The Scarlet Letter 7: P144-158

1. What does Hester now say about her scarlet letter to Chillingworth?

• "It lies not in the pleasure of the magistrates to take off this badge, were I worthy to be quit of it if would fall away of its own nature, or be transformed into something that should speak a different purport." (153)

• She forgave herself already; she is waiting for God to grant His forgiveness to her.

2. Describe Chillingworth physically.

• "It was not so much that he had grown older; for though the traces of advancing life were visible, he wore his age well, and seemed to retain a wiry vigor and alertness." (153)
• "But the former aspect of an intellectual and studious man, clam and quiet, which was what she best remembered in him, had altogether vanished, and been succeeded by an eager, searching, almost fierce, yet carefully guarded look." (153)
• He turned from an intelligent and clam scholar to a vengeful and pathetic ghost.
  

3. What do we find out Dimmesdale’s true "death" is, and how does he suffer it?

• "die daily a living death" (154)
• He is experiencing an internal struggle everyday because of Chillingworth.
  

4. Describe exactly how Chillingworth has treated Dimmesdale and why he has treated him that way.

• "You tread behind his every footstep. You are beside him, sleeping and waking. You search his thoughts. You burrow and rankle in his heart! Your clutch is on his life, and you cause him to die daily a living death; and still he knows you not." (154)
• Revenge has drove Chillingworth insane. He focused on the action of revenge too much that he gradually forgot what his original motivation was. It sort of became a lifestyle of Chillingworth - get pleasure from Dimmesdale's suffering.
  

5. Why has Dimmesdale increased his debt to Chillingworth?

• "No life had been more peaceful and innocent than mine; few lives so rich with benefits conferred.Dost thou remember me? Was I not, though you might deem me cold, nevertheless a man thoughful for others, craving little or himself, - kind, true, just, and of constant, if not warm affections? Was I not all this?"(156)
• This is a cycle of revenge - the more Chillingworth hates Dimmesdale, the eviler he becomes; the eviler he becomes, the more he hates him. This cycle goes on and on...
  

6. Is Chillingworth’s argument valid about that point?

• No. Vengeance has turned him into a mad man. He is controlled by his hysterical emotions, not his sense.
  

7. What is the final resolution between Hester and Chillingworth? Is there one?

• Hester is going to unveil Chillingworth's true identity; however
• Chillingworth warned Hester not to do this, but he did not tried to stop her.
• This shows Chillingworth, the sly old fox, has a back-up plan.

The Scarlet Letter 6: P126-144

I. Quotations
1. But this very burden it was that gave him sympathies so intimate with the sinful brotherhood of mankind, so that his heart vibrated in unison with theirs, and received their pain into itself, and sent its own throb of pain through a thousand other hearts, in gushes of sad, persuasive eloquence. (page 129)

• Dimmesdale's guilt is burning him from inside and out. He desperately wants to confess and "let the universe take care of it" (120), but he cannot. As the most venerable and intellectual minister in town, he is a representation of God. If he stands out and say he have sinned, the reputation of Christianity will be ruin. People will lose their faith because Dimmesdale, a flawless and holy priest in their eyes, is, at last, a sinner. This young and doubtful minister is perplexed by a moral dilemma - let go his feelings of guilt by confession and let the whole community lose their faith; or, which is what he is doing now, bearing the burden of sin by himself and let the guilt eating away his health. We can see the same type of moral dilemma on Danforth in the play, The Crucible. This is a special kind of Pride - the blindly Pride to defend the divinity of God.
  

2. He had striven to put a cheat upon himself by making the avowal of a guilty conscience, but had gained only one other sin, and a self-acknowledged shame, without the momentary relief of being self-deceived. (page 131)

• This quote reveals that in Dimmesdale's mind, confessing his sin in public is only a portion of his redemptive process. He still believes that ultimate redemption is granted by God, not the society. Speaking out his guilt will only lead to another sin - staining the holiness of God. Therefore, on the other hand, we can see Dimmesdale as a selfless person. He is willing to bear his sin by himself instead of throwing it to the public and ruin the reputation of Christianity. However, as the quote said, hiding the secret is just being self-deceived. Although the good name of Church is preserved, the guilt is still there, eagerly to be unveiled at some point. So from some perspectives, Dimmesdale is not suffering from his guilt, but from his lies; yet, it is still a sin though.
  

II. Discussing Questions
1.Does Pearl know that Dimmesdale is her father?

2. At the end of this chapter, the old sexton said the scarlet letter apparared in the sky represents the word Angel. Is this an implication of the shifting meaning of the scarlet letter?

The Scarlet Letter 5: P107-126

I. Quotations
1. "Nevertheless I cannot answer for her [...] But still, methinks, it must needs be better for the sufferer to be free to show his pain, as this poor woman Hester is, than to cover it all up in his heart." - Arthur Dimmesdale (page 123)

• Just as Chillingworth had thought before, "at some inevitable moment, will the soul of the sufferer be dissolved [...] bringing all its mysteries into the daylight" (113), Dimmesdale's back line of keeping the secret was dissolved in the presence of Hester and Pearl. He feels that his guilt has be enlarged because he thinks Hester is bearing the guilt of sin by herself for him. This is why he said that it is better to show one's sin than hiding it from the light.
  
• He also said that he cannot answer the question -whether Hester is sinful or not - for her . This is an interesting point because in The Crucible, Elizabeth said basically the same thing. She said she cannot make the choice for Proctor because one has no right to judge others' fate. It is all about oneself and God - only yourself and God can truly understand what your heart really wants; therefore, only the sinner and God could determine his or her soul shall be redeemed or not.
  

2. "But, if it be the soul's disease, then do I commit myself to the one Physician of the soul! He, if it stand with His good pleasure, can cure; or He can kill! Let Him do with me as, in His justice and wisdom, He shall see good. But who are thou, that meddlest in this matter? - that dares thrust himself between the sufferer and his God?"- Arthur Dimmesdale (page 124)

• This quote reveals Dimmesdale's view of redemption. He believes that one can only be redeemed by God; it is an issue between the sufferer and his God. Dimmesdale does not want to share his secret with Chillingworth; but to a deeper level, Dimmesdale was just avoiding an outsider to interfere and ruin his relationship with God. We have to say that clergies always have better understandings of God's relationship with us than ordinary people. Proctor, the main character in the play The Crucible, had a hard time finding the way to be ultimately redeemed. He found out, in the end, that only God, can grant the forgiveness to sinners, but not society. He also figured out that one shall forgive him or herself first in order to embrace the love of God and be back to our Father's arms. So for Dimmesdale, all he has to do now is to speak out his sins and forgive himself truly. Only in this way, shall the light of Heaven shine upon him and the mercy of God will save him from the devil.
  

II. Discussing Questions
1.What kind of relationship does Chillingworth and Dimmesdale has? Who is taking advantage of it?

2. What did Chillingworth find out at the end of chapter 10?

The Scarlet Letter 4: P91-107

I. Quotations
1. "God gave me the child!" cried she. "He gave her in requital of all things else, which he had taken from me. She is my happiness! - she is my torture, none the less! Pearl keeps me here in life! Pearl punishes me too! See ye not, she is the scarlet letter, only capable of being loved, and so endowed with a million-fold the power of retribution for my sin? Ye shall not take her! I will die first!" - Hester Prynne (page 103)

• We can see the great strength of Hester's maternal instincts from there. As Hester had said, Pearl is a part of her body, like the scarlet letter, which is a torture but somehow a relief for her too. Pearl is "the scarlet letter endowed with life" (93); she is a living evidence of Hester's fatal sin. Every second, Hester has to bear seeing her sin growing up. However, because Pearl is a living sin, she gave Hester a chance to be able to change her. She is not identical to the scarlet letter, which all Hester can do is to embroider it in gold thread; she is, indeed, the hope of change and redemption for Hester. By teaching her child to be a good Christian, Hester can make her way to Heaven too. No wonder why Hester does not want to let her precious little one go. Pearl is a gift from God - a second chance for Hester to be back in God's arm.
  

2. Pearl [...] taking his (Mr. Dimmesdale) hand in the grasp of both her own, laid her cheek against it [...] Yet she (Hester) knew that there was love in the child's heart [...] The minister [...] accorded spontaneously by a spiritual instinct, and therefore seeming to imply in us something truly worthy to be loved, - the minister looked round, laid his hand on the child's head, hesitated an instant, and then kissed her brow. (page 105-106)

• This is the only quote in the book so far, that is lightened by the tenderness of love. Why there is love in the air? It is because Mr. Dimmesdale is here - the love of Hester Prynne. This love is forbidden, but a three-year-old child could not know that. This is why when Pearl's natural instincts told her that the young minister is his father, she followed her feelings and laid her cheeks against Dimmesdale's hand. In the book, or to an extend view - the society, everyone is hiding their true feelings and faking to be good. Pearl is an exception, thus she is considered as a wicked little demon. But, as we always believed, the love will never fade when one's heart is connected to the other. This is why by the end of this chapter, the minister cannot help kissing Pearl, his own daughter.
• Therefore, the power of love may be our last hope of the changing of people's minds and the washing away of sins.
  

