How does Hawthorne set the tone of the novel in these first few chapters? What words and phrases did you notice that contribute to this tone? Why would he open the novel in this way? In other words, what is his purpose?
Ryan C
10/25/2012 03:55:02 am
I think that the tone of chapters 1 - 4 is almost gloomy and suspenseful. He shows this by describing "the weather stained jail" or how he described the jail and the cemetary, which to me are very dark things. I think this mirrors the situation of a pending sin that has been done. When the rose is described as a very pretty, but dangerous thing, due to its thorns, I connected that to Hecter. This is because she's pretty, but has cause a lot of trouble. I even thought of the song lyrics, " Every rose has its thorns". Then the tone turns to a scandilist kind of thing. They are actually yelling wanting to know who the father is, not to mention basically the whole town is looking at her. That in which gives a tone of a very big important part/problem. I connected with this to the Berlin Wall. Everyone was pleeding with an indivisual to do something that they thought was for the better. Like the towns men, wanting her to tell the fathers name. Chapters 1 - 4 obviously have the tone of scandal, rage and contriversy
Meghan O.
10/26/2012 03:40:04 am
I agree with what Ryan is saying, the comment he made about the book having a "gloomy and suspenseful" tone. The way Nathanial Hawthorne starts the chapters with forshadows and the "unknown factor" proves how gloomy and suspenseful this book is. On page 123 in Chapter 3, there is a pretty long paragraph. It starts with, "Truly,friend; and methinks....to her own misguidance." is a great example of the tone in this book. This part is still exposing extremely important information about the main characters, but it also leaves you in suspense because you worry what Hester's life may be like if she gets put into exile. This small excerpt really reminded me of the book The Hunger Games. THe main character Katniss is struggling to survive in the arena, and as they give important information, you are in suspence until they reveal what continues in the future. This suspenseful tone makes you want to read on and keeps you intrigued in the storyline. After reading action packed and suspenseful books I can compare how characters in different books reacted and even dealt with major issues. Ryan also said, " The tone turns to a scandilist kind of thing." I also agree with the switch of tone as the story evolves. In chapter 4, we are introduced to the "doctor" who is taking care of Hester and her baby in the jail cell. It is then noted that it is her husband! He proves that the baby is evidence of adultery. Once all of the suspense was revealed it creates a very suspenseful tone! In our media, we are exposed to scandals and issues between extremely wealthy people. When there is an emerging story, there is alot of suspense. But as the story is spread and there is evidence of mistakes made, it becomes an extremely scandalist event. I connected to the seriousness and the specific tone in the book to what I see in the media everyday! I think HAwthorne's purpose of the novel is to really keep you hooked and drawn to what he is trying to convet. It is obvious he is trying to give away details slowly so that you are never to excited or to bored. This is really going to make this book addictive and bring many different types of audiences to read the book. The Scarlet Letter is off to a great start!
Olivia P.
11/4/2012 11:40:11 am
I agree with you Meghan when you said Hawthorne is trying to slowly give away details so the reader is never bored. I also agree with Ryan that the tone could be considered suspenseful. When the book starts, it doesn't give you too much information about Hester or what she has done yet. It talks more about the setting and describes in great detail the prison door. Later, it reveals Hester with her baby, and then Roger. Everything after that like when Hester's husband talks to her about the real father of Pearl just keeps building suspense.
Adam B.
11/1/2012 03:36:00 am
I agree with Ryan that this book is starting off with a scandalous tone to it. Before the first chapter even started, we had a possible case of adultury and what could turn out to be a death sentence. I think it was also sort of scandalous how Roger came back and kept the secret with Hester that her husband is alive. I know that keeping this secret will shorten her sentence for the affair, or take it away altogether because it's not adultury if her husband is dead. I get that part of the deal, but what I don't get is why Roger wanted to keep this a secret. He must have some kind of angle to get what he wants, it wil just take a chapter or two to find out what his angle is. Roger seemed very interested in who Hester's affair was with. On page 149, he told Hester, "I shall seek this man as I have sought truth in books," and later he said, "sooner or later, he must be mine!" I think Roger will eventually end up blackmailing Hester by making her tell him the man's name to keep him from revealing the fact that he is her husband. I think that would continue the scandalous tone that the book has started off with.
