Monday, November 9, 2009

The Scarlet Letter Summaries Chapters 17-19

Chapters 17 and 18

Seventeen begins with Hester calling out to Dimmesdale. After he realizes that it is Hester, Dimmesdale and she begin to talk. At it's start, the conversation mainly consists of them asking eachother the same questions. Dimmesdale explains that he has felt nothing but despair since what he did. As he starts gettin very upset, Hester tels him that he has an enemy tha is making him more and more upset. When he asks her whom, she tells him the true identity of Roger Chillingworth. Hester and Dimmesdale then discuss how Roger Chillingworth is the most evil amongs them, because he is commiting his sin out of hatred, instead of out of love like Hester and Dimmesdale. Hester begins asking Dimmesdale why he stays in Boston and explains to him tht it would be better if he left. He says that he doesn't want to go alone, and she tells Dimmesdale that he doesn't have too.

In chapter eighteen, Dimmesdale talks of how he feels joy for the first time in seven years. They have now decided that they are going leave, and they will live as a family. Hester speaks about how the past is gone and then takes the scarlet letter off her breast and throws it down in the leaves. She then takes off the cap and lets her hair flow down. It is explained that these acts bring back all of Hester's beauty that had been hidden for so long. Hester then, suddenly, remembers she has a child and gets even more exicted about the life they will have. Dimmesdale asks Hester if Pearl will like him, and Hester says tht she has already shown to like Dimmesdale twice in the past. Hester calls to Pearl, who begins to go back to her mother, until she see Dimmesdale.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

The Scarlet Letter Summaries Chapters 13-16

Chapters 13-14

Chapter thirteen reveals how Hester is now thought of in a higher sense in the community. She is the kind of person that always givs aid to the poor and sick. People begin to say that the scarlet letter stands for "Able", due to her willingness to help people. It is said that Hester only helped people at night, so she was not seen by the other townspeople. The people think that the letter has made Hester into a better person, but the truth is that the letter has never done anything to make Hester feel sorry for what she did. After her discussion with Dimmesdale, Hester has decided that she ahs to tell Dimmesdale who Roger Chillingworth really is.

Chapter fourteen begins with Hester and Pearl walking in the woods, and coming upon Roger Chillingworth. Hester sends Pearl off and she begins to talk to Roger. She tells him that she is tired of him torturing Dimmesdale and that she is going to break her vow to Chillingworth in order to help him. Chillingworth realizes for sure that Dimmesdale was Hester's lover as she says this. He then begins to remember what used to be between Hester and him. The chapter ends with Roger leaving Hester behind telling her to go do what she feels she must.

Chapter 15-16
In chapter 15, Hester goes off to find Pearl by the creek. While playing, Pearl has made her own A out of eelgrass. She tells Hester of hwo she will have one when she is older and Hester tells her she hopes she doesn't. Pearl asks about Hester's letter, and then connects it to why Dimmesdale always grasps his chest. Hester believes that Pearl is too young to realize the letter's meaning, but Pearl inquires for the next few days about it.

Chapter sixteen begins wth Hester and Pearl walking throught the woods. Pearl is always playing in the sunshine, but says that it always leaves when Hester gets too close to it. When Hester tries to prove Pearl wrong, the sun stops shining in that spot. They then go sit in the woods and Pearl tells Hester that she wants to hear a story about the Black Man that lives in the forest. Hester tells Pearl that she once met the Black Man and that the scarlet letter was the mark that he left upon her. They continue onward into the woods, and eventually come to a small brook. Pearl asks Hester why the brook sounds so sad, and Hester tells Pearl that she would only know if Pearl had a sorrow of her own. they the hear footsteps in the woods, and Hester tells Pearl to go off and play n her own. Hester then watches as Reverend Dimmesdale makes his way into the woods.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

The Scarlet Letter Chapter Summaries 9-12

Chapters 9-10
Chapter nine explains in more detail the life of Roger Chillingworth. He has now assumed a great position in the community, and everyone trusts him. It is then suggested that Chillingworth, with his great knowledge, should help Reverend Dimmesdale, who has been getting worse as the story has gone on. Dimmesdale begins to accept treatment from Chillingworth, and they begin to develop a friendship. The two men take rooms in the same house, so Chillingworth can watch Dimmesdale. Late in the chapter, people begin to suspect Chillingworth of being a devil to take Dimmesdale's soul.

In chapter ten, a rift begins to form in the friendship between Chillingworth and Dimmesdale. Chillingworth continually tries to find the root of Dimmesdale's ailment, but to no avail. One day, Dimmesdale inquires about a strange plant, which leads to a lengthy conversation about how people may hold things in their heart, which can cause them a lot of turmoil. Chillingworth doesn't understand what is wrong with Dimmesdale until he sneaks into his room later. He goes up to Dimmesdale and opens his shirt. He then starts to rejoice after finding something there. The reader is not told what this is though.

