The Scarlet Letter and Trolls

For Friday, take a look at this article and see if you can identify some ways that the ideas discussed within it interplay with themes in The Scarlet Letter.

Questions on Chapter 4 and 5

Chapter 4: The Interview
1. After standing on the scaffold, Hester returns to prison. What is her mental state like and why?
2. Hester’s jailers decide to bring a physician to her. Who is this physician?
3. When the physician gives Hester medicine, what does she think might be in it?
4. When Hester and her husband talk, what picture emerges of their marital relationship?
5. When her husband says, “Thou wilt not reveal his name. Not the less is he mine?” what does he mean?
6. What secret does Hester agree to keep for her husband and why does her husband wish her to keep it?
7. When Hester says to her husband, “Hath thou enticed me into a bond that will prove the ruin of my soul?” her husband answers: “Not thy soul … No, not thine.” What does he mean?

Chapter 5: Hester at Her Needle
1. Several reasons are given for Hester’s decision not to leave the community once she’s released from prison. Read the passage carefully where this is discussed.
2. The paragraph beginning, “It might be, too,-- doubtless it was so …” discusses what may the real reason for Hester’s staying in the community. What is this reason?
3. How does Hester make a living after her release?
4. The paragraph beginning “In this manner, Hester Prynne came to have a part …” describes her relationship with society. What is this relationship?
5. The paragraph beginning, “Her imagination was somewhat affected …” gives a sense of how she is beginning to regard the Scarlet Letter. What is this sense?

Some Thoughts on The Scarlet Letter

Here's some points to focus on in Chapter 2. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Important Test Info

1) I will be giving credit to those who selected B on question 2 of the Mirth Final (of course, those who answered F will continue to have their credit). Show me your test on Monday to obtain this credit.

2) Here is the exam. Write a brief paragraph explaining the reasoning for the correct answer for all questions you missed; and for those who lost point for your thesis statement, rewrite the thesis statement only in a convincing manner for extra credit on the test. (You'll note that question 2 has been rewritten to be more clear.)

Answer the following multiple choice questions:

1. At the beginning of Book 2, what character does the Duchess really like? A) Bertha Dorset B) Gus Trenor C) Mrs. Fisher D) Lily
2. What agreement does Jack Stepney make with Selden in response to Lily’s being kicked off the yacht? A) He offers to explain Lily’s side of the story B) He offers Lily a place to stay for the night C) He agrees to speak with Carrie Fisher about the incident D) He insists that Lily leave Monte Carlo early the following day E) A and B only F) B and D only.
3. This character says, “…I don’t mean to ask you to marry me if I can keep out of it…” Who is he? A) Seldon B) Rosedale C) Atherly D) George Dorset
4. How did Rosedale find out about the letters Lily possesses? A) He heard about them from Trenor B) Cary Fisher’s husband told him C) He owns the Benedick D) The fact of the letters was widely known among Mrs. Dorset’s circle.
5. Lily’s second escape from scandal in New York, after Monte Carlo, took her to __________ and was arranged by __________ who introduced her to ________________. A) Alaska/ Grace Stepney/the Gormers B) Montobello/Gerty/Mrs. Haffen C) Alaska/Mrs. Fisher/the Gormers D) Van Osburgh estate/Mrs. Fisher/Mrs. Hatch
6. When Lily becomes connected with the social world of Mrs. Hatch, we are told she “had an odd sense of being behind the social tapestry, on the side where the threads were knotted and the loose ends hung.” This is an example of A) a metaphor that suggests Lily is on the wrong side of society B) characterization that gives an idea of who Mrs. Hatch is C) a metaphor that suggests that society is a machine that crushes those who oppose it D) imagery that depicts the complexities of life in society.
7. “Look at these spangles, Miss Bart—every one of ‘em sewed on crooked.” This quote refers to A) Lily’s ball gown for her reentry into “society” B) Lily’s new job overseeing workers in a clothing factory C) Lily’s plan to present a “new style” at an upcoming fashion show D) Lily’s poor skills in sewing at her new job
8. When the pharmacist tells Lily, “It’s a queer acting drug. A drop or two more, and off you go …” this is an example of: A) metaphor B) personification C) foreshadowing D) alliteration
9. When Lily says goodbye to Seldon, she tells him: “There is someone I must say good-bye to. Oh, not you—we are sure to see each other again—but the Lily Bart you knew. I have kept her with me all this time, but now we are going to part, and I have brought her back to you; I am going to leave her here. When I go out presently, she will not go with me. I shall like to think that she has stayed with you; and she shall be no trouble, she’ll take up no room.” This means that Lily A) is renouncing the self she has been, the flighty society girl and intends to live a better life B) is telling Seldon that he will always be tormented by her memory C) is telling Seldon that the Lily Bart capable of loving him and meriting his love can exist no longer D) Lily is apologizing for all the trouble she’s caused Seldon.
10. Who says, “If you’d only let me, I’d set you up over them all—I’d put you where you could wipe your feet on ‘em.”? A) Gus Trenor B) Ned Silverton C) Rosedale D) Mr. Dorset