II. Discussing Questions
1.Is the young minister Pearl's father?

2. What is the point of mentioning Mistress Hibbins at the end of Chapter 8?

The Scarlet Letter 3: P72-91

I. Quotations
1. But sometimes [...] she felt an eye - a human eye - upon the ignominious brand, that seemed to give a momentary relief, as if half of her agony were shared. The next instant, back it all rushed again, with still a deeper throb of pain; for, in that brief interval, she had sinned anew. Had Hester sinned alone? (page 79)

• That "human eye", belongs to the mysterious guy whom committed adultery with Hester. From here, we can see that Hester is still deep in love with him; and him, thankfully, do have feelings for Hester. This is a poor couple that was being separated under the theocratic and merciless society at that time. The punishment had turn Hester into a timorous woman - she is even afraid of having certain so-called "inappropriate" feelings. She kept putting herself in the position of a sinner, a sinner who will never be forgiven and will never be redeemed. This reminds me John Proctor in the play, The Crusible. Proctor sees himself as a sinner that does not deserves redemption in the beginning of the play. Let's see how can Hester make her way to Heaven (a.k.a: be redeemed at last).
• Another point of this quote is that it brought up a question, "Had Hester sinned alone?". In my opinion, Hester is a victim of the deformed society at that time. It is definite that as the story goes on, more and more sinners will surface and the ugliness of society will be present to us as a whole.
  

2. She felt or fancied, then, that the scarlet letter had endowed her with a new sense. She shuddered to believe, yet could not help believing, that it gave her a sympathetic knowledge of the hidden sin in other hearts [...] a scarlet letter would blaze forth on many a bosom besides Hester Prynne's? (page 79-80)

• The scarlet letter is not only the name of the book, it is also the most important symbol in the story. Although the true meaning of this symbol is not yet cleared, the letter A is, for sure, affecting Hester. The scarlet letter had brought Hester into another sphere, which change her into an outsider of the community. She is now free from the bondage of those snarled relationships between townpeople and the corporate guilt they committed. Experiencing sneers and insults everyday, Hester saw the ugly side of human - everyone is pretending to be good, although they have sinned. The reason why they keep picking on Hester so harshly is because they want to make her the evilest, in order to make themselves to feel a little less evil.
  

II. Discussing Questions
1. Why does Hester think that New England is her "life-long home"?

2. What is the point of dressing her (Hester) baby so gorgeous?

The Scarlet Letter 2: P56-72

I. Quotations
1. "I will not speak!" answered Hester, turning pale as death, but responding to this voice, which she too surely to recognized. "And my child must seek a heavenly Father; she shall never know an earthy one!" (page 64)

• Hester Prynne refused to tell anyone, including the judge, who is her infant's father. The seriousness in her voice shows the unshakable determination she has for protecting the child's father, the one she loves. On the other hand, this quote reveals that Hester's faith of humanity has been lost. She does not want to give her innocent child a sinful and fearful human father because she thinks not only the father, but also all human in the world are not free from sins. People are committing a corporate guilt without noticing it. She does not want this unredemptive society to stain her child's pure little soul because she knew, as she have learned from her own experience, that the society will assimilate everyone into it's pound of sins. Ironically, the people who disobeyed it would be seen as transgressor or sinners. No doubt why she wants to seek a heavenly Father for her child.
  

2. "I leave thee alone; alone with thy infant, and the scarlet letter! How is it, Hester? Doth thy sentence bind thee to wear the token in thy sleep? Are thou not afraid of nightmares and hideous dreams?" - Roger Chillingworth. (page 71-72)

• It is all about revenge again. What is revenge? It is this feeling in people's heart to be equal - to be equally treated or to be equally hurt. Like how Elizabeth hurt Abigail by dismissing her from work and not allowing her to see Proctor (from The Crucible), Hester hurt Chillingworth by committing adultery with a guy he does not even know. No wonder why both of them, Abigail and Roger, wanted to revenge. Abigail sent Elizabeth in jail to complete her vengeance; while Roger is planing on leaving Hester alone with her infant and the scarlet letter (a.k.a guilt). Revenge also made him disparate to find out who is the father of the child, too.
  

II. Discussing Questions
1. What is the purpose of Chillingworth's visit to jail?

2. When Hester said that Chillingworth is plaining to ruin her soul, he said "No, not thine!" (72) So whose soul is he going to ruin?

The Scarlet Letter 1: P45-56

I. Quotations
1. As befitted a people amongst whom religion and law were almost identical, and in whose character both were so thoroughly interfused, that the mildest and the severest acts of public discipline were alike made venerable and awful [...] On the other hand, a penalty, which, in our day, would infer a degree of mocking infamy and ridicule, might then be invested with almost as stern a dignity as the punishment of death itself. (page 47)

• In a theocratic society like New England back in the age, religion and law are intertwined. No matter it was religious persecution or criminal penalty, they were all done "in the name of God". Discipline should be made to be venerable, not awful; rules should be made to make people follow, not fear. Under the curse of theocracy, the minds of ignorant people were chained by the fear of punishment. A penalty that now may seem as a degree of mocking notoriety and jeer, might then be seen as a punishment from God that disassociates one from heaven. So, to some extent, the penalty they gave to Prynne - let her stand on the platform in the mid of the marketplace three hours everyday- is more severe than letting her die, which is less painful.
  

2. It [the scarlet letter] had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and enclosing her in a sphere by herself. (page 51)

• This quote reveals the differences between Hester Prynne and the townpeople. Although the story just started, we can see that our main character, Hester, is somehow special. The scarlet letter had made her different from the others. In other words, her sin of committing adultery separated her from those "innocent people". However, when the community left her alone, she finally got a breath of the fresh air - the washing away of the corporate guilt committed by the society. So she is kind of like all by herself, enclosed in a sphere where the theocratic curse is not acting upon her. With the scarlet A on the bosom of her dress, Prynne is for sure going to make a difference. And hopefully, the letter A will change its meaning to something good.
  

II. Discussing Questions
1. Is Hester Prynne ashamed of her guilt?

2. Why did she embroider the letter A on the breast of her gown but not hidding it?

The Crucible Essay #2

Lu Li
AP English (Period F) ---Mr. George
Date: Dec. / 5/ 2008
Assignment name: “The Crucible Essay #2”

Proctor’s Redemption

Why does John Proctor identify most with the audience? This tragic hero experienced a three-staged internal struggle of unable to be redeemed from his sins, trying to wash away his sins, and figuring out how he could be ultimately redeemed from his sins. The whole story is a journey of the pursuit of forgiveness and redemption. Miller used strong appeals on the three stages of Proctor’s redemption in order to gain the reader’s heart. By establishing the stages of Proctor’s redemption, Miller successfully manipulated the reader into feeling sympathy for Proctor. Thus the author successfully injected his thoughts of the washing away of sins to the audience. So how can we dissolve our sins and be truly forgiven? The answer is in the play – redemption is an issue between men and God.

Like every tragic hero, John Proctor goes into this play with a fatal flaw – the adultery he committed with Abigail. Starting off with breaking one of the Ten Commandments, Proctor was unable to be redeemed in the beginning of the play because he was too focused on saving his good name in the community. This is why he tried to stay away from Abigail in order to hide his ugly secret. At this point, he values more on his reputation in the town but not in Heaven. An inner conflict was gradually composing inside Proctor – he realized that he could not live with his sin ruining his life and flogging his heart every second. Thus the character, in search of his redemption, turned to his wife and tried to ask for forgiveness.

Living in Salem, where “people had no ritual for the washing away of sins” (20), Proctor does not know how to get rid of his sin. First he tried to get his forgiveness from his wife, Elizabeth. Unfortunately, things did not work out well. When Proctor and Hale was talking about the Ten Commandments, Elizabeth sarcastically pointed out adultery, “Adultery, John” (67). Being another human with emotions, Elizabeth could not fully forgive him. Proctor failed to get his forgiveness from his wife so he turned to society instead.

The abnormal society did not give him a chance to be forgiven. He even got arrested after bursting out his confession, calling Abigail a “whore” and proclaiming his guilt, in the court. After his arrest, Proctor had to face a difficult moral choice – choose to lie and survive, or choose to be truthful and die. Failing to be forgiven twice, Proctor decided to lie and live longer because he thought there was no goodness in him that justified fighting against injustice. This is why when Elizabeth asked Proctor to confess only if his heart say so, Proctor cried out, “I cannot mount the gibbet like a saint […] my honesty is broke, Elizabeth; I am no good man. Nothing’s spoiled by giving them this lie that were not rotten long before” (136). It is because he thought his sins have overshadowed his self-esteem of being a covenanted Christian. Step by step, point by point, the author clearly demonstrated the internal struggle of Proctor finding his way to be redeemed. The character gained full sympathy from here. People also starts to question how can their tragic hero ends up being a coward. However they will not know by the end of the play that Proctor’s negative thoughts would go with the wind when he finally met the turning point that allows him to be redeemed.

When the exterior pressure and the interior struggle came to a point, sparks of self-realization kindle Proctor’s self-esteem. He realized that redemption is an issue between him and God, not with Elizabeth or with society:

HALE: Man, you will hang! You cannot!
PROCTOR: I can. And there’s your first marvel, that I can. (144)

Proctor found out that only he knew how sinful he actually was, so no one, but God and himself, has the authority to decide whether he should be free from his sins or not. He calmly accepted his fatal flaw and forgave himself that enabled him to ask God and then society for forgiveness too. In this way, he finally saw “some shred of goodness in John Proctor” (144). This is why in the end he tore his signed confession and chose to die with honesty instead of living in lies for the rest of his life.

