Rasmussen,+Madee

Blog #1

Name of the Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne Name of the Novel: The Scarlet Letter

My prediction for this book is that a young woman will be looked down upon by her town and made to wear a red letter on her clothes so everyone knows of the adultery she has supposedly committed. I think death might come into play in this novel. I think a lot of things could happen in the book. It sounds like it might be a sad novel and have controversial topics to raise conversation.

=Blog #2 09/01/2011= =Pages Read: 80=

The main character in this book is Hester Prynne, she is a women is brought out of the jail house to be convicted of a crime. People share their own opinions about her and she wears a scarlet letter A on her chest it was said to be very fancy and well sewn to her clothing, she also carries a baby in her arms and tries to cover the letter with the child. She stands in from of the people of her town because she is awaiting her sentence to which the judge will decide. I think that this character will be in the book finish to end and will be a very important character to follow throughout the book. After all she is the main character.

"The scarlet letter had the effect of the cross on a nun's bosom. It imparted to the wearer a kind of sacredness which enabled her to walk securely amid all peril."p.157 I think I like this line because it reveals to the readers that she stood out in the crowd. She can be broken and still walk with stride and I think faith in herself.
 * Blog#3 09/11/2011**
 * Pages Read: 158**

=Blog #4 09/15/11= Hester raises Pearl in different beliefs than what is and should be taught to children in the village. Hester and her daughter live in a cottage in isolation to the village and she makes a living by making dresses for occasions and with extra money she gives it to people in need. the people do not ever thank her for any of her good doings because of the letter sewed to her chest. Pearl grows older and becomes intrigued by her mothers scarlet letter on her chest she wants one like it. The townspeople want to take Pearl away from Hester, they think that she is being taught wrongful ways and the do not feel that it is right. Hester goes to see the governor and suggests that taking away Pearl is the best. Pearl says that she had not been made at all, but plucked from the red roses by the prison doors." As of now no one knows that Chillingworth is Hester's husband, but he moves in with the pastor having suspicion that he was Hester's other lover. He and Arther Dimmesdale became ill he tried with every ounce to get the answer out of him but could not. Arther is the person who did commit the sin with Hester he starts to go crazy and whips himself on the chest daily. the townspeople later on do not recognize Hester for her sin anymore, but for her kindness towards other people they now believe that the letter on her clothing has prtected her and will continue to do so.
 * Pages Read: 158**

I am happy with this book I believe that it has a lot of meanings to it and can be very powerful to the specific reader. Sometimes it is a little harder to follow than some other books but it is fine. Some of my predictions have been right so far. There has been a lot controversial topics, but the only death that has come into play is that of the governors. My character remains quiet and does not talk to others much. She takes pride in her daughter and feels as if she is raising her right. She still think the townspeople dislike her in many ways because of her sin.

=Blog #5 09/25/11= =Characters:= Hester Prynne: Even though the book is about Hester we know very little about her. We know she married Roger Chillingworth, but did not love him and we never find out why the two married. After having the affair, she becomes very independent alienating herself from the community. She becomes caring in a certain aspect because she knows that she might lose her daughter. Also she cares for the poor and brings food for them which shows her genuine nature.

Roger Chillingworth: He was a very difficult man in the early years of marriage with Hester Prynne. By that I mean he ignored her most of the time even though he wanted her to feed him the affection that he though he deserved. In this book i think he resembles a leech because after Dimminsdale dies he no longer has any point to live, leading to him dying as well. He experiments on people and wants to hurt others. He does not want justice, he wants revenge and that's why I think that he is an evil character. ====Arthur Dimmesdale: Arthur has an unusual conscience. Since Hester to all the blame and did not admit to the public that Arthur was her lover he becomes physically weak. Due to his weakness he becomes a very powerful speaker and a strong leader. The towns people do not believe what he protests in sinfulness. He deteriorates even more. This man lived with pain, fear, and guilt of not taking to blame for what he did with Hester.====

Pearl: Pearl is Hester Prynne's daughter who, I would think to be around seven years old. She asks the adults in the book questions to draw out the truths and so the reader can understand more. She does not let us forget of the letter on her mother's clothes. She grew very fond of it as a child.

=**Summary:**= It start that Hester Prynne is being convicted of the crime called adultery. The townspeople want her to be convicted to death, but that doesn't happen. She goes to live in a cottage on the outskirts of town. Later, Hester raises Pearl in different beliefs than what is and should be taught to children in the village. Hester and her daughter live in a cottage in isolation to the village and she makes a living by making dresses for occasions and with extra money she gives it to people in need. the people do not ever thank her for any of her good doings because of the letter sewed to her chest. Pearl grows older and becomes intrigued by her mothers scarlet letter on her chest she wants one like it. The townspeople want to take Pearl away from Hester, they think that she is being taught wrongful ways and the do not feel that it is right. Hester goes to see the governor and suggests that taking away Pearl is the best. Pearl says that she had not been made at all, but plucked from the red roses by the prison doors." As of now no one knows that Chillingworth is Hester's husband, but he moves in with the pastor having suspicion that he was Hester's other lover. He and Arther Dimmesdale became ill Chillingworth tried with every ounce to get the answer out of Arthur but could not. Arther is the person who did commit the sin with Hester he starts to go crazy and whips himself on the chest daily. The townspeople later on do not recognize Hester for her sin anymore, but for her kindness towards other people they now believe that the letter on her clothing has protected her and will continue to do so. Hester and Dimmesdale meet up in a forest and make an plan to run away to Europe taking with them Pearl, their daughter. Later that day their is a celebration, in the marketplace, for the new governor, Hester and Pearl stand out in the crowd listening to to the sailors up ahead. She hears Chillingworth say that he will accompany the sailors on their voyage since he is a doctor. Everyone then goes to listen to Dimmesdale preach a sermon. Things happen after this and if i told you, you then would know how the book ends.

=Rating:= Rating 4: I found this to be a very good book and it has some very good topics in it that may have conversation arise to the service. The reason why I rate at a 4 is because first of all it was very hard to follow. It's one of those books where the characters say "thy" and "thowe" a lot. Second of all it was quite long and I didn't think I would finish it. So if you need a long book here it is.

=Discussions of Classmates Readings:= Continued.

=Wiki Reflections:= I think that this is a good way to let people have the freedom with the internet, but could be sort of hard to complete. It was very hard for me to get these blogs done, because I do not have the internet at home. I don't usually get home until 5:30 pm on school days and in the morning I leave the house at 6:30 to get to school by 7:45 am. I did get the blogs done on time and I like using Wiki Spaces. If I had easy access to the internet then this assignment would have been much easier to complete. = =