object and find ways to compare it to a character in a novel. I have also learned many different ways you can begin your essay to catch the reader's attention, and have them clued in on the topic of your writing. I have also learned how when you include quotes in your essay it strengthens your voice, and adds even more support to your statement so the reader will agree with you.
While writing these pieces, I made many revisions to my work. In the Scarlet Letter I made many changes to make it flow more easily, and to clarify my opinion.I also added a part saying why Hawthorne included Pearl in the novel. Click for revision. At one point I sad all mothers love their children no matter what, and since in some cases that is not true I changed it to most mothers love their children no matter what. in second paragraph. If you click on the next link it shows where I added quotes to better support my opinion. In my nature essay I added details about the leaves around the lake. click here I also added more description about how the quote about windy gap related to me, and how my feelings were similar. here Then, in my conclusion of the nature essay, I just moved the sentences around, like the sentence referring to the Anne Frank quote became my last sentence. Then I added a sentence summarizing Emerson and Thoreau's ideas. Overall, some changes I had to make in all of my pieces were things dealing with commas, and keeping everything in the same tense.
Reading through my classmates bl0gs, I noticed the talents that many people had for writing. One person's writing that particularly stuck out was Erika Verbeck's. In her Transcendentalism Essay her voice was very strong. She also did a great job of getting her opinion accross. http://erikaverbeck.blogspot.com/ Not only did I look at Erika Verbeck's blog, I also looked at Erika Burton's blog. I then proceeded to read her piece on the Scarlet Letter. In this piece she used a good many quotes to prove her point. Her writing also had a nice flow going, which made it easy to read, and enjoyable. This is something I would like to add to my pieces. http://http://erika-burton.blogspot.com/ The next blog I read was Stephanie Moreheads. I read her personal narrative, and thought she did an excellent job. She used the brushstrokes in her piece to give her writing more flare and meaning. I want to start making sure to use those in my writing to make it more effective. http://http://stephmoorhead11.blogspot.com/ It really helped me to read other students compostitions because it gave me many useful ways to improve my writing.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Hester's Joy and Torture
The novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne is about a young woman, Hester Prynne, who commits adultery and has a child from her mistake. Hester Pyrnne lives in a Puritan town and adultery is a huge sin during this time, therefore when the Governor and Minister find out about her child, who has no father, she is required to wear the letter "A" on her chest as punishment for her sin. Hawthorne includes Pearl in the novel to show how something good can come from something that is bad. Throughout the novel, the joys and times of hardship are shown. In this novel, Hester's daughter, Pearl, is Hester's joy and torture.
Most mothers love their children no matter what. In the novel, Pearl is seen as Hester's light and joy in life considering Pearl is all she has left. When Hestser is required to wear the letter "A," she is seen as an outcast in society and is looked down upon. The letter "A" makes her excluded, and she moves out to the countryside. No one in her town would dare be friends with her,other than the witches, because of the reputation they would receive by being her confidant. Also, it is easy for Hester to be with Pearl because she knows that Pearl does not judge her because she does not know the meaning of the letter "A" on her chest, therefore, Pearl is Hester's only joy, it is proven that this is so when Hester begs the Govenor not to take her away and exclaims, "God gave me the child!He gave her in requital of all thing else, which ye had taken from me. She is my happiness!-she is my torture , none the less! Pearl punishes me too! See ye not, she is the scarlet letter, only capable for being loved, and so endowed with a millionfold the power of retribution for my sin? Ye shall not take her! I will die first!" Hester truly loves Pearl; she would rather die than to have Pearl taken from her.
Not only is Pearl, Hester's, joy in life, but she is also seen as her torture (as Hawthorne writes in the novel). Pearl's existence makes the scarlet letter, not the piece of fabric, but the birth of this child through sin. The first thing that catches Pearl's eye as an infant is the scarlet letter on her mother's bosom. When Pearl asks about this, it tortures, and it punishes Hester because she can not explain to Pearl why she has to wear the letter. As Pearl reminds Hester of her sin, it almost brings Hester to resent her own flesh and blood. Pearl isn't an easy child to raise, she was mean to other children and threw rocks at them. Everyone in town thinks Pearl is a devil because of her rude behavior towards townspeople, for example, when Mr. Wilson says " The little baggage hath witchcraft in her, I profess, said he to Mr Dimmesdale. She needs no old woman's broomstick to fly withal!" This is proof of what people in town think of her. Pearl is also torture for Hester because she puts her through the stress and fear of possibly losing what she lives for every day. In the novel, the Puritans thought Pearl wasn't being raised right because of her reckless behavior and threatened to have her taken away. Hester then had to beg and plead to keep her devilish child.