This is a story of a lost man in search of his ultimate redemption. Proctor’s tragic but moving experience gave the audience a lesson of how to wash away sins – forgiveness comes from oneself and God. The death of Proctor not only avoided him from living in a lie, but also gave us a good sense of what it is like to be virtuous and faithful. Proctor’s struggle shows us the human side of this person; however, his faithfulness, honesty, as well as his honorable death made him the tragic hero of all time!


Works Cited
Miller, Arthur. “The Crucible”. New York: Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 1976.

Letter #3 - Proctor to Elizabeth

Dear Elizabeth,

I cannot stand this anymore. I hate to live under the darkness of my sin, so I need to confess, confess to you.

I have sinned; I broke one of the Ten Commandments; I betrayed you. The Devil sent a beast into my heart that day. I got no pleasure on that unfaithful night with Abigail, but great regret. That girl is Siren, the dangerous seductress that sings to let men die. She allured me and I was so stupid that I did not refused it. This is all my fault.

Elizabeth, my good wife, please give me a chance to wash away my sins. Although I have command the sin of lechery, I still hope I could go back to God. More important, I still want to go back to you and let your love embrace me. Abigail is nothing to me and God will punish her for being a whore. All you have to know, my wife Elizabeth, is that I love you. You are my wife and I shall love you with my life!

Wish time could go back, so that I can take back my unforgivable action. Nightmares are making me frustrated these days. In my dreams, you kept running away from me. I tried to chase after you, but I could not run. When I looked back, I saw Abigail, with her evil face, was holding me back… I could not sleep and I could not eat well anymore – I think this may be a punishment from God. I realized that do that which is good, and no harm shall come to thee. But it is too late because I have already sinned.

I really want to wash away my sin and start fresh, Elizabeth. So now I am here, writing this letter to ask for your forgiveness. Please grant me your forgiveness or my soul will die without the mercy of God. Please give me another chance to be a good husband and another chance to be a commendable Christian.


Asking for forgiveness,
Your husband John

Letter #2 - Abigail to Proctor

Dear John,

You have not talked to me since that amazing night, my love John. This is driving me insane! I cannot stop thinking about you and I do not want to stop thinking about you. Your wife is acting weird these days – she found out what happened, isn’t she? Maybe that is why you stayed away from me these days. But this is killing me, my love. I cannot wait to see you again; I cannot wait to touch your face and feel your lips again!

You are the first man I have ever had so I will not let your wife to take you back like nothing had happened between us! Actually anything that she could imagine had happened between us – do u still remember, John? I spilled water on the jacket you were wearing. When I was wiping it for you, you suddenly pulled my close and pressed your lips on mine. You kissed my with great passion and front that moment, I knew that this man standing in front of me is going to be the love of my life… I woke up in your arms the next morning. While I was looking at your handsome face, I suddenly realized something. Love is waking up beside you and watch the sunrise on your face; love is telling that I love you in any given time or place. I love you John, and I will do anything I can just to please you.

That is why I cannot let your wife stand in the way of our happiness. I love you so much and I am sure you love me too. It is so not fair that we have to hide our love for each other. I cannot stand this anymore…

I want you John. I want you right now and I want you forever! Come to my place tonight – Your Abby will be waiting for you.


Love,
Abigail

Letter #1 - Hale to Elizabeth

Dear Goody Proctor,

Your husband’s life is on your hand!

Do you know that your husband will be hanged tomorrow morning? Do you know when the sun rise again you will be a widow with four kids? Do you know that all the townpeople do not want Proctor to be hanged? And do you know God do not want Proctor to be hanged, too?

Proctor’s vanity forbid him from making the right choice; so you, Goody Proctor, should try to persuade him to confess so that you can fulfill your duty as a wife. I am sure you know that the town had gone insane these days. Hatred, vengeance, and fatuity are prevailing among us. This world is turning up side down – the one who lie can survive and the one who hold onto the truth must die. Salem’s people have forgot God, but God did not forget His own people. Thus, you should let you and your husband to live, so that God can have a chance to spread his mercy on you and Proctor.

You know that life is the most precious gift God grants to us; no principle shall justify the taking of it. Without a life, how can you pursuit the happiness you want and the belief you have? Who cares if you have lied or not? As long as you are living, there will be a chance for you to wash away your sins.

Tell him to put aside his so-called dignity; tell him to sign the confession document; and tell him you still love him that you do not want him to die leaving you behind! Proctor is not only a responsible husband to you, but also a rare and precious good man to God. We cannot lose him. So please, Goody Proctor, please bring him back to us! Let him confess so you shall have your husband back. Let him confess so we can stop the court from killing another innocent person! In the name of God, LET HIM CONFESS!


Waiting for your good news,
Hale

The Crucible Essay

Lu Li
AP English (Period F) ---Mr. George
Date: Nov. / 24/ 2008
Assignment name: “The Crucible Essay”

The Person to Blame Most in “The Crucible”

Who should be responsible for the tragedy of Salem’s Witch Hunt? Although Governor Danforth did not appear in this play until Act Three, he should take the most blame for the ridiculous witch-hunt in Salem. In Arthur Miller’s play “The Crucible”, Miller demonstrated clearly that it was Danforth’s flaws – the holes in his logic in the case of witchcraft, his lust for authority, and his extreme obsession with pride – that led him to be responsible the most for the tragedy of the holocaustic witch-hunt in Salem.

There are clearly some logical holes in Danforth’s view of witchcraft. First of all, he cannot distinguish the difference between regular civil lawsuits and religious persecutions:

But witchcraft is ipso jacto, on its face and by its nature, an invisible crime […] we cannot hope the witch will accuse herself […] we must rely upon her victims – and they do testify, the children certainly do testify. As for the witches, none will deny that we are most eager for all their confessions (Miller 100).

From here, it is clear that Danforth thinks witch trails are too illusive to use normal civil proceedings to determine who is guilty or not. Second, he also messed up the differences between religious and civil duty. This is why when Proctor asked for a lawyer, he refused and said, “The pure in heart need no lawyers” (Miller 93). However, this is not taking a vow in a religious ceremony; this is in the court. In other words, people have the right to call for lawyers to defend themselves. Third, the quote “A person is either with the court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between” (Miller 94) shows that Danforth is an ultraist in some ways he drew a red line between the court and its people. It is obvious that the holes in Danforth’s logic disqualified him from being a good judge in Salem’s court.

Uncle Ben from the movie Spiderman gave us a good sense of how Danforth, as the head of the court, should be responsible for the Salem’s tragedy, “With great power, comes great responsibility” (Parker Spiderman). Because Danforth is in the highest rank of the social ladder, he represents the combined authority of the church and state in his theocratic society of the day. He is the puppeteer and everyone else is just a puppet on a string. In other words, he has the power to take control over other people’s lives, so for all the craziness and ridiculousness in Salem, Danforth should be responsible for it.

Danforth’s extreme obsession with pride “contributed” most to his blame on the Salem Witch Hunt. “While I speak God's law, I'll not crack its voice with whimpering" (Miller 129) shows that as a representation of God’s voice on earth, Danforth thinks he is infallible like God. His pride blinds him from seeing the truth, and once again, pride disassociated him from the honest people. Like Proctor said to Danforth in Act Three, “A man will not cast away his good name. You surely know that” (Miller 110), Danforth does not want to cast away his so-called good name in the community. It is clear that vanity is corrupting Danforth’s mind. He does not want his reputation go down by admitting he had made an uncorrectable mistake. Pride, as the greatest sin of all time, is the downfall of Danforth. This is why he is the most blameful person in this play.

Some people pointed out that Hale and Parris should also be blamed for their breach of duty. Although Hale and Parris are also the authorities in Salem, as well as the heads of the court, they are less responsible for the tragedy of the witch trail compared to Danforth. “Can you not see the blood on my head” (Miller 131) shows that Hale realized his fault at the end and confessed. In comparison to him, Danforth the old fogey held onto his belief to the end. “Life is God’s most precious gift; no principle […] may justify the taking of it” (Miller 132) reveals that Parris thinks life is more important than pride. Danforth, however, put his pride over others' lives. In other words, he is a selfish person who sacrifices other people’s lives in order to let his brittle pride survive. He should be blame for his selfishness and his ignorance to people’s lives.

Danforth should be blamed for his misunderstood of religious and civil duty, his breach of duty, and his extreme lust for pride. Although lots of opinions lean to the belief that Abigail is the most blameful person, evidences in this essay have made it clear that Danforth should be responsible for the tragedy of Salem’s Witch Hunt.


Works Cited
Miller, Arthur. “The Crucible”. New York: Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 1976.

“With great power, comes great responsibility.”
Ben, Park. Spiderman (the movie). QuotesHead.com. 24 Feb. 2007.

