Promises, Promises . . .

Way back when she was in prison, should Hester have made her promise to Chillingworth in the first place?  In making/breaking her promise, who did Hester betray more, Arthur Dimmesdale or Roger Chillingworth?  Talk a little bit about your answer, and also discuss whether or not she should have been forgiven.  

Your response in the comment box is unmoderated, so it should appear immediately.

Punishment . . . Then and Now

The impact of The Scarlet Letter as a literary metaphor is perennial.  As proof I've attached an article about a judge in Texas who practices doling out public humiliation Puritan style.  Follow this link to find out some rudimentary information on Puritan Punishment.

Find the following articles in the high school's Virtual Reference Collection found on the library's home page.  Log in and find the articles under Proquest K-12.  Read the articles and respond in a Word document to the following:  How do you feel about shame and humiliation as punishment for crimes committed?  Support your opinion with quotes/ideas/paraphrasing from the articles.  After you are through, copy and paste your response into the blog.  Blog is due before class tomorrow!

Judge's Strategy of humiliation is strong deterrent; [Final Edition]
Don Jacobs, News-Sentinel staff writer.  News Sentinel.  Knoxville, Tenn.:  Apr 11, 2000.  pg. A.6

SENTENCE FOR THEFT IS HUMILIATION IN BEDFORD TOWN CENTER
JON SCHMITZ, TORSTEN OVE. Pittsburgh Post - Gazette.  Pittsburg, Pa.: Nov 4, 2009. pg. A 1

Summer Assignment #2 -- Due August 10

OOPS!!!  We are clearly enjoying our vacation TOO much!!  Sorry for the late post -- new due date is AUGUST 17th!!!

Choose ONE of the following questions and relate it to your second Hawthorne story,  Next,  discuss how this response might relate to something in your world or our society today.  Approximately 300 words.

1. What happens when the values of an individual conflict with the values of the society in which he or she lives?

2. How does society oppress certain groups or people?

3. How much personal responsibility should a person take for his or her role in society?

4. To what extent are our identities shaped by the society around us?

Please remember to compose your response on a Word document and then save, copy, and paste to the blog.  Please also remember to . . .

Click on "comments" on the bottom of the page to post your response.  Where it says "Comment as:" select "Name/URL" from the drop-down menu and enter your first and last name in order to receive credit (leave URL space blank).

Summer Assignment #1

Portrait of Nathaniel Hawthorne
by Charles Osgood, 1840

Hi All!  

We hope you're enjoying your summer so far, and we hope you're beginning to enjoy Hawthorne and his short stories!  

So, what was the first story you read?  

1.     Briefly summarize the plot of the story.

2.     Completely define ONE main character.   Choose one quote from the story that best typifies your character and explain why you chose it.  In describing your character, include as many traits as possible: physical, emotional, intellectual, and describe the character’s internal and external motivations as best you can.  Tell us everything you possibly can think of about that character.  

3.     Please also talk about the message that Hawthorne wanted to impart to his readers; what was his purpose in writing the story??  Give examples from the story that support your point of view.  We can’t emphasize enough the importance of drafting a well-organized, grammatically correct response on a Word document.   After you have finished, please copy and paste it to the blog response. 

Click on "comments" on the bottom of the page to post your response.  Where it says "Comment as:" select "Name/URL" from the drop-down menu and enter your first and last name in order to receive credit (leave URL space blank).

Your next blog response is due August 10th.   

Also, do not forget you will be expected to produce your annotated copy of each of your stories on our first day back in September.  We're looking forward to reading your responses!!!