The Scarlet Letter-- Response 2 of 4 by Erica

Part II: pages 55- 151

    It is on page fifty-five that the story truly begins to take place and I get a sense of what the book entails. Hawthorne sets the story in Boston, Massachusetts in the 1800s. He gives you a sense of what life was like during that time, which allowed me to better understand the text and view the characters the way they were seen during their time. I was also able to put myself in that time period and follow the customs of the century rather than that of the 21^st century.

   People were very religious and their religion often went hand in hand with the law. It is obvious that these Puritans did not separate religion and state like we do now. He tells of the types of people. Women were more hardy and masculine and spoke with shear indifference towards those they believed to have done wrong. The town had little tolerance for crimes, sins, or bad behavior and each punishment was carried out with severity and humility for the person who committed the crime.  The town has a very strict code of conduct and it seems illogical for anyone to attempt a crime because of the ridicule they would receive. I would not like living in a town that strict. I would always feel as if I were walking on eggshells and be constantly aware of anything that may be misconstrued as a sin or wrong doing.

    The story revolves around a young, beautiful woman named Hester Prynne. You infer that she has committed adultery and has bared a child because of it. She is forced to wear a red embroidered A to show her crime and is ridiculed by all the towns people. I find Hester Prynne a truly strong woman with great character. Instead of running away from her shame, she faces it daily and chooses to hold her chin up high, although that is not always an easy task for her. She takes responsibility for her actions, which is more than most people do, including Pearl’s father. I appreciate that Prynne does not reveal the name of Pearl’s father. She is protecting him, which I understand considering the harshness that would be bestowed upon him if she were to expose his identity.

   Pearl, Hester’s daughter, is the one good thing that has come of the situation. No matter how the child came about, a mother’s love for the child outweighs their resentment or regret toward the original situation. Pearl is her mother’s greatest treasure and she will do anything to keep her, which the heads of the town allow her to do. It’s sad that Pearl must suffer the mockery her mother deals with because she is associated with Prynne.

   I find it interesting that Hester’s husband shows up at the moment of her public shame. He had two years to come and settle down with Hester and only showed up after she has committed adultery. I am not condoning Hester’s infidelity, but I find it a bit arrogant for her husband to just waltz back in and naturally want to seek revenge on the man who got his wife pregnant. Some may think it is admirable, and he is fighting the man who took his wife’s honor, but his demeanor and methods to his revenge seem questionable. He does not even regard his wife after she gets out of jail. If he truly loved her, he would help her bear her shame, but he is just upset that some other man has touched what was supposed to be his and wants revenge to maintain his pride. The town’s people also view him as devil-like, which ties into the town’s natural religiousness. I can tell religion will be a regular theme throughout the story.       

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Analysis 1 of 2

“I was powerful glad to get away from the feuds, and so was Jim to get away from the swamp. We said there warn’t no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don’t. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft.”

This text was found in Chapter 18 after Huck and Jim escaped the feud between the Grangerfords and the Shepherds. In the text, Huck is saying that he feels free and comfortable on a raft. In a way, the raft symbolizes Huck’s and Jim’s freedom. It serves as their way of escaping from the society. Literally speaking, the raft is their only way of escaping from society as it serves as their transportation. Life may be awesome for Huck and Jim on the raft, but problems continue to arise along their journey on the Ohio River. I guess this is Mark Twain’s way of letting Huck and Jim (and the readers too) that the raft is merely a symbol of their freedom. They are only on a raft and are still susceptible to the problems of the society that they are trying to run away from. Mark Twain constantly enforces that idea as there are numerous examples of their raft being invaded by other people. One example would be when a group of men on a boat confronted their raft in search of runaway slaves. Another example would be when two men who were con artists asked to hitch a ride on their raft.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Response 2 of 4