The Crucible Homework P128-145

I. Quotations
1. "Twelve are already executed; the names of these seven are given out, and the village expects to see them die this morning. Postponement, now specks a floundering on my part; reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now. While I speak God's law, I'll not crack its voice with whimpering." - Danforth (page 129)

• Vanity is corrupting Danforth's mind. It is his pride that tells him he cannot be wrong; it is his pride that blind himself from seeing the truth; it is his pride, once again, that makes him to think he is the voice of God on earth. Like every fatuous tyrant has been made in history, it is the curse of pride that drove Danforth insane. When people think they are superior than others, there would be a lack of embracing others opinions in their hearts. That's exactly what Danforth is struggling right now - he doesn't want his reputation to go down and he doesn't want people to think he made a mistake, especially his is a representation of God's voice on earth. We can see that Danforth is a selfish person who sacrifice others lives in order to let his brittle pride survive.
  

2. "Do what you will. But let none be your judge. There be no higher judge under Heaven than Proctor is! Forgive me, forgive me, John - I never knew such goodness in the world!" - Elizabeth Proctor (page 137)

• This quote echoes another quote said by Elizabeth at the end of the play, "He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!" (p145) So here, the "goodness" is equal to Proctor. This shows Elizabeth put her faith in her husband again. Secondly, this quote answered the question I had yesterday - "should we follow the 'fashion' or should we follow our hearts?" Here, Elizabeth is telling Proctor (and readers like us) that we should make our decisions by ourselves. There is no higher judge other than God that can determine our lives. Although it seems to be a kind of pride, it is a positive one. When someone has to choose between his body or spirit, and he or she decides to die faithfully rather than live dishonestly, the so-called pride is actually self-esteem. Like Proctor's heroic actions at the end, he was saving his soul from being corrupted by lies. Make your own choice and be faithful to both you and God, then your resurrection will come. God bless Proctor...and the people like him.
  

II. Discussing Questions
1. What would the village react to the execution of Proctor?

2. What should we choose: make a lie to live or save the pride and die?

The Crucible Homework P113-127

I. Quotations
1. "No, I love God; I go your way no more. I love God, I bless God. Sobbing, she rushes to Abigail. Abby, Abby I'll never hurt you more!" They all watch, as Abigail, out of her infinite charity, reaches out and draws the sobbing Mary to her, and then looks up to Danforth. - Marry Warren (page 119)

• Quiet a show to watch. However, we've seen this sort of things happened many times in this play. For example, "I want to open myself! I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus!" (Abigail, p48) They are all shameless liars, I have to say. Marry Warren is a pathetic creature that put cowardice over consciousness. We can see how peer pressure is working in the court. Humans are by nature gregarious animals - we rely on the opinions of others. When the whole society is worshiping the wrong thing, virtuous people (the minority) always become the “sinners”. Maybe this is one of the reason why people always need to keep up-to-date, no matter it's right or wrong. So this bring up a question to us - what is the definition of right and wrong? Should we follow the "fashion" or should we follow our hearts? It's obvious that what Marry was wrong, but aren't we doing the same thing in life too?
  

2. "For them that quail to brig men out of ignorance, as I've quailed, and as you quail now when you know in all your black hearts that this be fraud - God damns our kind especially, and we will burn, we will burn together!" - John Proctor (page 120)

• There are three "quails" in one sentence. This shows the sense of fear is hanging over the town. People may have different opinions on the cause of Salem's witch trail, but I have to say that all the revenge, lust, power, and so on, came from the curse of fear. People were afraid of losing their powers; people were afraid of facing the consequences of lust; people were afraid of admitting the mistakes they've made... "in all your black hearts that this be fraud" (p120) When people are surrounded by fear, they use lies to cover their cowardice. That's why almost everyone in Salem were dishonest. However, when everyone is lying, the virtue of the society would gradually break into pieces. That's why Proctor said "God damns our kind especially, and we will burn, we will burn together!" at last. This indicates the doom of Salem - people will pay for their unconsciousness in the end.
  

II. Discussing Questions
1. Why did Hale come back?

2. What is the real reason for Parris to change his mind? His conscience or his pride (because Abigail robbed him)?

The Crucible Homework P98-113

I. Quotations
1. "I have signed seventy-two death warrants; I am a minister of the Lord, and I dare not take a life without there be a proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscience may doubt it." - John Hale (page 94)

• This is a turning point of Hale's position toward Salem's witch trail. His consciousness and righteousness led him out of the ridiculous and vicious cycle of the witch hunt. As an outsider, he came to Salem without the awareness of the relationships and true faces of the townpeolpe. He naively thought that Salem is a peaceful little town with virtuous Christian living in it. However, as he found out later on, in front of the curse of revenge and conflicts of interest, people are evil. It's so pathetic that honesty and morality are so brittle when the lust of power and revenge is at the helm. But thank God that Hale recognized it and withdraw from the fatuous court (later on by the end of Act Three).
  

2. "I have been hurt, Mr. Danforth; I have seen my blood running out! I have been near to murdered every day because I done my duty pointing out the Devil's people - and this is my reward? To be mistrusted, denied, questioned like a -" - Abigail Williams (page 108)

• In Proctor's word, "It is a whore!" (page 110 & more; and pay attention to the word choice: 'It is', not 'she is'). I was surprised by Abigail's talent of using psychological tactics. By stating out the "fact" that she sacrificed herself to the court, to the town, and even to God, Abigail made herself not only a naive and powerless teenage girl but also a valiant warrior of righteousness and justice. I have to say that Abigail is a wicked smart girl. Unfortunately, she used her intelligence in the wrong place. We cannot blame for what she is because she, from some perspectives, is a victim of lust and revenge.
  

II. Discussing Questions
1. What will happen to Elizabeth and Proctor? Will Danforth free them although their testimonies didn't matched up well?

2. What will Marry Warren do under the peer pressure of Abigail and the other girls in the group?

The Crucible Homework P83-98

I. Quotations
1. "This is a clear attack upon the court!" - Reverend Parris (page 94)

• From here we can see that justice is no longer in the court. The judges' rationality was carried away by the pleasantness of power. As Governor Danforth had said "A person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between." There is a sense of insecure in their voice - they are afraid to lose their power, they are afraid that they might be wrong! We cannot only judge those vengeful girls who accused a rival of witchcraft; those face-saving and fatuous authorities are also responsible for this tragedy. Those innocent women were victims of the power-greedy society - powerless girls wanted to gain powers; powerful authorities wanted to preserve powers.
  

2. "If Jacobs hangs for a witch he forfeit up his property - that's law! And there is none but Putnam with the coin to buy so great a piece. This man is killing his neighbors for their land!" - Giles Corey (page 98)

• Old Giles revealed the hidden secret of Putnam - this land-greedy man wants the land from his neighbor. Putnam is just one of the town people who wanted to benefit from the witch hunt. This shows us the ugly side of human - the ruthless selfishness. It is such an irony that when the court was hunting for the sins devil seeded, the real sinners were still out there.
  

II. Discussing Questions
1. Why did the judges keep denying the evidences that the witch trail was wrong?

2. What is Marry Warren going to say? Is she really on Proctor's side?

The Crucible Homework P67-83

I. Quotations
1. "Vengeance is walking Salem. We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law! This warrant's vengeance! I'll not give my wife to vengeance!" - John Proctor (page 77)

• Finally, someone pointed out what is the root cause of all the blaming and suspicion between people living in Salem. Vengeance is the "devil" they are always been looking for. From the previous reading, it is clear that hatreds and prejudice are profound in Salem. When they found the way to express their angers to others - by calling the one you dislike a witch - they will use it as much as they can. The Salem witch hunt is not an accident, it's just an radical outcome of the losing morality in the society.
  

2. "Peace. It's a providence, and no great change; we're only what we always were, but naked now. Aye, naked! And the wind, God's icy wind, will blow!"." - John Proctor (page 81)

• I have to say that human nature is ugly deep in our heart. The reason why there are good and bad people is that people used to overcome their sinful nature by following the standard morality. It is like you are wearing layers of clothes to cover up your body. In the case of the Salem witch trail, people were "naked". They teared off the chains of justice, righteousness, trust... and all that sort of things regardless the sense of morality. Why is this happening? The bitterness and prejudice among the townpeople over time was meant to be the primacord of conflicts - once it's being lighted, no one can stop it. When everyone is under the examination that is based on vengeance, they are meant to be hurt in some ways -like those pathetic little guinea pigs, waiting to sacrifice themselves in order to fulfill those "supreme philosophy of life" (in this case it's "the will of God")
  

II. Discussing Questions
1. Is Marry Warren with Abigail? Did Warren plane giving the doll with a needle in it to Elizabeth and accuse her as a witch?

2. Why don't the Proctors believe in witchcraft when everyone else believes it?

The Crucible Homework P49-67

I. Quotations
1. " You must see it, sir, it's God's work we do. So I'll be gone every day fir sine tune. I'm-I am an official of the court, they say, and I-" - Marry Warren (page 59)

• Girls like Marry Warren and Abigail Williams are living at the foot of the social ladder - just little above the slaves. They have no power over other people, and they even don't have the power to make their own decisions! So when they were finally being recognized in something - the ability to identify the devil and witches, the self-worth of those girls was being boosted. No wonder why those girls kept accusing innocent people - they're enjoying the pleasure of power which they always wanted.
  