Nick R
11/1/2012 10:24:55 am
i agree with you Ryan on when you said that the tone is gloomy and suspenseful. Also I agree with you with your quote saying, "the weather stained jail." This directly resembles how when she got sent to jail it was a very dark time in her life. Also, Hawethorne describes the rose like Ryan said. To me this shows that Hawethorne used the idea of a rose as something that is gloomy and has 2 sides to the story. This is connected to Hester because like the rose there are many good things about her. Also, like the thorns, there are also bad parts to her such as committing adultry. I agree with Meghan when she said that, "Hawthorne's purpose of the novel is to really keep you hooked and drawn to what he is trying to convet." I agree with this because i do not think that he would include all of this great descriptive details unless it is for a purpose which i thought it was.
Ben Cal
10/31/2012 11:52:28 am
To be honest, the tone of the story is very difficult to understand, but to me it is very boring and yet with a suspense like Ryan said. Hawthorne uses a lot of elaboration in his writing which after a while starts to get a little hard to understand because you start reading a lot of the same thing instead of a different event. However, when you think about what Hester had been going through, you want to learn more about what is going to happen next. At the end of chapter 4 when Hester and the supposed person that was keeping guard of her finally knew who each other were it caused some big controversy. What will happen to their relationship? Will people find out that Hester and this guy are actually wife and husband? You can kind of connect to this part of the story to real life like, say you lied about a time when something completely crazy happened. Only you and your friend know about the situation, but your friend lives in Europe while you are in Connecticut. You keep saying the total wrong thing about the situation and everyone needs to know the truth about everything. No one will know unless your friend comes home from Europe. I am excited about what will happen in chapters 5 through 6 and the rest of the story.
TJ B
11/4/2012 01:27:18 am
I agree with Ben that the story is very boring. If I were going to read a story, I would want there to be action and not just a lot of talking. I do think that there has been a lot of suspense with the many different things that are happening right now. One of these things is the husband coming to town. Will he tell everyone he is the husband one day when he is mad at Hester, or will he find out who the dad of the kid is and kill him? In addition, what will happen with the baby? Will the people of the town let it go to school and play with the other kids or will it have to be alone all the time. I think that the husband coming to town is like when you are called down to the office during school. You do not know what they are going to do. They could be trying to help you can you will be okay or you could be getting in trouble and something bad is going to happen. In the book, Hester’s husband could try to help her out or he could tell everyone that he is her husband. The only way to find out is to go in the office or continue to read the book.
Sean C.
11/4/2012 04:44:01 am
I definitely agree with what Ben is saying about the story being boring but still having a suspenseful element to it. Hawthorne uses a lot of description and explains things such as Hester sewing things and Pearl being almost devilish. Although these are not real events, Hawthorne keeps the suspense by not moving the story along for a chapter or two. Hawthorne reveals a secret and then takes a step back like he did after revealing that Hester's husband is actually alive. This makes you want to keep reading but also makes it hard to keep going if you know there won't be anything exciting for a while. Hawthorne created some suspense on page 121 when describing what happened when the husband arrived to see Hester on the scaffold. "When he found the eyes of Hester Prynne fastened on his own, and saw that she appeared to recognize him, he slowly and calmly raised his finger, made a gesture with it in the air, and laid it on his lips." He made you wonder who this man was and what he wanted to hide. We now know that it is Hester's husband but will everyone in Hester's community find this out? Where did he go when Hester was released? And what will happened if their secret gets revealed?
Molly M.
11/4/2012 11:31:26 am
I'd have to say I disagree with you, Ben. I don't think the story is boring at all. I do, however, I do agree that the tone is one full of suspense. It may be a matter of personal opinion, but I find Hawthorne's use of descriptive language as a window into the story. If you read it, and get really interesested, you start to imagine what the scene looked like. His writing style is also ambiguous in the sense that, depending on how you read the text, you can interpret it different ways, it allows you to form theories or predictions of your own. This can be shown when Master Dimmesdale makes his speech on page 133, "If thou feelest it to be for thy soul's peace, and that thy earthly punishment will thereby be made more effectual to salvation, I charge thee to speak the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow-sufferer!" The rest of the "prominent men," mostly Reverend WIlson are pushing Hester, trying to force her to reveal the name of her "fellow-sinner," whereas Mr. Dimmesdale seems to be saying "well if you really want to tell us, if you think it would be better for you, then go ahead and tell us who you cheated in your husband with." This got me thinking about the subliminal messages one can send in the tone of their speech, and how, since we are reading and not listening to this, that tone is up for our interpretation. As for the setting of the tone, I agree (as I said previously) that it is definetly suspenseful, but I also detect a hint of defiance, and/or rebellion in these first chapters. Hester has the nerve to place herself even further away from the societal "norm" by embroidering the "A" she is forced the wear past the point of simplicity that was highly valued in that society. On page 105 Hawthorne wrote "It was so artisically done, and with so much fertlilty and gorgeous luxuriance of fancy...which was of a splendor in accordance to the taste of the age, but greatly beyond what was allowed in the sumptuary regulations of the colony." That rebellion in breaking societal code as well as religious law presents her defiance, that to me is furthered by her refusal to name the father of her child. This base of defiance and suspense leaves me asking two questions: 1. How could one possibly find this book boring (meaning no offense to those who do)? and 2. How else does Hawthorne or other great authors throughout history use ambiguity and subliminal messaging to further their plot lines or provide foreshadowing?
