Scarlet Letter Questions

THE CUSTOM HOUSE

1.) In most novels, an introduction or preface is always given. The purpose is to introduce the readers to the history or how the story was started. It gives readers a very detailed description of the story there are about to read. For example, a preview to a movie before it airs in theaters. This is shown to given a brief synopsis about the storyline and main plot before it airs in its entirety. An introduction can be defined as a preface, as to a book, or a book that explains the basic facts about a particular subject to a beginner (The American Heritage Dictionary). Someone who reads books for entertainment would be highly disappointed if they can’t find preface or introduction to the book. In the book, The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne’s primary purpose is to ensure the audience knows where his storyline originated and what is going on before the story begins.

The Custom House Introduction gave the audience and confusing but detailed explanation of the book. He claims that he has the some of the same traits that the authors possess (Hawthorne). He gave information on the Custom House in Salem, Massachusetts and its citizens who were trying to destroy Salem. A custom house is a building housing the offices for the government officials who processed the paperwork for the import and export of goods into and out of a country (The Custom-House ). A lot of things have changed since fewer ships have entered the custom house. “Has grass enough growing in its chinks to show that it has not, of late days, been worn by any multitudinous resort of business (Hawthorne p.4). In this quote he was letting the reader know that there hasn’t been any business of some sort so all these little episodes started to occur. In the next page he describes in detail what each room looks like. Furthermore, there has been issues going on in Salem and the narrator wanted the readers to know before the story.

2.) Everyone knows that plagiarism can get them an “F” on any assignment. Even if you admit that you were wrong in the process, there is always that phrase, “NO EXCEPTIONS”. As we get older and the more challenging classes we take, teachers wants us to cite where we gotten our information from. The same situation happened in the Custom-House. Hawthorne made a significant change that he had admitted to in telling the story in his diary. Hawthorne had changed Hester Prynne’s story around. Prynne had written the story in her own little way. Then, Hawthorne read it, changed it around the way he had wanted it to be. He decides to write it in a fictional way of reading it based on Prynne’s experiences. He knew that it wouldn’t be correct or true, but that it would be believable and entertaining to readers.

He made the necessary changes when using Prynne’s story. When making these changes he made sure that Prynne gotten her full credit. He used the quote, “the main facts of the story are authorized and authenticated by the document of Mr. Surveyor Pue. This meant that he had given his full credibility, ethos established, to the person he go this from (Hawthorne p.32). he also made a statement, “On the contrary, I have allowed myself, as to such points, nearly, or altogether, as much license as if the facts had been entirely of my own invention. What I contend for is the authenticity of the outline” (Hawthorne p.33). This meant to readers that he reserved the right to this just as anyone else would have. So he basically stated that he had acquired the authenticity of the document.

3.) Some stories are life changing and for most, big leaps ahead. Stories have impact on others based on storylines they can refer to. An editor, who finds your story interesting, sees that it has potential. It has emotional and logical appeals and most of all it brings impact to others. Hawthorne changed around the whole Prynne story. He wanted to bring her story to life. If he didn’t give her story life, then an editor probably would throw it to the side. It would lack all types of appeals and emotion.
He gave her story more life, creativity, imagery, and interest. A fictional story gives a story a vivid storyline. It makes the readers more interested and allows readers to embark on a journey which makes the reader want more of the story, such as sequels. People would want to see what her story was like to see if Hawthorne changed the plot and details around. If the book was to have no expression and so monotonous tone then the readers would want to read sequels, if there would ever to be one, or consider others to read. Hawthorne made a statement in this book for strictly entertainment and audience such as us.

Imagery

Apply:

An abandoned cat with dirty, bushy fur.

An abandoned cat with think, beatiful fur.

Anne Bradstreet Poem Response

When you love someone you give them the world, you give them respect because they do the same. You show how much you care whenever; there is no designated time for love. When the going gets tough you run to them and they do the same. When there’s nothing else in the world they are your complete all. There’s nothing in the world that can take their place or change how you might feel about them. You would do anything and everything for them to continue the happiness because you simply love them and it’s unconditional. Like a mother’s love for a child…unconditional. In this poem entitled, To My Dear and Loving Husband by Anne Bradstreet, she expressed her love to her husband.