2. "Adultery, John." - Elizabeth (page 67)

• It's clear that Elizabeth is mocking and blaming John Proctor indirectly. It is such an irony that John Proctor forgot the Commandment that is exactly what he had broke. From here we can see that either Proctor was ashamed of the affair he had with Abigail (doesn't want to talk about it) or he doesn't considered adultery as a sin (totally forgot about this Commandment). We can see the internal struggle in Proctor's heart and the external conflict he has with his wife, Elizabeth. This person is meant to have a downfall - the flaw he has is causing more and more troubles as time goes on.
  

II. Discussing Questions
1. What's the point of Hale's visit to Proctor's house?

2. What might the conflict between Proctor & Parris be? How is this an reflection of the relationship between religion & relations in the townpeople's eyes?

Character List

• Reverend Parris - the minister of Salem's church; in his mid forties; paranoid & suspicious; many of the town folks, like John Proctor, dislike him; cares about building his status & reputation in the community.
• Betty Parris - Reverend Parris' ten-year-old daughter, falls into a stupor after dancing in the woods with Tituba; believed to bewitched; can't bear to hear the Lord's name
  
• Tituba - Mr. Parris' black slave from Barbados; fearful; have the ability to talk to the death (maybe); drink chicken blood; perform witchcraft for the girls
  
• Abigail Williams -once the servant for the Proctors, but got kicked out by Mrs. Proctor because she had an affair with her husband, John Proctor; a strikingly beautiful girl; passionate in love with John Proctor; hates Mrs. Proctor; a liar.
  
• Mrs. Ann Putnam - Thomas Putnam's wife; have given birth to 8 children, but only Ruth Putnam survived; believes her children were killed by the witches
• Thomas Putnam - rich, influential citizen of Salem; deep interested in parish affairs; hold against Francis Nurse for preventing his brother-in-law from being elected to the office minister; greedy of money & power; accuse his neighbors to take over their lands
  
• Mercy Lewis - the Purtnams' servant; a fat, sly merciless girl from Abigail's group
• Mary Warren - a servant in the Proctor's house & a member of Abigail's group of girls; timid & naive; easy-influenced； gave the puppet to Elizabeth
  
• John Proctor -in his mid thirties; stern & harsh-tongued; hates hypocrisy; had an affair with Abigail; love his wife Elizabeth; trying to be a good & responsible man; doesn't like Mr. Parris; doesn't go to church every week
  
• Giles Corey - eighty-three; suspect his wife, Martha, has a hidden secret;not trusted by the town folks;a crank & a nuisance, but withal a deeply innocent & brave man; been in court for many times
  
• Rebecca Nurse - Francis Nurse's wife; held in tremendous regard by most of the Salem community; accused by the Putnams of her witchcraft
  
• Francis Nurse - a wealthy, influential man in Salem; land war with Purnam
• Reverend John Hale - nearing forty; a minister reputed to be an expert on witchcraft; called to Salem to examine Parris' daughter Betty; hates witchcraft; a committed Christian; called Tituba & Abigail to "ally" with him
• Ezekiel Cheever - clerk of the court;
• Marshal Herrick - in his early thirties; marshal of Salem; works in the court
• Judge Hathorne - in his sixties; a bitter, remorseless Salem judge
  
• Governar Danforth - a grave man in his sixties; of some humor & sophistication that does not; interfere with an exact loyalty to his position & his cause
  

The Crucible Homework P36-49

I. Quotations
1. " You're the God's instrument put in our hands to discover the Devil's agents among us. You're selected, Tituba, you're chosen to help us cleanse our villages. So speak utterly, Tituba, turn your back on him & face God - face God, Tituba, & God will protect you." - Hale (page 46)

• From here we can see that Hale is using Tituba as a tool. As the author had addressed before, Hale "felt the pride of the specialist whose unique knowledge has at last been publicity called for" (p33). He view himself as a supreme figure about all the townpeople. When he was trying to convince Tituba to tell the "truth", he has this tone as if he was God! No wonder letting a person like this to determine the life of others would lead to a big irresistible mistake.
  

2. Abigail rises, staring as though inspired,& cries out.
"I want to open myself! I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the Devil; I saw him; I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!" - Abigail (page 48)

• The forgiveness & love people gave to Tituba after her confession are exactly what Abigail wants. The rumors about her adultery with the minister & the suspicion of her getting involved in witchcraft made her overwhelmingly stressful - she wants to get rid of these. No wonder she would blame all the fault to others as a relief for herself. Also, it is really pathetic that people like Abigail use religion as a weapon (either for attract or defense).
  

II. Discussing Questions
1. How does peer pressure effect townpeople's action s & decisions? Are they positive or negative influences? Why?

2. What were the girls actually doing in the woods?

The Crucible Homework P20-36

I. Quotations
1. " These people had no ritual for the washing away of sins. It is another trait we inherited from them, and it has helped to discipline us as well as to breed hypocrisy among us." (page 20)

• This quote reveals the townpeople's attitudes to sins. What is hypocrisy? It is an action of pretending to have qualities or beliefs that you don't really have. In another word, it is an action of lying. It is good to have the desire to be virtuous, but when you pretend to be good & use lies to cover it up, you are running in the opposite direction of your original desire. The same thing goes to the witch-hunt. Although the purpose of the witch-hunt is positive, in some ways, when people started to point fingers at each others as a revenge, the action of driving sins out of lives became a sin itself.
  

2. "A political policy is equated with moral right, & opposition to it with diabolical malevolence. Once such an equation is effectively made, society becomes a congerie of plots & counterplots, & the main role of government changes from that of the arbiter to that of the scourge of God." (page 34)

• This quote shows the image of government in the villagers' mind. The authority standardized the so-called moral virtues, & people must follow it. If not, as the quote said, those minorities will be seen as the diabolical malevolence to the society. In Salem, being different was unacceptable. There was no right or wrong - being normal or evil was the only difference between people. The government was no longer an arbiter, it was just a ruthless headsman - the only thing he cares about is chopping off heads.
  

II. Discussing Questions
1. How does Parris view his job as the minister of Salem's church? How does this effect his behavior?

2. What would Abigail do after Proctor ended their relationship?

The Crucible Homework P8-20

I. Quotations
1. "No. There be no unnatural cause here... Let him look to medicine & put out all thought of unnatural causes here. There be none." (page 9)

• From here it seems Mr. Parris does not believed in witch-craft or anything unnatural. However, when he talked to his niece Abigail, he seemed to be very certain that she is a witch. This is kind of paradoxical because Mr. Parris acts differently when talking to different people under different circumstance.

2. "I'd not call it sick; the Devil's tough is heavier than sick. It's death, y'know, it's death drivin' into them, forked & hoofed." (page 13)

• This quote shows the fatuity of people at that time. It is clear that most of the villagers were horrified by the rumors of witchcraft. They thought the Devil is reaching them by sending witches to their world. We can feel the sense of fear among those people - no doubt they would do what ever they can to drive the so-called witchcraft away.
  

II. Discussing Questions
1. Does Mr. Parris believe in witchcraft? Why or why not?
Hint: the paradox - his negation of "unnatural causes" vs. his certain of Abigail's witchcraft

2. Betty's abnormal actions in the last scene show us what? What will happen to Abigail?

The Crucible In-Class Work

I. Characters in the Play
1. Reverend Parris:

• in his mid forties
  
• suspicious but religious - "He believed he was being persecuted wherever he went, despite his best efforts to win people & God to his side"
  
• over-sensitive & tetchy - "In meeting, he felt insulted if someone rose to shut the door without first asking his permission"
• unamiable - "He was a widower with no interest in children, or talent with them"

2. Betty Parris：

• Reverend's daughter at the age of ten
• probably ill beyond cure - "but his daughter does not stir on the bed"
  

3. John Proctor

• A rebel - "would rebel against, for he time of he armed camp had almost passed, the old disciplines were beginning to rankle"
  

4. Tituba

• a female slave Parris brought from Barbados
• frightened - "trouble in this house eventually lands on her back"

II. Background Information
Although some of the senses were dramatized by the author, the play was written based on historical facts. Most events were true & all the characters in the play have the same or similar references from the history.

The play took place in Salem, a small village in Massachusetts early in the year of 1692. The village people were extremely religious. "The people of Salem developed a theocracy, a combine of state and religious power whose function was to keep the community together, and to prevent any kind of disunity that might open it to destruction by material or ideological enemies.” (p7) People were frightened by the rumors of the arrival of devil, so they began the ridiculous witch hunt, which a lot of people were hanged for witchcraft.

As the book said, "The witch-hunt was a perverse manifestation of the panic which set in among all classes when the balance began to turn toward greater individual freedom. (p7)"

Journal Entry #3 - Someone With Mental Retardation

May 11, 2008

Dear Journal:

Mama said "Today is a special day, Forrest!" when I was about to leave for school. I had no clue what she was saying but I love her, so I said "I love you mama." I think it was the wind's fault, mama caught something in her eyes, as she said - tears kept coming down to her cheeks...

Today in Theology class, Mr. George talked something about LIFE. When he asked the class what is life, I raised my hand. Mama always tells me that life is like a box of chocolate, you never know what you're gonna get. When I told the whole class that I think life is a box of chocolate, everyone began to laugh - I think they love what I just said & they felt happy for me. Everyone in the world is nice & friendly...I'm so grateful that I'm a part of this world. See, mama is right. Life is like a box of chocolate - what a sweet life for me & for everyone!

