Transcript The Scarlet Letter intro ppt

The Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Scarlet Letter reading schedule
 Wed., 9/10
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Thursday, 9/11
Chapters 1-5 with sticky or traditional notes due
Chapters 1-5 quote quiz
 Thurs., 9/18
Chapters 6-11 with notes & Quote Quiz
 Wed., 9/25
Chapters 12-18 with notes due & Quote Quiz
 Thurs., 10/2
Chapters 19-end with notes due & Quote Quiz
 Wed., 10/8
Literary Criticism due; Short Answer in class
**Remember, if you are absent on a quiz day, you are responsible for making up the quiz the very
next day (no exceptions). I reserve the right to give you the most difficult quiz! So don’t be absent
(unless you’re puking…)!
** Consider forming a reading tradition: reserve a special day, have a special place, have a special
treat… Form a study group or book club to meet the day before to discuss. Be scholarly and diligent.
Read every word and be proud. Do not use on-line summaries.
Required Reading Notes
You must have a minimum of 3 post-its or notes on a separate
sheet of paper per chapter (except for chapter one), annotating
what you see as an important quotation/ line.
Write full sentences or do it note-style.
For example: In this quote, Hester is talking to _________ while they are
_____________about ____________. She is extremely _____________ and one can
tell ____________… ______________ responds by ____________ and Hester reacts
to this by _____________. The scene feels ____________ and ______________.
Cover SOAPST: H >Ch in the cell, H tries to persuade him to leave her alone, Ch is
obsessed about finding out the secret, very tense, strange, freaky!! Ahhh!
Your notes: 1) Keep you focused and awake 2) Make sure you are studying the text not
just reading it 3) Use your notes to review before the quote quiz 4) Use notes during
discussion 5) Use notes for your in-class short answer response
Nathaniel Hawthorne
 1804-1864
 Born in Salem,
Massachusetts
 Great-great-great-great
grandfather, John
Hathorne, was judge at
Salem witch trials
 Notice that he added a w to his last
name. Why?
 To distance himself from his
ancestors?
The Custom House
 You do not need to read this
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section of the book
Appointed surveyor at Salem
Custom House (which accounts for
the first part of The Scarlet Letter)
This is where he wrote (and
grained great success with) The
Scarlet Letter.
Describes the interior/exterior of
the Custom House
Describes Hawthorne’s feelings
about his native town of Salem
Makes critical comments about the
Whig party/ reveals Hawthorne’s
involvement as a Democrat
Fact or Fiction?
 Although Hester Prynne is
fictional, she may have been
derived by a woman to whom
Hawthorne’s ancestor meted
out punishment.
 Hester Craford, for
fornication with John Wedg,
as she confessed, was ordered
to be severely whipped. The
whipping was delayed until
six weeks after she gave birth
to the illegitimate child.
Historical Context
 Boston Colony founded 1630
 1000 Puritans
 John Winthrop (leader)
 Puritans (established during reign of Queen Elizabeth – thus
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the reference to her) sought to “purify” the church and wipe
out all traces of Catholicism (thus the negative Catholic
comments)
Boston was ruled by a theocracy and the government was not
intended to provide religious freedom to all
Recognized the Bible as the sole source of religious authority
Predestination
Public humiliation
 Those who didn’t fit in (i.e. Quakers) were dealt with harshly.
Predestination
 All things are controlled beforehand by God.
 All deserved damnation because of original sin; however,
God elected to save some anyway.
 One could not influence that destiny by good works or
alter the divine plan.
 Nonetheless, Puritans fought to remain righteous,
suppressing the desires of the flesh (sex)
 Harsh discipline wasn’t necessary to punish, since God
would do that. It was to show others what would
happen if they did the same thing.
 EVERYTHING IS AN ARGUMENT.
 You will write on the following:
 What is Hawthorne’s argument as seen in The Scarlet Letter?
 How does he form his characters and why?
 What are his messages?
o About sin…sinners…secrets…Puritan society…?
 What power verbs would you use?
 Watch for his rhetorical choices: his word choice, characterization, plot
twists, symbolism (especially with nature; he was friends with
Transcendentalists Thoreau and Emerson), etc.
 Read, study, and take notes with this in mind!