Bradstreet expressed her unconditional love to her husband. The most prominent way she expressed her love to her husband, Simon Bradstreet, was through diction. When she said in line one, ‘if ever two were one, then surely we”. (Bradstreet) This meant that if ever they were one, they make the perfect couple because they are together. She is also saying that they are together as one whole. Another statement used was “I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold”. (Bradstreet) This means that she loves him more than material things, such as gold and clothes. If she had a lot of gold she would love her husband more than she would cherish the gold. She finds his love more valuable then anything. Last example she used was “Compare with me, ye women, if you can”. (Bradstreet) She directed this line to women who don’t understand what type of love she invests in with her husband. She obviously knows the answer to this because there is no one who she can compare her love to or be compared to. This line also shows how much, to the readers, how she deserves her husband’s unconditional love. The words and phrases she used such as ‘happy”, “heavens”, “live no more”, let’s so preserve, and “love” showed how a husband should treat his wife.

She expressed her love to her husband through the metaphors she used. Evidence of a metaphor was in line eight, “My love is such that rivers cannot quench” (Bradstreet). Obviously she shows that her love cannot be cure from dehydration. A reader at the age that I am would simple use the term “thirsty”. You may ask why, because she wouldn’t allow the river to quench her loving thirst towards husband. She is also expressing the fact that her love cannot be quenched because it is overflowing. Most readers would have caught that she should have reversed the phrase to “your love is such that rivers cannot quench”. This would have meant that she could not live without him and she’s nothing without him. She is basically very fragile and a vegetable. Being that she is a puritan woman with puritan beliefs; readers would think that she would write something like this to her husband.

As we can assume from this poem about her husband, she kept all her love and gave it to her husband. Not one time did she say that her husband responded to her love, but the title gives it away. Bradstreet poured out her emotions in this poem and she related as many things as she could to him being that she was madly in love. The love she had was unconditional. “The sooner you give, the sooner you get to have...the love of your own”. (J. Holiday)

Anne Bradstreet Biography

Even though she had some trials and tribulations, she became great at what she did. In 1612, Anne Bradstreet was born in Northampton, England to Thomas and Dorothy Yorke. At age 16 she married young. Anne married Simon Bradstreet, a 25 year old assistant in the Massachusetts Bay Company and the son of a Puritan minister, who had been in the care of the Dudley’s since the death of his father. (Anne Bradstreet) Anne and her family came to America in 1630 on the Arabella, one of the first ships to bring Puritans to New England in hopes of setting up plantation colonies. There were a lot of problems on the ship. Their trials and tribulations did not end upon their arrival, though, and many of those who had survived the journey, either died shortly thereafter, or elected to return to England, deciding they had suffered through enough. Thomas Dudley and his friend John Winthrop made up the Boston settlement's government; Winthrop was Governor, Dudley Deputy-Governor and Bradstreet Chief-Administrator. (Anne Bradstreet) The colonists had to fight for survival, including Anne Bradstreet. Even though it was difficult she had to adapt. Of course she relied on her beliefs in God to save her. She turned inwards and let her faith and imagination guide her through the most difficult moments; images of better days back in England, and the belief that God had not abandoned them helped her survive the hardships of the colony. (Anne Bradstreet)

Anne’s was very interested in poetry, which she started to write herself. She kept her writing private, because it was frowned upon for women to pursue intellectual enlightenment, let alone create and air their views and opinions. (Anne Bradstreet) Her writings were for those she kept close to her and she did not look forward to any type of publication. Her work did not remain unnoticed. Her brother in law John Woodbridge, had privately copied Anne's work, and later brought it to England to have it published, although without her permission. (Anne Bradstreet) Eventually he didn’t keep it a secret he admitted to it in the preface. That was the only thing published while she was alive. All her other poems were published after her death (posthumously). Her poetry was mostly based on her life experience, and her love for her husband and family. One of the most interesting aspects of her work is the context in which she wrote; an atmosphere where the search for knowledge was frowned upon as being against God's will, and where women were relegated to traditional roles. (Anne Bradstreet) Her poetry had many questions to be answered and her health did too. She suffered form tuberculosis. She contracted the disease and so did her daughter, Dorothy, unfortunately she lost her to the same disease. Later after her battle with the disease she passed away on September 16, 1672, in Andover, Massachusetts, at the age of 60.

http://www.annebradstreet.com/anne_bradstreet_bio_001.htm
http://www.annebradstreet.com/anne_bradstreet_bio_002.htm

Cabeza De Vaca Picture

This picture shows how Cabeza De Vaca had to live with the Indians. He came upon what he had called a “New World” where he had to live according to how the Indians lived. He had to do things that they had to do, but the same way. It depicts the hard labor they had to endure while in the new world. Of course he did everything they did and eventually dress the same way. These shows how hard working the Indians were. In the letter, Cabeza De Vaca said the that all the Indians of this region are ignorant of time, either by the sun or moon; nor do they reckon by the month or year (Cabeza De Vaca pg. 32) Which meant that they didn’t know time or they weren’t smart at all. Clearly in the picture it shows how smart they were and I guess doing what they are doing requires intelligence. Being that all these events happened, they were all unexpected.