During lunch, everyone was talking about Mother's Day. I still don't know what exactly that mean but I know it's something about mother & something about flowers. So I decided to give the Jasmin I found in the school's garden to mama.

Mama bust into tears when I put the Jasmin in her hands...

Why was she crying? I must have done something wrong. I felt so guilty & had no idea what I should do. So I hugged her & let her continued to cry in my arms.

"Oh Forrest, you're my life." mama murmured softly.


Life is like a box of chocolate, you never know what you're gonna get...


"Don't worry mama, I'm the box & you are the chocolate. No matter what happens, I'm always gonna be the one who hugs & protects you like what I'm doing now..."

And then, I saw a white feather came down from the sky... "Angel is somewhere near us." Mama said with a smile... I'm happy because mama smiled...

Love forever,
Forrest Gump

Journal Entry #2 - A Student Obsessively Infatuated with a Teacher

February 14, 2009

Dear Journal:

Love is in the air... It's Valentine's Day!!!!!

I woke up this morning & had this feeling that I've been shot with the Cupid's arrow. "Something is gonna happen between me & Mr. Philip today," I said to myself, "Mr. Philip & me... Awww... that would be wonderful!"

When I walked into the classroom, my Phili was eating Doritos. I sat down but I just couldn't get my eyes off him - the way he ate Doritos was so cute. After putting the last chip into his mouth, he sucked his fingers gently...what if those fingers were mine?

He began to talk something about unit circles, but I just can't focus on the subject. He looked so cute with his pink tie... OMG! His tie had the same color as my bra! I was on a cloud. "I knew it, I knew he has feelings for me," I told myself,"he's tie matches my bra! This is the cutest thing ever!!!"

After class, I told Jenny (my best friend) my discovery. She said I'm insane - she was just jealous that Phili loves me!

During lunch, I ate a whole bag of Doritos. While I was eating it, I keep imagining that my fingers were Phili's... Ohhh~ my heart is beating so fast right now!

Mr. Philip gave me a detention after school. He said I wasn't paying attention in class. Ha, he was just saying it. I know he always wanted to spend some time with me, alone. So he got this idea of detention to let me stay with him after school. I know him so well~

So this is my fabulous Valentine's Day with my Phili. Others might think I got detention, but only US know that it was actually a special romantic date in the classroom.

I love you so much, Mr. Philip - my Phili, my cutie, & my future hubby <3

Future Mrs. Philip
Jessica

Journal Entry #1 - Obese Child

October 28, 2008

Diet: breakfast - apple & yogurt
lunch - Caesar salad
dinner - oatmeal
Weight for Today: 250 pounds

Dear Journal:
Guess what? Today, my nightmare of all time "came true" - I'm 250 pounds now. TWO HUNDRED & FIFTY POUNDS, this damned number sprawled in my mind on my way to school.

"What would people think of me?" I kept thinking about this question. My life from now is going to be a disaster...

And this is my life for today...

I. Sitting in the classroom
When I sat down, the chair crashed a little bit. I heard the whisperings behind me, like always. "It's gonna be fine," I calmed myself down, "At least they're not mocking me at my face." However, things didn't went as fine as I thought. The boy siting behind me told me that he couldn't see the board. I know what he meant - "You are too fat & you are blocking my sight to see the board!"

I was about to cry...

II. Sitting in the cafeteria
Eating lunch at school is something I don't like. Today, like always, I'm always the one who is eating the pathetic caesar salad while everyone else is eating their hot dogs. I haven't got a single bit of hot dogs for almost half an year. The taste of hot dogs is fading away from me - What does it taste like?... NO NO NO!!! Stop thinking of those stuff.

Anyway, the embarrassing thing happened today was I fell down from the stairs because I felt dizzy for not eating enough food for weeks. The nurse told me I have to eat something, but I can't. You know why, my friend...

III. Sitting in the school's library
I went to the library & saw on the post board that the juniors are going on a field trip next week to Walden Pond. I can't go...because they're going to swim. I don't have a bathing suit that's big enough to fit me so I guess I'm not going. I'll say I'm sick. They're going to have a lot of fun without me anyway...

After that I sat down & began to do my homework. Then I heard some girls near me were discussing something about fashion. I smiled bitterly - I can't join the conversation because they'll laugh at me. So, of course, I walked away...


Oh, Journal! What should I do? I tried everything I can to lose weight, but how is it not working? Is it my fault to be obese?


...Or it's just my fate?

Pathetically,
"Fat Kid"

Notes on an Obese Kid's Journal

I. Sitting in the classroom
· the chair is too small for me
· the boy behind me told me that he couldn't see the board because I'm too "big"

II. Sitting in the cafeteria
· eating Caesar salad while watching everyone else eating their hot dogs
· felt dizzy for not eating enough food for weeks

III. Sitting in the gym
· the only one who's sitting there, everyone else is on a sports team
· some one threw a ball at me & ran away... I couldn't do anything because I'm not able to run

IV. Sitting in the school's library
· noticed that there will be a field trip next week to Walden Pond - can't go because they're going to swim & I don't have a bathing suit that's big enough to fit me
· girls are discussing about fashion - can't join the conversation because they'll laugh at me

#5 - Letter from Mother to Unborn Baby

Dear Baby,

Are you a boy or a girl, my dear baby? Are you going to have straight or curly hair? Are you going to be outgoing or shy? Are you... oh, dear, what I'm I thinking about? I'm going to love you and take care of you no matter who you are or what you are going to be - as long as you are my child.

Your dad and I are waiting for your arrival for the last ten month. It was an painful but amazing experience to have you in my womb. Sometime I find it's kind of funny that I don't really know you, although we've been together for almost a year.

Sometime I'm scared that I'm not going to be a good mother. There are so many things to learn and most of them are things that you cannot find in a book. So I'm writing this letter to you asking your forgiveness to my future mistakes.

Oh, my baby, my love for life. I wished upon a star last night that you will be happy and healthy forever. It is not important for me how rich or how pretty you might me, as long as you are a warm-hearted person who appreciate life.

May God be with you...

Love,
New Mom

#4 - From a Body Part to Yourself

Dear Lu,

Hey! It's me, your mouth. I'm writing this letter (not speaking) to you because I'm really mad at your unfair treatment to me, compared to the other parts of my colleague.

First of all, I have a question to ask, "How much do I mean to you?" I'm the one who nurture you; I'm the one who taught you how to talk; I'm the one who make it possible for you to smile and kiss... Shouldn't you be grateful for all the things I've done for you? Shouldn't I be the most important part of your body? So why you put nose in the middle of your face? This is just ridiculous.

The quarrel I have with nose had been there for a while. The recent cold you caught is making our relationship worse. The nose breathed in the cold air and made you sick. I'm a direct victim of his carelessness - cough is killing me right now! That's not it. When the nose sneezes, all the mucus come down from the nose run directly to me. Ewww...why am I the one who has to bear all those nasty mucus?

I cannot bear this anymore! Here is a choice I give for you: put me in the middle of your face or I will not let you speak, eat, smile or kiss anymore!

Pissed off,
Your mouth

#3 - Letter Asking for Permission to marry Future Husband

Dear Dad,

You have loved once before, and I believed you are still in love...

But how come you disagree with my marriage that is on grounds of love? Eric and I love each other, and I'm sure this love will be fresh forever. Although he is the son of your business foe, this can not be the obstacle of my marriage to happiness. How could you think that "like father like son" is the immutable truth? Unlike his father, Eric is a enthusiastic and cultural person. He has this amazing gift of marketing strategies and business mindset, as well as a wide interests in literature.

Do you remember the tragedy of Romeo and Juliette? I'm sure you don't want that to happen on your beloved daughter. I understand that you don't want to be family with your enemy, but don't you think it is a little bit cruel to your daughter to sacrifice her whole-life happiness to satisfy your so-called business dignity?

Do you still remember the happiest moment in your life 30 years ago, when you and mom got married? I bet the reason you love her is that you just simply LOVE her. You always tell me that it is important to "follow your heart"... that's what I'm doing right now.

Dad, please give me a smile and a warm huge when I give you the invitation card to my wedding. I'm not going to leave you dad - I'm still your little girl. I love Eric, and I love you, too!

Love you forever,
Lu Li

#2 -Letter from Devil to God

Dear God,

I'm writing this letter to you, my dearest friend, to talk about our future cooperation. Humans always believe that the path of our principles are parallel forever; however, those pathetic creatures don't know that we, the greatest powers in the world, have one great thing in common - the pursuit of absolute power.

It is obvious that both of us are the leading figure of today's society. People worship us and they follow us - this is something we can use. I just finished reading your famous biography (the Bible) and found out that you want to build "the Kingdom of God". This really inspired me because that is what I always wanted to do - to take control over mankind. Building a kingdom of my own is exactly what I want!

We both seize the hearts of human, no matter they are good or bad - everyone has a bright side and a dark side. So if we can work together, we will have everyone in our future Kingdom. WE can build the Kingdom together! Think about that... when great powers come together, they will definitely change the world. And when that moment comes, the world is ours!!!

Power is everything,
Devil

#1- Letter found on the Titanic

Dear John,

I'm on my way...