Pearl is symbolic not only Hester's happiness but also her torture and punishment. The letter "A" and Pearl's life is a constant reminder of her affair with Dimmesdale. Pearl brings a sense of pleasure, and the idea of a normal life to Hester because she is unaware of the meaning of the "A" on Hester's chest. Pearl is the center of Hester's life in depression and in bliss.
Most mothers love their children no matter what. In the novel, Pearl is seen as Hester's light and joy in life considering Pearl is all she has left. When Hestser is required to wear the letter "A," she is seen as an outcast in society and is looked down upon. The letter "A" makes her excluded, and she moves out to the countryside. No one in her town would dare be friends with her,other than the witches, because of the reputation they would receive by being her confidant. Also, it is easy for Hester to be with Pearl because she knows that Pearl does not judge her because she does not know the meaning of the letter "A" on her chest, therefore, Pearl is Hester's only joy, it is proven that this is so when Hester begs the Govenor not to take her away and exclaims, "God gave me the child!He gave her in requital of all thing else, which ye had taken from me. She is my happiness!-she is my torture , none the less! Pearl punishes me too! See ye not, she is the scarlet letter, only capable for being loved, and so endowed with a millionfold the power of retribution for my sin? Ye shall not take her! I will die first!" Hester truly loves Pearl; she would rather die than to have Pearl taken from her.
Not only is Pearl, Hester's, joy in life, but she is also seen as her torture (as Hawthorne writes in the novel). Pearl's existence makes the scarlet letter, not the piece of fabric, but the birth of this child through sin. The first thing that catches Pearl's eye as an infant is the scarlet letter on her mother's bosom. When Pearl asks about this, it tortures, and it punishes Hester because she can not explain to Pearl why she has to wear the letter. As Pearl reminds Hester of her sin, it almost brings Hester to resent her own flesh and blood. Pearl isn't an easy child to raise, she was mean to other children and threw rocks at them. Everyone in town thinks Pearl is a devil because of her rude behavior towards townspeople, for example, when Mr. Wilson says " The little baggage hath witchcraft in her, I profess, said he to Mr Dimmesdale. She needs no old woman's broomstick to fly withal!" This is proof of what people in town think of her. Pearl is also torture for Hester because she puts her through the stress and fear of possibly losing what she lives for every day. In the novel, the Puritans thought Pearl wasn't being raised right because of her reckless behavior and threatened to have her taken away. Hester then had to beg and plead to keep her devilish child.
Pearl is symbolic not only Hester's happiness but also her torture and punishment. The letter "A" and Pearl's life is a constant reminder of her affair with Dimmesdale. Pearl brings a sense of pleasure, and the idea of a normal life to Hester because she is unaware of the meaning of the "A" on Hester's chest. Pearl is the center of Hester's life in depression and in bliss.
My Transcendentalism Experiences
"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature." This was a quote by Anne Frank, this quote alone greatly reflects Emerson's and Thoreau's views of Transcendentalism. Emerson and Thoreau view things as a reflection of the Divine soul, and they share the idea that nature is a doorway to the spiritual world. Also Transcendentalism is the idea that people can use their intuition to hold god's spirit in their own souls. Emerson and Thoreau's ideas of Transcendentalism match my own experiences with nature throughout my life.
Every fall, usually in November, I take a walk around my lake. During this time of the year, all the leaves are fallen, and the lake sits still like glass. During my walk, everything is quiet, and all I hear is the sound of leaves crunching beneath my feet. Alone in solitude, I truly feel at peace in that moment in time. I like to stop halfway through my walk, and find a old fallen tree to sit on and gaze on the lake and the horizon. Sitting there, gazing into the woods, with the yellow and orange leaves catching my eye, I feel a sense of confidence, like nothing can touch me, and all of my problems disappear. Then I become overwhelmed with amazement of what a wonderful world God has created for us to enjoy. A quote by Thoreau explains why I take these walks, "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." By taking these walks, I feel like it teaches me to appreciate God's work, and bring be closer to him.