I really like Mrs. Judith Loftus. She’s one of those few people that Huck encounters that are sincere. The only thing I don’t like about her is that she wants to capture Jim for the $300 reward. It’s a good thing that she shared her plans with Huck in trying to hunt down Jim because Huck can use this opportunity to warn Huck and hide somewhere else. After Mrs. Loftus compared Huck and Jim’s situations, I realized that they are both similar. They are both running away from society. Huck ran away from his father, who has been abusive to him. Jim ran away from Mrs. Watson because he heard he was going to be sold somewhere else. It’s ironic that both of these runaways are together now, escaping from the society that they were once in. The story continues on with Huck and Jim floating along the Ohio River. I was surprised that Huck was going to consider on turning Jim in for the bounty reward. I’m glad that he decided not to turn him in, especially when Jim said that Huck was his only friend. It was nice of Huck to make up a lie to protect Jim when a group of men confronted him about searching his raft for escaped slaves. Huck pretended that his family is on board the raft is suffering from smallpox. That one lie scared them away and made them give Huck some money out of pity. The story continues with Huck being separated from Jim and being found by some family who’s going through a feud with another family (Shepherdson vs. Grangerfords). This part reminded me of Romeo and Juliet, how their families were in a feud against each other. I freaked out when Huck was in the middle of battle zone of the two families, where some family members of each family died. I actually thought that this boy, Buck Grangerford, would be one of the main characters and close friends of Huck until he died. The story continues with Huck finding Jim by the river and they sail off. They meet up with these two white men who appear to be con artists. I can’t believe that Huck let them ride on the raft with himself and Jim. They could easily turn in Jim for the bounty reward. I just have a feeling that they are up to no good, especially since they made jokes about Jim being captured and such.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Response 1 of 4

I remember reading the book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, back in middle school, and I was excited to get the opportunity to read the sequel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Anyhow, this beginning of this book was quite confusing. The speaker was Huckleberry Finn, but it was like he came outside of the book and knew that Mark Twain wrote a book about himself. It’s kind of hard to explain, but in the opening paragraph Huck talks as if he knows he’s in a book. Anyway, the story goes on with the Widow Douglas trying to “sivilize” Huck. I don’t really understand why they used the word “sivilize” instead of “civilize.” In chapter two, I enjoyed reading that one part when Huck and Tom are trying to sneak by Jim. I thought Jim had some sort of narcolepsy since he just fell asleep when he said he was going to find whoever was making noise outside. The prank that Tom did on Jim was funny, too. Jim took it too seriously and thought there were witches that played a prank on him when it was actually Tom’s idea. I realized that at this point that a lot of books that I have to read for my English classes have a Negro in the story. Other examples include Of Mice and Men and To Kill a Mockingbird. Well, the story moves on with Tom and Huck talking within their gang, which I thought was a joke. Despite the fact that they signed an oath in blood, I really doubt that a bunch of kids would have the criminal minds to hold ransoms and rob places. It’s funny that the gang doesn’t even know what ransom means, and that’s what made me feel that this is just one of those pretend things that kids do. Later in the story, Huck’s dad is introduced. I’d hate to be in Huck’s shoes, having an abusive dad and such. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be abused by someone you thought wouldn’t hurt you. To me, it seems like Huck’s dad just wants to get the money that Huck has. The story gets really interesting when Huck makes it look like he was murdered and runs away to some island. It’s ironic that Huck met Jim at that island, who is also running away just like Huck himself. The part after that when Huck pretends to be a girl is amusing because he ultimately fails in convincing this woman that he is a girl.