Hey up? Are you thinking of me right now? I can't stop thinking of you. You are the angel God sent from heaven to care and protect me. It has to be fate that you came all the way from America to Britain to run into my life. That cafe, that cup of cappuccino, that dance, and that kiss... Oh, you sealed my heart with your gentleness.

I still cannot believe that I'm going to marry you next week in America - a whole new world for me, and of course, a whole new life too - a place that is beyond my ken. When I got onto this ship, when I left the place I've lived for twenty years, I'm scared - would it be a clanger going to US? I felt I was a bird that finally got rid of it's cage but doesn't know where to go. And then, your face with that smile you always have appeared in my mind - I'm no longer lost, because I know my home is meant to be in America - my home is YOU.

Blimey! I have to stop writing now - there are some noise outside, maybe someone just saw the seashore of America! Oh, my love. I can't wait to see your face and feel the warmness of your breath when we kiss. See you in a minute... We will meet in spirit...

I'm on my way...

With all my passion and love,
Christina

My Ideas of Letters

4.) From a body part to yourself.
11.) Letter asking for permission to marry future husband or wife
14.) God to Devil or Devil to God
15.) Letter found on the Titanic.
16.) Letter from mother to unborn baby

Forgiveness Letter

Dear Lu:

Although we meet every single day, I feel like it is necessary to send you this letter. I can still feel the gloominess of that unpleasant quarrel we had a month ago. You dashed the bowl to bits on the ground… in front of my face. I was so pissed off that I stormed out of the door. When I got out of the dining room, I heard something that nearly broke my heart, “I hate you, and I hate you forever!” Like that bowl you dashed on the ground, my heart was broken into pieces. For all the things I have done for you, for all the fun days we spent together… How could you say something so cruel like that?

But this is not a letter of dudgeon; this is a letter of forgiveness. When I came back into the room of emptiness with a pool of tears on the table, I realized that you cried… like me. “This is so wrong,” I said to myself, “this is totally unworthy!”

When I woke up the next day, I say an envelope underneath the door – a letter from you which was unexpected. The words on the letter were not clear – I can see those marks of tears. All the hates and all the hurts were blown off by the blissful wind that came from your letter. You don’t hate me and I don’t hate you. I forgive you because I know that I love you. We should never forget that LOVE is the thing that is holding us together… forever!


Love you forever and ever,
Aunt

My Cliff Hangers Continuation

1. I looked at the clock – it was already 4am. “I hate myself,” I murmured, “this needs to be stopped!”
"the consequences of the Treaty of Paris" I typed, "is..." It was already 2 o'clock and I was still writing my history outline. "Just a few more sections to go," I tried to cheer myself up, "and u have to hurry because u have an essay to write for English class after this!" Yes, I have to start writing an essay about white lies in 2am... This is impossible and somehow ridiculous! I began to think about what I did on that day and figured out that I did pretty much nothing but wondering around.

2. “Oh Lord, please help me…” I closed my eyes, but tears still burst out…
My mom called my friend and found out that I was not with her as I've said before I went out. Yes, I lied to her. I felt the air was getting thinner because I could not breath anymore. "I need to do something," I told myself, "you need to confess or she will not trust you anymore."

3. I walked into the classroom …and I walked out of the classroom with a long streak of tears on my cheek.
My last day of school in China wasn't as pleasant as I thought it would be. I always wanted to get rid of the insipid and strict classes in China, but when I recognized that it was probably the last chance for me to sit in a classroom and study in China, my heart was thrilling...

4. Time is ruthless, I have to say, because it can change a person you know well to a totally stranger.
I haven't seen her for a whole year. I moved to another city and left her, my best friend at that time, alone in the city which contained millions memories of our friendship. She became a part of my memory of that city, which have never changed since I left. We were miles away from each other, and everything has been so different after all those changes of leaves and blossoms of flowers.

5. I wanted to turn around and look at them for the last time, but I didn’t have the courage to do that – I was afraid that if I turn around, I would never be able to walk away by myself.
I was at the airport, saying good-bye to my family and to the place I've been living for almost 16 years. I looked at everyone greedily, hoping to capture more details of their images so that they would not fade in my mind after I left.

Andy Medina's Second Paragraph

1. The sound of a bone cracking is an awful sound. Hearing a scream soon after is worse. Hearing the words, "We need you to really step up now" is even harder to hear.
That was a hard game and I played hard on that game. The score was tie, we need a touch down to win the game. I saw the ball was coming to me, like a star falling from the sky... no, it was a lucky charm to me and to the whole team! I jumped up and caught the ball. All I have to do now was run a few feet and... All of a sudden, I felt there was a dark shadow on the ground - someone was coming to block me. The next thing I could remember was I was on the ground. I wanted to stand up again, but i just could not -the great pain in my arm was killing me. "We need you to really step up now!"
Yes, I need to stand up and finish the game...

2. "Andy, come in here I need to talk to you." My mom was never home from work so early. Her eyes were red from crying. I knew something terrible had happened
I knew what was going on, but I just could not believe this is happening so fast. I was doing homework in my room the day before. I could hear the noise downstairs... it was not the television, it was my mom and dad - they were fighting again. I put on my headphone and turned on the music. I did not want to hear it, i did not want to know anything about it!

3. "Bang." I hit the floor with a thud. I touched my face with my hands and saw nothing. The next time i saw my hands they were soaked with blood.
First time in life to get into a fight.
He hit me in the face, but I felt it was only my heart feeling panic. We were best friends when Jesus was still a boy. I still could not believe this is happening to us. i felt it was the end of the world...

4. "Wow she's cute. Good job Andy." That was the first time my family ever excepted a girl I brought home.
It was not a surprise, I had the confident that Nicole is a good girl. But this was really important to Nicole... She was so nervous about seeing my parents. "They love you as I do!" I whispered to her. She looked directly into my eyes... no need to say, she said with her eyes "I loves you too..."

5. My mouth had a terrible taste. I had just gotten sick. When I looked down I was not in the bathroom.
Actually I had no idea where I was... All i could remember was that pure white pill he put in my drink. I felt I was drowning. Yes, like that dude in the bar told me, I forgot all the problems I had. But why... why couldn't I feel the "happiness" he told me I'm going to get?

Cliff Hangers...

1. I looked at the clock – it was already 4am. “I hate myself,” I murmured, “this needs to be stopped!”
2. “Oh Lord, please help me…” I closed my eyes, but tears still burst out…
3. I walked into the classroom …and I walked out of the classroom with a long streak of tears on my cheek.
4. Time is ruthless, I have to say, because it can change a person you know well to a totally stranger.
5. I wanted to turn around and look at them for the last time, but I didn’t have the courage to do that – I was afraid that if I turn around, I would never be able to walk away by myself.

Cheat

Spotted. Freshmen year on a math test, I was stuck on a “multiple choice question”. There were only two choices – cheat on the test or not. I forgot a really important formula. The formula was in my book and my book, with its graceful glow, was lying there on the ground right beside me. “I need to get that formula right,” I told myself.

I looked around: the teacher was all the way in the frond reading his beloved comic; no one was wondering around, the students were all doing their work; and my book was whispering, “come to me, come to me…” This is a really good situation to cheat - I made this conclusion. My hand started to move toward the book… “Stop it!” I heard a voice in my mind, “cheat on a test is not the right thing to do.” The little angel on my left shoulder warned me. My hand was back on the desk. “Do it Lu, do it!” that voice came from my right shoulder this time, “no one would find out. Think about getting all the answers right.” Should I do it or not? This ambivalent feeling loomed up in my mind.

I stared at the book. It seemed like there was a wisp of fragrant coming from the book – the aroma of right answer.

With the cheat-or-die spirit, I reached out my hand again. I opened the book carefully and started looking for the formula. Here it is! The formula is… All of a sudden, I felt a cold hand was on my shoulder. I turned around and looked up: my teacher’s glasses were sparkling. I felt there was a real nip in the air. I looked down and saw he was holding the comic he was reading. On the cover, there was a cartoon figure laughing heartlessly … at me.

Me Talk Pretty One Day

Question #1:
Sedaris turned a potentially boring experience- auditing a beginner’s language class- into a humorous essay by being sarcastic about his downfall and adding “footnotes” onto the different situations he met. He was being honest about his feelings and he does not care putting himself on the same level of the readers – this made his essay sympathetic. Adding “footnotes” is really a good strategy to be funny. Every time he describe a normal or even boring thing, his mind can always capture something else which made his argument vivid or even hilarious. The readers are pleased by his mind-made footnotes and that’s where his sense of humor came from.

The funniest part of the essay “And it struck me that, for the first time since arriving in France, I could understand every word that someone was saying.” (227)

“Deadpan” humor is showing humor in an indifferent tone. An example would be “The teacher continued her diatribe and I settled back, bathing in the subtle beauty of each new curse and insult.” (277) From here we can feel the indifferent attitude the author wanted to show to us. When sarcasm is intertwined with indifference, the humor that came out of it is even more powerful.

Question #2:
Sedaris reveals himself indirectly by explaining the situation but not identifying himself. For example, when he wants to tell us that he didn’t understand what the woman was talking about, he said, “If you have not meimslsxp or lgpdmurct by this time, them you should not be in this room.” (274) The author didn’t try to explain to you how he couldn’t understand French, he just gave u a side-look of what he saw and what he heard and let the readers to figure out by themselves.