Short Answer Questions: Answer each of the following questions in a few sentences.

11. What does Lily finally do with Mrs. Dorset’s letters and why?
12. How does Selden try to help Lily when they are in Monte Carlo?
13. When Lily and Mr. Dorset meet, what does he ask of her and what power does Lily realize she has?
14. How does Lily’s attitude about Rosedale change as the novel progresses and why?
15. What suspicion does Selden have as he goes through Lily’s things after her death, and what does he find that bears upon his suspicion?


Write ONLY the first paragraph of a literary response essay on ONE of the following topics. This paragraph should contain general thoughts on the topic, a bridge sentence linking the novel to the topic, a thesis statement, and one brief example. IDENTIFY THE TOPIC YOU’VE CHOSEN AS THE TITLE OF YOUR RESPONSE.

Competition for status

OR

Appearances

OR

Money versus morality

Final Vocab List for Tuesday's Test

scruples, idiosyncrasies, contingency, inculcate

odious, interminable, magnitude, volatility

incongruously, reminiscence, extraneous, contemptuous

lustre, acquiescence, jocularity, boisterous

obscurity, poignant, celibate, refurbish

admonishing, circuitous, depleted, consoled

complacency, ambiguity, mystically, repugnance

fastidiousness, perplexity, provocation, conjecture


coquetry, perpetual, discomfiture, disillusionment, conducive, pessimism, promenade

vindication, seclusion, denouement, denunciation, grotesqueness

disparities, contortions, solicitations, obstinately

subdued, irrepressible, lamentable, whimsical, nebulous
aspirations, rambling, milieu, tumult, credulity, inclination

deluded, idiosyncrasies, foreboding, antagonistic, prosperity

imperviousness, indelicacy

abnormal, drudgeries, intermittent, perverse, mused
coexists, ostensible, credulous, impartiality, implication

dejection, altruism, aloof, innocuous, prosaic

proverbially, panoramic, inexorable, unalloyed, insinuations, incredulity, impenetrable, inclined, legitimate

inexorable, predominant, conspicuous, incredulity, immorality

improbable, succumbed, improvisation, sumptuous, exquisite

culminating, nip, ingenuity, forsook, conciliate, consciousness, expatriate

subdued, revulsions, utilitarian, interminably, prude, aphorisms, compassionate, smitten

pretext, precipitated, priggish, perilous, tentative, indignation

More vocabulary words

Chapter V: aspirations, rambling, milieu, tumult, credulity, inclination

Chapter VI: deluded, idiosyncrasies, foreboding, antagonistic, prosperity

Chapter VII: imperviousness, indelicacy

Chapter VIII: abnormal, drudgeries, intermittent, perverse, mused

Vocabulary for Wednesday

Define the following words and write at least one sentence using each word by Wednesday.

Chapter II: vindication, seclusion, denouement, denunciation, grotesqueness

Chapter III: disparities, contortions, solicitations, obstinately

Chapter IV: subdued, irrepressible, lamentable, whimsical, nebulous

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Creativity, fulfillment and flow

Watch the following video and write a one-page summary of what you learned (DUE THURSDAY):

Song

Listen to this song by Josh Ritter, which tells a story about a contemporary situation or problem. What techniques does Ritter use to tell his story? Come to class Wednesday ready to discuss the storytelling techniques Ritter employs.

Vocabulary homework!

Here is the work. Define these words and write at least one sentence using each word by Wednesday:

Chapter 1: coquetry, perpetual, discomfiture, disillusionment, conducive, pertinence,pessimism, promenade

Chapter X: dejection, altruism, aloof, innocuous, prosaic

Chapter XI: proverbially, panoramic, inexorable, unalloyed, insinuations, incredulity, impenetrable, inclined, legitimate, immorality