Chapters 11-12
In chapter eleven, it is discussed that as Dimmesdale becomes more and more self-loathing, the more people begin to love his sermons. Dimmesdale, meanwhile, feels that the people need to know the truth about what he has done. Every night, Dimmesdale flogs himself, and he intentionally starves himself as a way to repent. He has visions of Hester and Pearl. In these visions, Hester points first to her scarlet letter and then to Dimmesdale's chest. Dimmesdale then decides that he needs to hold a vigil on the scaffold where Hester served her sentence years before.

Dimmesdale goes to the top of the scaffold to hold his vigil. When he cries out in pain, he is sure that people will come and see him, but no one does. He is very delusional and thinks he sees many different people. He sees many people he knows coming back from the deathbed of Governor Winthrop. He laughs, then hears a laugh behind him. He looks and sees Pearl and Hester, who then stand with him on the scaffold. He tells Pearl that they will stand on the scaffold again "At the great judgement day." Pearl then sees Chillingworth over in the shadows. Dimmesdale asks Hester who he really is, but she will not tell him. Pearl acts like she'll tell him, but then tells him that shes actually punishing him for not standing with them sooner. Chillingworth then tells Dimmesdale that he had been sleep walking and he takes him home. The next day, Dimmesdale delivers his best sermon. After this, a sexton hands Dimmesdale his glove, which was found on the scaffold. They dismiss this as Satan making mischief. The people also talk about how a meteor fell in the shape of an A. They believe this as being a sign that Winthrop is an angel, and don't relate it in any way to Hester or Dimmesdale.

The Scarlet Letter Chapter Summaries 5-8

Chapters 5-6
Chapter five begins by skipping ahead a few months, to the point where Hester is released from prison. She then takes up residence in an old cabin on the edge of town. To make money, Hester uses her extraordinary skill at sewing to make clothes for the wealthier people in town. despite her talent, people still disregard Hester, and make her feel lonely.

Chapter six gives the reader the first details about Hester's child, now called Pearl. Hester calls her this because, like a pearl, Hester had to give up a great deal in order to hae her, and the child is now Hester's prized possession. Pearl seems very interested in the scarlet letter, and ofter makes remarks about it. She knows she is different from the other children and she often harasses them. Late in the chapter, Hester begins to believe that Pearl is a demon-child, much like how all the other people believe.

Chapters 7-8
In chapter seven, Hester and Pearl go to the governor's hall to both deliver a pair of gloves, and to ask the governor about whether or not Pearl is going to be taken away from her. On the way there, a group of children harass Pearl and Hester, but Pearl scares the children off. When they get to the mansion, Pearl is fascinated by all the armor and other decorations in the mansion. Pearl begins to scream, but then stops when a group of men comes in.

The governor, Wilson, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth come into the room and begin to mock Pearl by calling her a demon and a bird. They then notice Hester is there, and they begin to ask her why she deserves the child. By trying to prove that she has educated Pearl, she actually proves the opposite. She then begins to beg Dimmesdale, who in turn convinces the other men to let Hester keep Pearl. Pearl then, in a rare showing of emotion, goes over and hugs Dimmesdale.

The Scarlet Letter Chapter Summaries 1-4

Chapters 1-2
Chapter one contains little more than introductions to the scene. It is the seventeenth century in Boston. The narrator talks about how, even though they had much faith in the new colony, the people still built a prison and cememtery first. Much detail is given to the prison door, especially the heavy iron spikes, but also to the rose bush that is growing next to the door. This is explained as a kind of consoling aspect to the prisoners.

Chapter two as a crowd watches, Hester Prynne, a young woman holding an infant, emerges from the prison door and makes her way to a scaffold, where she is to be publicly condemned. On her chest is a a large scarlet A which stands for her crime of adultery. As she stand on the scaffold, Hester begins to recall her early life, and to look upon her current situation with disbelief.

Chapters 3-4
In the crowd that is surrounding the scaffold, Hester sees a man that she recognizes. This man begins to speak to another man about why Hester is on the scaffold, which the other man explains to him. The man then explains that he just now made it to Boston. Members of the church then begin to ask Hester to reveal the identity of the father of her child. Young Reverend Dimmesdale tells Hester it is best not to have pity on the man and to just tell everyone who it is, but she still refuses. After a sermonby Reverend Wilson, Hester is led back to jail.

In chapter four, Hester comes face to face with her husband, who has been called to provide medical assistance for her and her child. He makes the child a potion, which Hester believes is poison. He explains that he is not angry at the child, but instead he is more upset at him self. He then makes Hester a potion, which she drinks. He then makes her vow that she will not reveal his identity and he vows that he will find the father.