My Unflattering Moment

It happened a long time ago, but I still remember it as it had happened yesterday.

It was kind of like a ritual in my elementary school to give credit to the students who give back the money they found in random places. The principal used to read the name of those students in the school’s studio station weekly. As a naïve little kid in first grade, I thought it would be a great honor to be mentioned by the principal. So I made up my mind to be good and honest - give back the money I found on the ground.

But the problem is… I have never got a chance to find money on the ground.

My chance ran into me on a sunny day after school, when I was walking back to my house. All of a sudden, I saw something shiny on the ground. It’s a quarter! I was so excited that I start picturing the principal reading my name in front of the whole school. “I finally found a quarter on the ground!” I said to myself. When I was about to pick up the quarter, I had a feeling that someone was watching me. I raised my head and looked around – there was an old lady sitting in front of her house across the street. I couldn’t actually see her face clear, but I just had this feeling that her eyes were on me. This made me embarrassed in some ways, “Is she thinking that I’m going to keep the money as my own?” I thought for a second and this groundless idea was sprawling in my head. “I don’t want people to think I’m stealing the money” I said to myself, “but I do want to get credit for my honesty.” My little heart was struggling, it was a really hard decision for me to make at that time. “What should I do?” I asked my self again and again. When I recognized that it’s even worse standing in the mid of nowhere because that lady would think I’m acting awkward and probably think I’m going to do something bad. I need to make the decision now, I told myself. NOW!

I ran away. Yes, I ran away with that shiny quarter waving its hand saying “good-bye” to me. I was about to cry when I got back. The story ends with my grandma’s surprised facial expression and a line, “ I never noticed before that your little mind could think that much on this kind of thing!”

Shooting an Elephant Questions

Question #1:
The story Shooting an Elephant has two major themes: the antipathy of imperialism and the sentiments to peer pressure. Although these two themes look disparate at first, they have a common element that linked them together – the feeling of ambivalence. “All I knew was that I was stuck between my hatred of the empire I served and my rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make my job impossible.” (Orwell, 222) From here we can see that the character is in some sort of self-identity dilemma – on one hand, the narrator, an Indian-born man, thinks the British rule as an unbreakable tyranny; on the other hand, root to his English pedigree, the narrator is just an cold-blood colonial police officer in the locals’ eyes. When the narrator was going to shoot the elephant, he was in an ambivalent situation too. He did not want to shoot the elephant, but due to the peer pressure from the crowd, he made a decision that went against his heart. By showing the ambivalent feelings of the narrator, the Orwell successfully intertwined oppositions to the negative consequences of imperialism and peer pressure.

Question #2:
First and foremost, Orwell used first person to write this story, which made it believable. He also used the tactic of comparison. He unveiled the unflattering feelings of himself by showing the difference between the true him and the one he wanted to be seen. “He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it.” (Orwell, 224&225) The ambivalent self-identity of the narrator was demonstrated clearly by comparison. “The crowd grew very still, and a deep, low, happy sight, as of people who see the theatre curtain go up at last, breathed from innumerable throats.” (Orwell, 225) From here we can see that Orwell is also good at building the atmosphere to coordinate with the development of the character’s mood.

Ten Easy Lessons to Be Popular

1. Develop self-esteem
Confidence is the cornerstone of popularity. Popular people tend to believe that they are outstanding in some ways. Self-esteem is necessary for a leader.

2. Be friendly to everyone
It’s really important to be friendly to others. Be friendly is the fastest and easiest way to make people like you. The process of becoming popular is sort of like running for the President – you cannot get popularity without population!

3. Sense of humor
Everyone loves to laugh. Popular people know how to make jokes to make people laugh. However, it is important to know that humor is an expression of wisdom, not clownery.

4. Teamwork
Do not be lofty or self-centered when you are working with others because teamwork is about help and support. These are very important in your process of becoming popular.

5. Seek opportunities to socialize
Those partygoers tend to be popular at school. Why? Because they are always seeking for opportunities to know people and being known by people. It’s essential to socialize with others when ever you can –hallways, parties, camps, etc.

6. Study hard
Just imagine your name is on the Top 10 List, Best Student of the Year, Principal Honor List, etc. Or there is a picture of you shaking hands with the Principal in the school’s website and you got a national student award for the achievement in science. It’s hard to not be recognized in this situation.

7. Be an activist
Be active in school’s activities. Join a sport team or the student government. You will get the chance to know more people. If you are luckily good at those activities, people will get to know you, too.

8. Looking good
This does not mean you need to look cute. Don’t wear those shabby clothes or geek outfit. You should be responsible for your appearance as a popular kid. However, your behaviors and characteristics are more important than your appearance – you will shine if you have a golden heart!

9. Step out of the crowd
The word “popular” has the word “pop” in it. That means you need to pop out from the crowd to be recognized by others. How could you do it? Try to find the uniqueness or talent of yourself and try to improve it. Remember it is never to late to learn a new skill to make yourself a better person.

10. Stand beside the crown
This may be a little bit wicked but it really works. If you are hanging out with a bunch of stunning girls in school and dating the cutest guy on earth, I guarantee you would be in the middle of the spotlight.

For Lies

Should lying be acceptable in different situations? The answer is yes. No one on earth can say that he or she has never lied before. The truth is, everyone lies. However, some lies are spiteful and the others are well meaning. There are lies called white lies – lies with good motivations. These are the lies that will neither insult the civilization, nor ruin our humanity. White lies are powerful and even beautiful – we make small lies for happiness and hopes of others – those lies became a kind of understanding, esteem, and tolerant.

First and foremost, white lies came from good motivations. We make white lies for the benefits of others. For example, on your mother’s fiftieth birthday, she asks you if she looks older than the year before. What should you answer? “Of course you look older than last year – that is the logic – people get older every year, no exception of you!” or “Oh, mom. You look even younger than last year! Happy Birthday to my gorgeous forever-young mother.” Everyone who loves his or her mother would probably choose the second one over the first one. Why? Because truth is always hurtful; white lies are essential to make our lives more lovable. White lies are a way of thinking for others’ good. Isn’t it great to make the one you love and care happy by not telling the cruel facts of something small-beer?

Secondly, white lies can encourage and bring hope to people. When someone is suffering through serious illness, his or her family would never say something like, “you will die within a year” or “we have spent an enormous amount of money on you and we are really stressful.” As we know, in this kind of situation, we used to cheer the patient up and try to make them believe that then will get better soon. This is not lying, this is a way to encourage the dying lives - this is an extension of love! In the famous short story The Last Leaf, when the dying young girl looked out of the window and saw the last leaf on the vine shivering in the cold wind like herself, she lose her hope to live. But an artist next door drew a green leaf on that vine in a stormy night just because he did not want the girl to know that the leaf had fell. Although in some perspectives the artist lied to the girl, but that action brought hope to live to that little girl. The green leaf drawn by the artist is not only a symbol of hope and life; it is also a strong evidence of the power of white lies. Isn’t that the superlative of lies? We can see from here that white lies came from love, trust, and hope; white lies also build up love, trust, and hope. White lies can make people live with great fortitude and hope.

Last but not least, I am not here to advocate telling lies. It is important to know that lies are not always against honesty. In other words, lie and honesty are never paralleled. What is the definition of lie? From seditious commercials to lovers’ sweet talks, we can even see literature as a form of lie. So there should be a ruler in our mind to distinguish whether a lie is acceptable or not. Compared with those spiteful lies, white lies are more of a social strategy to make our relationships with others in harmony.

My dear people please wake up! White lies would never be an opposition of honesty. If you are thinking about others by heart, lies can be precious and meaningful. Make lies powerful! Let it encourage you to achieve your dream, let it strengthen your heart. If lying is for stopping oneself and the others from suffering, why not choosing it?

Rebuttal Against The Trouble With Self-Esteem

“Who are we, and what we will become?” This is one of the most pointless questions we always ask ourselves. We can never foretell our future because we can change the future by ourselves. So where does that common inner motivation come from? Yes, self-esteem has always been our engine that makes us look forward and move on.

However, someone apparently oppose this idea. In Lauren Slater’s essay The Trouble With Self-esteem, she argued that self-esteem is something we should get rid of it. “People with high self-esteem pose a greater threat to those around them than people with low self-esteem and feeling bad about yourself is not the cause of our country's biggest, most expensive social problems.” Slater said that self-esteem could lead us to violence or even kill. In her opinion, “standardized” people are more of a blind and mindless follower in the society. People are not made to be the same; it is important for people to inspire themselves to think they are special. What is self-esteem for? It is for finding the path people want to go and building up the confidence to make dreams come true. Yet sometimes it is not good to just focus on ourselves and lose our way, but if we got good control, this would not be a problem. Slater was just extremalizing the characteristics of confidence and inner-directed people.

We are born to be special – this is an axiom that does not need to be proofed. Maybe you cannot be a “great person”, but you can still be a “better person”. Human’s potential is waiting us to explore with our self-esteem. ''Day by day in every way I am getting better and better.'' Slater sneered at this, and I sneered at her. It is sad that she does not understand what life really is. Life is not about getting onto a tremendous hilltop; life is about getting higher and higher – better and better. And who is going to be our fellow along the way? You are right, self-esteem with be with us and will always be with us.