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.