Jack L
11/1/2012 03:35:06 am
i think that the tone of the story is a combination to showthe correlation between control and sadness. The town seemed very sad because the people in it were very gloomy and their highlight was going to see the punishment of the criminals of the town. It also seemed sad because on page 101 one woman suggests that they put Hester to death for a crime of adultery. Although it was a more serious crime then it is now death is a very cruel punishment for something like that. This also contributes to why i see the tone to be also partly of control. the town keeps complete control of the people by using such harsh punishments for anything that is considered a sin. They all must have the same beliefs in this town and they have the same point of views on how serious a violator of the prosperity of their town should be. I believe the tone of the story is used to show the realism of the history of towns like these and why communities like these have changed over the years
Kristi H
11/1/2012 03:53:10 am
I think that the tone of the book is gloomy. I think the book is gloomy because when they were talking about the prison door they talked about a black flower. The tone of black flower to me was dark and evil. Flowers are usually suppossed to be bright colors and represent life and beauty. To me, at funerals i think the flowers should be bright because they are representing the celebration of someones life and not mouring over their death. I also think that the tone is represented when they talk about the wooden jail. When they talk about a jail i think of cement, and uncomfortable beds. I don't think of wood. I think wooden would be old and more dirty. Overall, the tone of this text is gloomy because of the setting of the book in general. It also seems a type of depressing setting. Old, and dirty. Also, just by the cover of the book you can tell that this setting of the book is dark and gloomy.
Adam B.
11/1/2012 10:35:22 am
I didn't really think about it like that. I agree with Kristi that the setting itself has a gloomy feel to it. The book isn't just gloomy because of the plot and how the author chooses to phrase things, the setting is also adding to it. I think this adds to the level of suspense that the book has had throughout the first few chapters. I think another way that the book is gloomy is that they keep making references to the Devil, which we don't really do in our society. In our society today, we wouldn't say things like, "Art thou like the Black Man that haunts the forest round about us?" I think today, people tend to not talk about that kind of stuff because it's not as upbeat and happy as people try to be. Talking about death and the Devil all the time isn't the happiest subject of conversation that we can talk about, so we usually don't.
Sierra H
11/1/2012 12:27:43 pm
I also think that the book is gloomy and dark. Many of the situations that Hawthorne puts into his story's dont seem to be in vibrant setting but they seem to be grey. On page 115 Hawthorne is describing what life was in England and he says "a decayed house of gray stone whith a poverty stricken aspect." To me this quote shows that Prynne's house was somwhat creepy and dark because of the face that it was falling apart or decaying.
Olivia P.
11/4/2012 10:52:41 am
I also agree with Kristi. Basically the entire book so far has suggested the idea of a depressing and dark setting. Right in the beginning of the book, Hawthorne describes the prison door. Everything said about it just gives you an ominous feel. On the first page (page 93) it says that the wooden jail already had weather stains other indications of age which gave a yet darker aspect to its already gloomy front. This quote and many others show that this book has an overall creepy tone.
Derek V.
11/7/2012 11:42:56 am
Like Kristi, I found the beginning of the story to be a bit gloomy as the purpose of the gathering of the townsfolk is explained and the setting is described but this tone does not last particularly long. When Hester is introduced I feel it takes on a tone more indicative of strength and defiance as she bears her punishment bravely and refuses to give up her fellow sinner. At the end of our reading section, similarly to Ryan, Olivia, and Meghan, I found the tone suspenseful. This suspense culminated for me at the end of chapter four where Hester is speaking to her husband, “Why dost though smile so at me? Art though like the black man that haunts the forest…Hast though enticed me into a bond that will prove the ruin of my soul?” To these questions Roger Chillingworth simply gave a knowing smile and said, “Not thy soul, no not thine.” This ending leaves the reader in suspense and with a grim foreboding, questioning what wickedness Chillingworth has in mind and whether he shall indeed spare Hester and her child as he promised.
