Scarlet Letter Chapter Summaries/Responses (1-3)
In Chapter 1, the first couple pages of the book, The Scarlet Letter, are spent introducing the reader to a building that, I assume, is a crucial part of the story. The building is an old jail, which has growing next to it a rose bush. The rose bush is seen to have a sort of importance to criminals that are entering or leaving the jail’s iron-clamped oak door. There is a certain amount of mystery around the survival of the rose bush, which is left up to the reader to ponder. As I read Chapter 1, I was at first a bit confused. I found myself having to go back and re-read the section to catch all of the details given about the old jail and to understand the descriptions, especially that of the rosebush. After further understanding the short chapter, I’m left wondering who Anne Hutchinson may be and why the jail has it’s own chapter, devoted to a metaphorical description of it’s physical state. This chapter begins with a group of townspeople, the majority seeming to be women, gathered near the old jail, awaiting the arrival, or release, of something. The something soon reveals itself to be a woman, Hester Prynne, holding an infant in her arms and a nonchalant bravery within herself.
€™s obvious by the conversations of the townspeople that Hester Prynne is not well-received into society, though she seems to carry an aura of disinterest in others’ perception of her. It is never clearly stated as to why she is put in prison in the first place, but judging by the description of the crimson A she bears upon the bosom of her gown, one is lead to believe that she is an adultress. The woman, Hester Prynne, was married and apparently has bore a child out of wedlock, with a man who was not her husband. (I got the impression that no one knows the current whereabouts of Ms. Prynne’s former husband.) Further questioning leads the town’s clergymen to insist upon Hester’s revealing of the father of her offspring. At first, she replies with nothing more than a cold stare out at the town, aiming it at nothing imparticular. The clergymen persist, pushing Hester Prynne to cry out against them, refusing to reveal the name of the man who tempted her. She courageously chooses to bear the same of both of them on her sleeve, while letting him carry on his life, devoid of the shame her name must now bear. This chapter filled me with an eagerness to read on in the story. Seeing the story from both ends of the spectrum, I understand the position of Hester Prynne and that of the townspeople.
Some topics in this essay:
Hester Prynne,
Scarlet Letter,
Ms Prynne’s,
Anne Hutchinson,
hester prynne,
,
chapter 1,
scarlet letter,
rose bush,
townspeople hester prynne,
ms prynne’s,
chapter 3,
left wondering,
fathered child,
reveal name,
punishment placed,
woman hester prynne,
Join now to see the rest of the essay!
Approximate Word count = 881
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
Example Essays Home
