The Scarlet Letter-A

It is intriguing how the meaning of Hester Prynne's 'A' had changed through her time of wearing it. Instead of taking it off or somewhat concealing it, she continues to wear it. She continued to punish herself for her transgressions, which is very brave and commendable of her and shows, I feel, that she is a good person at heart and had a weak moment that inevitably produced a child that cannot exactly be hidden from the townspeople. I find it interesting that people were changing their view of the A and their perceptions of her. Hester was so caring of the sick and needy, and also being a great mender and sewer that people started to think that maybe the A meant able because she was so kind and creative. This shows that after time people do forget things that happen in the past and they also do not find them as big of a deal as they once had; the transgressions lose their incredulity and the fact of how 'bad' it had once been.

The Scarlet Letter- Pearl

I found it interesting that Pearl did not accept Dimmesdale until he publicly accepted her. She was so young and intelligent enough to realize that the person who was her father did not own up to being just that, her father. I feel that her doing this was almost very grown up for her age and it kind of showed Dimmesdale that she may be young but she is not stupid and wants respect and acknowledgement that she does exist. Maybe she even wanted acknowledgement that she was not a mistake?
I also find it sad that she did not get to know Dimmesdale very well before his demise. He was so close and I feel that even though he did not have anything to do with her because he was a coward and afraid for himself and what people would think of his preachings, he still cared about her in some way and he probably felt bad for not being a better father or maybe in his mind, not being "able" to be a better father.

The Scarlet Letter-Roger Chillingworth

Roger Chillingworth is very vengeful character. I find it interesting that he basically invested his life to finding out who sinned with Hester Prynne. He lost his own actual identity to the fake person he created in order to investigate. It is shocking how much he put into finding out who was the sinner; he made it his life goal. I find that his thinking and his actions are very despicable and low. Chillingworth was not heard from for two years; if someone went missing today, there would be an entire investigation of the disappearance and after two years have gone by the person would probably be considered dead.
I almost feel like what did he expect to find when he came for Hester, her knitting in a chair still waiting for him to show up on her doorstep? It is a little far-fetched for her to stick around for him, at some point she was going to have to move on with her life anyway. I think it is a waste to have stopped her life for that long in wait of him, even though she may have gone about the moving on part a little wrong.

The Scarlet Letter: The Punishment

I read the Scarlet Letter in high school and now that I am reading it again I am reminded of how much I had enjoyed it. I find it so interesting that Hester was allowed to make her own letter, I feel that since the clergy had decided on her punishment that they would also deliver in making some sort of hideous letter that was to go onto her clothing. Its almost worse that she made her own punishment because it was so well done and in such a vivid view for all to see that it stood out even more had someone else made it.
I find that in a way Hester was very brave to endure her punishment all on her own and to keep the man's name secret; she was protecting him and his position in the town. It would have been very hard and shameful to have to stand in front of that many people day after day with the scarlet 'A' on her chest and knowing the terrible things people were thinking of her; it would be hard every day of her life to wear it and walk through town and know she is being judged every time someone were to lay their eyes upon her.

Ralph Waldo Emerson-Nature

Emerson's thinking is different from ours today because he thinks that people should think for themselves and figure out our problems on our own. Today, people look to books to learn things or the internet probably even more since something can be searched for on Google and hundreds of different answers can show up. Not many people today like to think for themselves; it is like it is too hard to try to find their own solutions. People just do what others tell them or whatever they can find in their own research.
On page 499, Emerson wrote, "the beauty of the world may be viewed, namely, as it becomes an object of the intellect." This stood out to me because I have never really thought of the beauty of the world as intellect or having a "relation to thought."

Henry David Thoreau

In Thoreau's writing, I found it interesting how he talked about the necessities of life. He wrote that food is somewhat easy to come by and very much needed and then how clothing and shelter are two of the more unimportant things. It is definitely thought provoking in how food is only the really important thing that we really need and that everything else are just things that we have gotten used to. People just tend to follow everyone else and if they have something they want then they are going to get it. The material possessions become more important than anything and people tend to lose themselves in obtaining those kinds of things and allow themselves to be owned by their possessions or the new possessions they could end up buying. It is crazy how people think they need to one-up each other in material items or buy things they think might make them more likable.

Washington Irving-Rip Van Winkle

I enjoyed reading this story because it was very comedic and a somewhat magical short story; it is very fantastical. Rip Van Winkle was so trusting of the random strange man in the mountains and then also with the strangers friends. Irving even wrote that Van Winkle was apprehensive and uneasy when he heard the man yelling for him and saw him climbing over the rocks. It is almost as if he is saying that one should listen to their gut when it is saying something. Since he slept through so many years, I find it funny that he just fit right into the crazy old man of the town and how he was so well liked by the kids because of his story and how he told anyone who would listen.
I laughed when Van Winkle heard of his wife's death and, "There was a drop of comfort" (465). He was definitely a very unhappy man when he was married and seems that he could not be happier that she is now gone and he does not have to deal with her anymore.

Ralph Waldo Emerson-American Scholar

I really enjoyed  section two of the American Scholar. On page 523, there is one line that really stood out to me, "Books are the best of things, well used; abused, among the worst." I loved this line because I completely agree with Emerson. I read  all the time and I would rather have my nose in a book than do most things. I like how Emerson wrote how each generation has to write its own books in order for history and events to be remembered fully because the next generation would not be able to write them and that information could be lost or skewed.
Emerson wrote that writers forget that they need to write their own original ideas and not follow that of Cicero, Locke and Bacon. These people had to write on their own and not follow others, they wrote their own thoughts and ideas. Today if one genre is doing exceptionally well, such as paranormal romance, everyone follows suit and tries to write in that genre as well. The paranormal romance has grown tremendously since the Twilight series became so popular and profitable. People need to just write their own things and not follow other people.