Saturday, August 22, 2015
Hester and Transcendentalism
Upon looking at the 6 paragraph promt, I realized that a little bit of transcendentalist thinking has appreaed in the thoughts of Hester Prynne in chapter 5. In a puritan society it is frowned upon to question God or your belief in him. However, when you're cast away and put to shame I feel that thinking would go along with that. In this chapter you see that she is asking her self, is she really the only person that has commited adultery? She is merely the only person in that situation that it was that obvious. Is she really the only person ever to have commited a sin and punished this serverly? She is starting to doubt this and think of people as just human, that this should be normal and the punishment is over board.
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Well, Hester is not the only sinner of adultery but she has become a symbol of sin thus being recognized much more and I believe Hawthorne is using Hester as a prompt for all those whom has committed adultery and the consequences many will deal with.
ReplyDeleteI agree Hawthorne is using Hester to get rid of the social stigma of adultery.
DeleteAGREEMENTS OR DISAGREEMENTS?
ReplyDeleteI can see where you're coming from. However, I doubt Hester was thinking of the moral, philisophical, or spiritual implications of her actions at the time. It's called an act of the lust, and usually lust is pretty mindless. I don't think she is trying to change anything, but instead is looking to see if her actions are justified. I think she's trying to understand if her actions are wrong or right, or if maybe wrong and right are subjectified to each individual. Either way, I feel she would have planned or atleast thought ahead, if she intended to make a change.
ReplyDeleteI dont think she wanted to necessarily make a change nor is she seeking justicfications of her actions. I think she is merely realizing that her actions may just be human mistakes, everyone makes mistakes. Yes, not everyone makes the mistake as adultery, yet everyone is considered to sin on a day to day basis. She figures that it is hard to stay pure when basically everything you do is a sin. She isnt seeking justification because she feels she deserves the punishment. She wears the A everyday, as if she needs the constant reminder that she has shamed herself because she reminds herself of it without having to look at it.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree with you Ali to a certain extent. I believe that Hawthorn may have used Hester as a symbol but not of sin. Hawthron didnt symbolize Hester as sin, the puritans did, and if Hawthorn did prompt Hester for anything it was to put the idea out there that every one does sin. That, as i have mentioned before, sins are just human mistakes and no ones is the perfect believer.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sayanne. Hawthorne writes how Hester feels like she's not the only one who has sin in the town. She feels that others share her pain. I also do believe that she has been the only one caught with the act of adultery. As you read chapter 7, you realize that even after three years of the incident, all the attention is still on Hester. Don't you think that if it has happened before, it would not be such a big deal years later. Finally, I believe that Hester is the only transcendentalist character, along with Pearl, because they are the only two who do not go by the town's "rules". Her society is like one person, they all think and act the same way. They are like slaves to the Puritan society.
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