How much punishment can you take?

Don't you love it when you finally figure something out? When the light comes on and suddenly you understand? Eureka! Hopefully, some of that is beginning to happen with Crime and Punishment. Hopefully, the pages of dense text that you dutifully trudged through over the summer are beginning to open before your eyes, revealing what they may have formerly concealed.

And have you noticed that each time you pick up the book, each time you engage in discussion, each time you read a piece of criticism or hear a classmate report on their own, that your own understanding grows? During our discussion today, I almost felt the tiny folds of my cerebellum expanding, making room for new ideas and justifying them among the old.

So, what is it that you are beginning to understand about the novel? What are your epiphanies, your ah-ha! moments, what light have you seen? Please respond with specific references to the class discussion, arguments presented, textual evidence, your own opinions, etc. I'll do the same, that is, after I finish grading those last 10 college essays. (Yup, I'm still working on those...)
As always, I wait with great anticipation...

Oh, and don't forget your first name, last initial, and period number!

Epiphanies, Part II -

Throughout your mind map presentations today, my ears and brain fought to keep pace with each other, one intent on taking in new ideas and the other trying to organize them in accordance with those already crowded in the folds of my cerebellum.

One idea mentioned that really caught my attention was the alter ego, a second personality that exists within one self. Most typically this might be associated with the doppelganger, ala Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde, but I don't think it has to be that obvious. Instead, on a more subtle level, consider the Revered Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth: both have outward personas that they willingly reveal to the public, but both have a hidden personality as well.

Well, maybe this applies more to Chillingworth than it does Dimmesdale. Chillingworth clearly hides his malice and desire for vengeance from the people of Boston: for all appearances he is the kindly although misshapen doctor who tends to the ailing health of their beloved reverend. Other than to Hester, his true intentions are never revealed.

You know, the more I consider it, I think that Dimmesdale escapes this condemnation: although he has a secret, no other heart drives his actions; in fact, it is his weighty conscience that punishes him inwardly and at the same time demands his outward humility. He even goes so far as to admit his sinful nature on the pulpit, something that Chillingworth never does. Furthermore, if what he says is to be believed, he resists admitting his sin because of the detrimental effect it might have on the faith of his parishioners, not because he fears any repercussions for himself.

As for Hester, I'm uncertain. Does she have an alter ego? She seems so stoic throughout her ordeal, stiff backed and unyielding against Puritan judgment. But then again, when she removes her cap in the safety of the forest she is flooded with softness and femininity. I'll have to think about this some more...

As always, I'm curious to hear what you are discovering. Write on, my friends!

Oh, so that's what he meant...

Don't you love it when you finally figure something out? When the light comes on and suddenly you understand? Eureka!

Hopefully, some of that is beginning to happen with The Scarlet Letter. Hopefully, the pages of dense text that you dutifully trugded through over the summer are beginning to open before your eyes, to reveal what they may have formerly concealed. Hopefully, connections are being made and synapses are firing and the light is coming on and... Eureka! Now I see!

And you know what is especially neat? No matter how many times I read The Scarlet Letter, each reading offers something new. Case in point, I was thinking about the mind map that we constructed on the chalkboard (remember that great tangle of ideas??): we discussed the role of human behavior, the motivation behind different character's actions. Dimmesdale's guilt and Chillingworth's vengeance were obvious to us as a class, but it later dawned on me that we hadn't discussed Hester's motivation in any great detail. Certainly, it is more complex than one word can express: understanding Hester's motivation requires a full appreciation of all the roles she fulfills in the story and all of the obligations implicit within them. Best known as the town adultress, certainly she would have acted in response to that label, but think about all of the other functions, labels, or roles she fulfilled: estranged wife, mother, secret lover, etc. How did these roles shape her actions? I hadn't really considered that before... huh! Curious, isn't it?

So, how about you? What are you beginning to realize about The Scarlet Letter? I am anxious to read your responses...
Mrs. K.