God is a large part of my life, and I look to him in many ways which ties me in with the idea of Transcendentalism. I have been a part of Younglife since the eighth grade, it is a youth group that meets every week, and we go on spiritual retreats in the winter and summer. Two years ago, I went to Windy Gap, a Younglife retreat center in North Carolina. The camp was in a Valley between the mountains, and it was the only site of civilization for a few miles. During the camps, you spend your time making an effort to become closer to God. One morning my cabin woke up at six in the morning to go sit on the mountainside, to watch the sun come up, and during this time our counselor told us to sit there and think of the things we were thankful to have in life. This became extremely easy as I sat curled up in my blanket, keeping warm, staring at the colossal sun rising above the leafless trees. Everything in nature was just waking up, and it was so calm. I felt like God was begging me to take advantage of this time and treasure every second. I definitely did take advantage, and I only wish I could have an experience like this every morning. It opens your mind to the true beauty of nature. Also as I stared into the breathtaking horizon I felt a rush of happiness, that God would make this for humans, and it made me feel so confident that I felt like I could climb the mountain all the way to the top. As Emerson said, "Our faith comes in moments...yet there is a depth in those brief moments which constrains us to ascribe more reality to them than all other experiences." Emerson's quote shares the feelings I had during that cold morning in Windy Gap. At that moment it hit me and I realized how thankful I should be that god created this paradise for us to live in, and all he asks of us is to have a relationship with him. These two of many spiritual experiences, prove that the concept of Transcendentalism can still be reached in our modern world today. Emerson and Thoreau believe that when you seperate yourself into nature you can use your intuition to behold god's spirit. When you find yourself distraught and you feel that your one against the world, put your self into solitude, and take a second, breathe, and appreciate all of the wonderful things God has put forth on this earth. Like Anne Frank said, when you feel lonely or unhappy, lead yourself to a place of solitude in nature where you can be one with nature and god.
Every fall, usually in November, I take a walk around my lake. During this time of the year, all the leaves are fallen, and the lake sits still like glass. During my walk, everything is quiet, and all I hear is the sound of leaves crunching beneath my feet. Alone in solitude, I truly feel at peace in that moment in time. I like to stop halfway through my walk, and find a old fallen tree to sit on and gaze on the lake and the horizon. Sitting there, gazing into the woods, with the yellow and orange leaves catching my eye, I feel a sense of confidence, like nothing can touch me, and all of my problems disappear. Then I become overwhelmed with amazement of what a wonderful world God has created for us to enjoy. A quote by Thoreau explains why I take these walks, "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." By taking these walks, I feel like it teaches me to appreciate God's work, and bring be closer to him.
God is a large part of my life, and I look to him in many ways which ties me in with the idea of Transcendentalism. I have been a part of Younglife since the eighth grade, it is a youth group that meets every week, and we go on spiritual retreats in the winter and summer. Two years ago, I went to Windy Gap, a Younglife retreat center in North Carolina. The camp was in a Valley between the mountains, and it was the only site of civilization for a few miles. During the camps, you spend your time making an effort to become closer to God. One morning my cabin woke up at six in the morning to go sit on the mountainside, to watch the sun come up, and during this time our counselor told us to sit there and think of the things we were thankful to have in life. This became extremely easy as I sat curled up in my blanket, keeping warm, staring at the colossal sun rising above the leafless trees. Everything in nature was just waking up, and it was so calm. I felt like God was begging me to take advantage of this time and treasure every second. I definitely did take advantage, and I only wish I could have an experience like this every morning. It opens your mind to the true beauty of nature. Also as I stared into the breathtaking horizon I felt a rush of happiness, that God would make this for humans, and it made me feel so confident that I felt like I could climb the mountain all the way to the top. As Emerson said, "Our faith comes in moments...yet there is a depth in those brief moments which constrains us to ascribe more reality to them than all other experiences." Emerson's quote shares the feelings I had during that cold morning in Windy Gap. At that moment it hit me and I realized how thankful I should be that god created this paradise for us to live in, and all he asks of us is to have a relationship with him. These two of many spiritual experiences, prove that the concept of Transcendentalism can still be reached in our modern world today. Emerson and Thoreau believe that when you seperate yourself into nature you can use your intuition to behold god's spirit. When you find yourself distraught and you feel that your one against the world, put your self into solitude, and take a second, breathe, and appreciate all of the wonderful things God has put forth on this earth. Like Anne Frank said, when you feel lonely or unhappy, lead yourself to a place of solitude in nature where you can be one with nature and god.
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