Akhil G
11/3/2012 01:47:37 am
Most of these comments suggest that the tone of the first few chapter of this book is mostly gloomy and dark. I can see how most of these others see how depressing this book can really be, but for me this book has more of a cruel tone. Hawthorne shows how a society of puritans can be so vial. They make Hester feel as if she is the lowest of dirt on the face of the earth. I do agree that the book does have a suspensful and gloomy tone as Ryan had mentioned. The references to death can get depressing as Hawthore desrcibed on page 125 "Thus she will be living sermon against sin, until the ignominious letter be engraved upon her tombstone." This is an example of how gloomy this tone can be from my interpretation.
Heather M
11/4/2012 06:19:33 am
I agree with what Akhil is saying on how the first four chapters has a cruel tone. In the story the town gathers to watch a women stand on a podium for punishment while gossiping about her and they also suggest her punishment should be death instead. But I also think the book does have a gloomy tone to it. Hawthorne shows this gloomy tone by using sentances such as "...the wooden jail already marked with weather-stains and other indications of age which gave a yet darker aspect to its beetle-browed and gloomy front." (page 93) This shows the tone of gloomy because Hawthorne uses descriptive words and sad, depressing words.
Ethan A
11/4/2012 11:15:23 am
I would also agree with Akhil that the first few chapters has a cruel tone to it just like how she was publicly humiliated and I think that it was done like this to set a standard to the story. If he had started off with a different mood like a happy one, or at the very least one that wasn't so bad then I don’t think that we as readers would feel so strongly for Hester. Even if she might have had a good life before the start of the book we immediately jump into her imprisonment and how she is being humiliated. To us it was always bad for her, this wasn’t a low point in her life, to us this is all we knew she ever had. That conveys a strong sense of pity from us to the character. Hawthorne did this I'm guessing not only to get people to read his book but also to help us really feel for Hester, for us to connect with her. Because it doesn't seem like her life is getting any better any time fast in the book.
Ryan C
11/4/2012 01:08:57 am
I agree with what Adam is saying. The book isnt just gloomy about the plot or the circumstances that it plays upon. Yes the story is based on scandal and adultery which are viewed as a dark and bad thing, but the setting really does help the story develop. Like the angry mob of people just waiting to degrade a woman, or the weathered buildings show how they have been their for a while through some hard times. The tone really helps the story move and flow with a dark feeling to a dark story.
Tim B
11/4/2012 04:58:32 am
I think that everyone has been making some good points on how the tone is gloomy and sad. Also, I agree with Jack how there is a sense of constant control over the Puritans. I feel this underlying element has created the sense of a loss of hope for anyone who is an individual in this society. I also agree with Akhil's idea that cruelty is a driving factor in this book. For almost the entire page 101 women stand around the jail and gossip about Hester's horrid misdeeds and repeatedly bad mouthing her with hate filled commentary . They also suggest that Hester should be put to death which can be clearly seen when one of them says "This women has brought shame to us all, and ought to die." This clearly demonstrates the cruelty and lack of sympathy that this society supports. I also feel that the tone could be considered secretive because most of the plot is driven by secrets kept by the main characters such as Hester not telling who her husband or lover is and "Chillingsworth" keeping the secret that Hester is his wife.
Amanda P.
11/4/2012 12:03:15 pm
Not only is the tone of the book gloomy but it is also dark and depressing. Nathaniel Hawthorne continually describes scenes in the story as unpleasant and ugly or almost disturbing. He show's this even by the way he describes the flower in the very beginning of the book. Rose's are symbols of beauty and he describes it as being dark, having thorn pricks and "that may it be found along the track, or relieve the darkening close of tale of human frailty and sorrow." This is not what one would think of when describing a rose. Every description is haunting in some way, not even the appearance of Hester a woman who is supposed to be beautiful is projected as light and appealing. She has dark black eyes, dark hair and with a rich complexion. Then later she gets sick and one pictures her looking pale and unappealing. I do agree with everyone else when in general this is a gloomy tone, and it helps the story develop and gives good imagery. Leave a Reply. | Our BlogWe will use this page to discuss texts we are reading both in and out of class. ArchivesCategories |
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