The Awakening: Response 2 of 4

        I'm just beginning to see how this "awakening" is in its process of bloom. The feminist ideologies are finally flooding my mind. I see desire in Edna Pontellier. Her desire to be free and youthful again where she can embrace her femininity and sexuality. Although married to Leonce, Edna is enticed by Robert Lebrun who is surely one who has Edna's approval of his flirtation. This brings Edna more to her senses of this womanhood to embrace. Also seeing Adele Ratignolle and her happiness and devotion to her family, Edna engages in the sense to become an enlightened and graceful woman who strives to take her womanhood to the next level, and to overcome the likely distress of motherhood and lack of confidence due to weakness and decreased time out of the day. Mrs. Pontellier goes through this process of bloom with such a wisdom that encourages her to extract her womanly glow.
         One of my favorite parts so far is where Edna decides to take a chance at going to the beach with Robert. Although he keeps a distance after a while, I discover that Edna is not familiar with how to swim. She then finds the strength and courage to try it out, and she ends up swimming farther and enjoying the personal moment with just herself. It seems as if she had felt one with herself and like she was finally catching on to the control and aural power she naturally has as a female. Afterward, I'm amazed at how quickly things grow intense between Edna and Robert. He moves on to her as she decides to walk home, and he deciding to follow. As he waits with her for Mr. Pontellier to arrive home, things are silent, but grow into a silence of uprising passion. I am somewhat appalled at this. Mrs. Pontellier is married! She is not Mrs. Lebrun!  She seems to be not too supporting of her own husband now and she is urged more to having Robert around. What I also question is the children. Oh! What an effect this is having on the children when I think realistically of today's world and the occurrence of such events. The story is surprising me; however, at the same time, I feel some sort of approval for Edna is living in a most special moment in a girl's life once again!

Time to Share Response 1 of 4 on The Awakening by Kate Chopin

Part I: pages 1 – 35

Hey everyone! I composed this response since last week, and decided that I should share it so that we can all get familiar on the novels we are all working on to help prepare for college. So here it is! Response 2 of 4 should be posted later on today :) 

          I automatically feel as if I’m in a foreign place, noting that this story involves French and other languages I am not accustomed to. This makes the book all the more interesting to read at once.

         One thing that I noticed again, was that French creoles are involved, and I really forgot what that meant! Not such a good situation to encounter, especially when trying to make the most of a book. That’ll be the next word on my vocabulary list. What shocked me the most in the beginning was the fact that husband and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Pontellier, were not so acknowledging of each other when one arrived. For example, when Mr. Pontellier came home from Klein’s hotel, he tried to begin a conversation with his wife. From that, he was discouraged because she would barely respond and show that she was not so much interested. So, he goes and checks on their sons, and finds out that one has a fever. It amazes me how he sends to tell his wife, and then he goes to smoke a cigar. I can just see how he lacks some kind of support; especially, how he goes out to have leisure without his whole family and comes back while his wife and children are already in bed.

         After reading some more, I come to believe that this couple surely has issues with each other and their individual parenting skills; particularly, the Mrs. It’s only been a few pages later and now I’m confused. As this next morning comes, they’re once again joyous like the previous night never happened, and Mrs. Pontellier gets money, and she exclaims that she knew of no one better husband than Mr. Pontellier.

          What I do like about the introduction and beginning to this story is the clear picture of such a life. If I were to describe this in adjectives I would say very feminine, delicate, exquisite, fine, fresh, and relaxing. It is really turning up to be a good read. Great, rather. I can find some benefit in the novel because I am a total feminist myself! I love to read about the lives of females and what happens in life. From there, we can relate a somewhat truth of beauty and grace. A very good symbol of this feminine touch at the moment would be Madame Ratignolle from how she is described where we think, “How could any man turn her down or hurt her.” I will obviously keep reading to discover more!

Huxley’s Brave New World-- Response 1 of 4

Currently being read, annotated and loved by me, Alana Tapales. After reading the title and then looking at the brackground picture of comformity and lack of individuality, I felt a smile creep up on my lips and hasitly, I read the back. The New York Times Book Review was quoted saying, “It is a frightening experience…to discover how much [Huxley’s] satirical view of a distant future became reality at so short a time.” By likeing to this book has increased a trifle and I knew that I am going to enjoy this read. What made it even better was that this novel was originally publishsed in 1932! Can you believe that? I agree with Kazzandra when she says in her post, “Having first been published in the 1930's, it may be similar to those stories I've hear about psychic men who create clear depictions of modern society that almost seem too real that it becomes scary. “I expect much from this book; being part of the 101 books for college bound students as it is. Another thing that I found interesting was that the description of this book reminded me of another book: 1984 by George Orwell. I was reading a first few pages but then I needed to return it to the pwnder, but to me, the two books seem similar.