It's All Lollipops and Gumdrops

"The days of the far-off future would toil onward, still with the same burden for her to take up, and bear along with her, but never to fling down; for the accumulating days and added years would pile up their misery upon the heap of shame. Throughout them all, giving up her individuality, she would become the general symbol at which the preacher and moralist might point, and in which they might vivify and embody their images of woman's frailty and sinful passion. Thus the young and pure would be taught to look at her, with the scarlet letter flaming on her breast--at her, the child of honourable parents--at her, the mother of a babe that would hereafter be a woman--at her, who had once been innocent--as the figure, the body, the reality of sin. And over her grave, the infamy that she must carry thither would be her only monument." Pg 73 (Bantam Classic)

This wretch of a woman committed a deed so foul, so injust, so disgusting that she must now bathe in an everlasting hell on earth, looking towards a bleak future full of lonely days, with the exception of her sinful babe, Pearl- what a charmingly horrid name. She deserves whats coming to her because she is the only one in this entire Puritan community to have sinned. No matter what, this woman needs to be ostracized, isolated, stripped of any human contact, because someone in her position shouldn't even be given the time of day. Let her become the face of sin because only she is to blame for what is wrong in the world. It is wrong to have passion, any longing for a joy that is not considered a joy to the rest of us. Do not have sympathy for the one who decides to go against our impossible-to-please standards; instead throw rocks at her, gossip about her within her presence, leave her emotionally scarred because you and I have never sinned;thus she should stand on the pedestal of guilt and shame.

In this passage, Hawthorne effortlessly and concisely describes the trials of Hester, including the present and future. In the eyes of her Puritan neighbors, she has become the manifestation of guilt and sin, the devil's concubine. Through repetition, it seems that Hawthorne is garnering sympathy for Hester from the audience. In addition, he begins to lead us towards an idea of guilt and sin for this particular community.

1. Why does this scarlet letter A, which is "burned" onto her chest, have such an adverse effect on Hester and the people around her (Yes, yes very broad, but roll with it and answer in the most comfortable way possible.)
2.Using your background knowledge of Puritan communities, what can we understand and predict about Hester's stay in this region of Massachusetts?
3. As implied by the novel, it is possibly acceptable for children to ridicule Hester, to attack her with tangible objects words unfamiliar to them but painful to her. Based on your experiences and opinions, why are children conditioned to act like this, both then and now?

Hmmm...

[A Jumbled] Passage
"The young pastor's voice was tremulously sweet, rich, deep, and broken. The feeling that it so evidently manifested, rather than the direct purport of the words, caused it to vibrate within all hearts, and brought the listeners into one accord of sympathy...

"Woman, transgress not beyond the limits of Heaven's mercy!" cried the Reverend Mr. Wilson, more harshly than before. "That little babe hath been gifted with a voice, to second and confirm the counsel which thou hast heard. Speak out the name! That, and thy repentance, may avail to take the scarlet letter off thy breast...

"Never," replied Hester Prynne, looking, not at Mr. Wilson, but into the deep and troubled eyes of the younger clergyman. "It is too deeply branded. Ye cannot take it off. And would that I might endure his agony as well as mine!""

Pg 64 "The Scarlett Letter", by Nathaniel Hawthorne [Bantam Classic]

Significance
Well, this passage, along with a few others parts, boldly imply the strength and will of Hester Prynne, who endures the pain associated with committing a high crime, a crime she of course did not commit alone. When most would almost immediately confess to an accomplice, she did not and continues not to. It shows a fierce pride and strong will in her personality, knowing that she can have the symbolic letter removed from her clothing if she were to confess. Secondly, this passage also indicates Hawthorne's constant use of sensory details in describing mostly characters and their relation to Hester, e.g. eloquence of the Reverend- obtaining attention of crown- gaining of sympathy (for Hester) from the crowd.

Questions
1. Hawthorne rarely takes a simplistic route when describing characters, often using plenty of sensory details? Why?
2. Although Hester Prynne has an opportunity for the scarlet letter to be removed from her clothing, she chooses not to take it by absolutely refusing to name her lover? Explain, in your own opinion, why she would take this road?
3. Why does the author often uses complex, cumulative sentences throughout the chapters?