Christopher Columbus Picture

I found this picture online of Christopher Columbus when he landed on San Salvador. In his letter to Luis de Santangel, he talked about what he discovered in the new world. He stated in the letter the first island I found was San Salvador in memory of His High Majesty who miraculously has given all this; the Indians call it Guanahaní (Christopher Columbus). He was thanking God for his discovery. Obviously, we know that this discovery was an accident and history from the past say that he discovered the so called “New World”. He also stated in his letter that, having seen that there was nothing new and that the coast was carrying me northwards, which was not the course I wished to take because winter was now drawing on and I proposed to make to the south, and as moreover the wind was carrying me forward, I decided to wait no longer and I turned round and made for a fine harbor (Christopher Columbus). This obviously stated that the path he had taken was not the course he wanted to go, but what he had wished to take since winter was on its way.
This picture depicted him arriving on the coast of San Salvador. There were already people on the island when he arrived. He took credit for someone else’s discovery and he doesn’t deserve it. I think this picture depicts the image well of how he came upon the island intended discovery by a previous individual.

Christopher Columbus

In this passage, Christopher Columbus was going on his first voyage and he wanted approval form the king and queen of Spain. He won the support of the Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, for his expedition to the West Indies. He had a series of four voyages, which followed with a series of disasters and disenchantments (Christopher Columbus). Due to these unfortunate events, he had to return to Spain to clear his name and any charges placed on him. There were documents about Columbus’ journey and also written by him. A letter was sent by Columbus to Luis de Santangel, a royal official and a supporter of his venture. There was also another letter written by Christopher Columbus, given to Ferdinand and Isabella Regarding his fourth voyage (Christopher Columbus).

In this passage there were things that were very foreign and confusing to me as the reader. Both of the letters was written in the 15th Century so it was hard to understand but still informational. Obviously the intended audience, for the first letter, was the minister who was reading it. In the first letter, he was informing Luis de Santangel that he has crossed in to the Indies. In this letter there weren’t any appeal to pathos and logos, but there was an appeal to ethos. The writer expressed credibility which further explanation in footnotes. For example, when the word Isla Juana was used at the bottom of the page was the real name meaning or changed to what is now Cuba. There was some sentence structure I picked up. One was a complex sentence. For example, I understood sufficiently from other Indians, whom I had already taken, that this land was nothing, but an island. The word choice was confusing being that I never understood the entire passage. I did see a good use of adjectives used in his letters such as, marvelous, lofty, many, and limitless just to name a few (Christopher Columbus). There were two words being repeated more then once in the second letter and that was your highness. This was repeated multiple times because he was showing respect to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. A lot of important words were used in the text and they were italicized.

The main idea of this entire passage was that Christopher Columbus gained access and permission to the voyages and completed all of them. The writer gives a reason for someone to believe this because the letters were written by the subject itself. The major arguments in this passage was that he wanted to inform the subjects he were writing to about his experiences and how and what he did and accomplished on each voyage. The tone of this passage was an exciting tone due to the fact that he was telling them about his experiences. I didn’t notice any uses of figurative language. Columbus’ intentions were to inform his audience about his expeditions and excursions and that is what he accomplished. The writer arranged his ideas in a narration. In the beginning, it started off with an introduction, and then later followed with the story in sequence.

In his letters he took responsibility for someone else’s discovery instead of giving credit on finding something new to him rather then new completely. Obviously, we know that this discovery was an accident and history from the past say that he discovered the so called “New World”. He also stated in his letter that, having seen that there was nothing new and that the coast was carrying me northwards, which was not the course I wished to take because winter was now drawing on and I proposed to make to the south, and as moreover the wind was carrying me forward, I decided to wait no longer and I turned round and made for a fine harbor (Christopher Columbus). This obviously stated that the path he had taken was not the course he wanted to go, but what he had wished to take since winter was on its way.I can say there hasn’t been text that I have read such as this. I really don’t expect to read anything like this again because no one was intelligent like Christopher Columbus. When I read this, it was something new because I always learn the basis of Christopher Columbus and not what was really important.