One-Pager #15
• “The paradox of vengefulness is that it makes
men dependent upon those who have harmed
them, believing that their release from pain
will come only when their tormentors suffer.”
– Laura Hillenbrand, Unbroken
In your own words, explain the paradox Hillenbrand
is describing.
Relate the ideas in this quote to a book, a film,
historical event, or personal experience.
Examples of Newspapers you can use
for your SL Research Assignments:
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LA Times
NY Times
Chicago Tribune
Washington Post
Wall Street Journal
Boston Globe
USA Today
Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter
Raising guilt to an art form . . .
The Scarlet Letter
• What color is scarlet?
• Scarlet: very bright red with a slightly orange
tinge; of sin; sinful; specifically whorish
• Red: primary color or any of a spread of
colors at the lower end of the visible
spectrum; political radical or revolutionary
• Crimson: deep, vivid purplish read; bloody
The Scarlet Letter
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Puritans had many versions of punishment letters:
T
I
D
B
M
(Thief, Indolence, Drunk in Public, Blasphemy, Murder)
• Consider what the scarlet letter stands for in this novel
as you read
Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)
• Added the W to his name
to distance himself from
his family
• Story of sin, guilt, and the
dark side of human
nature
• Takes place in the late
17th century, but he is
really concerned about
the changing definitions
of marriage and family in
his 19th century world
Genre
• Hawthorne considered his novel a romance
– Not how we think of “romance”
– Has to do with taking liberties with reality
– Lines between actual and imaginary are blurred
– Though it contains “fantastical” elements, it still
demands emotional honesty
– Many of the “romance” elements center on the
character of Pearl
• The action in The Scarlet Letter takes place in 1642 –
1649
• This is about 50 years before The Salem Witch Trials
(the setting of The Crucible)
• The Scarlet Letter was written in 1850
– The story is only apparently about the Puritan era
– The true issues dealt with in the novel are 19th century
ones – the changing definition of family and marriage
• Men leaving home to work; adultery is a threat to society as a
whole (it’s dangerous)
• A new kind of marriage develops – affectionate marriage
• Marriage becoming less a legal connection and more of a spiritual
connection
Scaffold Scenes
• Chapters II and III
• Chapter XII
• Chapters XXII through XXIV
• Action is determined by:
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Puritan Community
Chillingworth
Hester
Dimmesdale
(Chapters I – VIII)
(Chapters IX – XII)
(Chapters XIII – XX)
(Chapters XXI – XXIV)
Scaffold Scenes
• Give the novel a formal structure
• The scaffold is a central “character” – a place of
punishment, but a place where law is defined, where
law take human form
• The Puritans believed sin must be publicly admitted
and publicly atoned for
• The Puritan community says what it will and will not
tolerate
• The people in the community say who they are by
showing who they are NOT
Hawthorne’s writing – full of ambiguity (open to
more than one interpretation)
• Oxymoron – “exquisitely painful” (51) [describing
Hester’s beauty]
• Paradox – “so sacred even in its pollution” (62)
[describing Hester’s sin]
• Double negatives – “not ill-fitted” (60) [describing
Gov. Bellingham’s ability as a leader]
• Diction – Roger says he cannot “conceive” of Hester’s
sin
• Figurative language – “my heart was a habitation
large enough for many guests” (69) [Roger speaking
of how he “wished” for friends]
Antithesis!
Antithesis
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Science vs. religion
Love vs. hate
Confession vs. repression
Reality vs. illusion
Forgiveness vs. revenge
Life vs. death
Courage vs. cowardice
Being vs. seeming
Honesty vs. lies
And many more!
Motifs
• Night vs. Day
• Civilization vs. Wilderness
• Garden of Eden (i.e. original
sin revealing knowledge)
Let’s look at the first
chapter of the book
Reading The Scarlet Letter
• Main Characters who you will see quotes
from/about on your reading quizzes:
– Hester Prynne
– Pearl
– Roger Chillingworth
– Arthur Dimmesdale
• Read through the end of Chapter 5 for
your first reading quiz on Friday!