Monday, January 28, 2013

The Rose Bush


When asked who was her creator, Pearl responded that she had "not been made at all, but had been plucked by her mother off the bush of wild roses, that grew by the prison-door.." ( page 93)
 Do you think this is simply an incident of Pearl's imagination getting out of hand, or that there is a significant underlying meaning in her response?
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5 comments:

  1. HoratioJanuary 28, 2013 at 6:57 PM

    I think it's pearl's imagination. She's a little a girl she's bound to want to play and make stories up. Then again, there is a significant thing tying up to the rose bush. Why, out of all things the rose bush? Might it signify that pearl is the beauty to her mom's torture as the rose bush is to the prison?

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    1. UnknownJanuary 28, 2013 at 7:30 PM

      That could be true...

      I just thought back to when we discussed the rose bush, and concluded that it showed that despite the cruelty that the people of the town showed each other, that nature could still be kind, and that it is it's true self. Pearl has been isolated and little contact to the other people who live in the town, as a result she has not been greatly influenced by the Puritan way of life; her mother has taught her of it, but she doesn't really take those principles to heart. She develops her own ideas rather than blindly following the laws. I think that Pearl embodies the idea of Transcendentalism, she was apart from society and challenges the status qou. She does not conform.

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  2. UnknownJanuary 28, 2013 at 9:08 PM

    I'd have to say that i agree with what Janeth is saying. it can be seen as the simplicity of Pearls imagination, she has yet to grow up and mature and being that she is still a little girl, they tend to make up stories and believe what they want. The significance of Pearl being portrayed as the rose bush can be the compliment of the only good and pure thing from the history of her mother. Like the rose bush reflects the beauty seen despite the prison. And I like what Jessica has to say about the idea of Transcendentalism and how Pearl can be the embodiment of it. Nathaniel Hawthorne can be using the characterization of Pearl to imbued that way of thinking.

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  3. HoratioJanuary 29, 2013 at 12:39 PM

    I like the idea of transcendentalism being embodied by pearl. I can see how she defies the status quo by also being the embodiment of the scarlet letter. Yet could it also mean that because Hester is fostering her and loves her so much that an individual cannot live without that ideology? Im just wondering because maybe Hester represents the normal individual while Pearl represents that idea.

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  4. bethany rendonJanuary 31, 2013 at 9:01 PM

    I also would have to agree that it is just her imagination, and even though she is intelligent I don't think she tried to imply something profound in her statement. However there are some similarities between the two. The rose bush is like Pearl.It grows in a location where it serves as a stark contrast against the prison Pearl is beautiful and grows despite the fact that she was created out of "sin." The rose is a beautiful, wild, mystical thing-reflective of Pearl.She too is wild and grows with little nurturing; she also endures a harsh environment,just as the rose does.Hester references Pearl's existence and the rose as one in the same.

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