English Class on Monday, November 15th

Hi Guys!

The first thing we did in class today was learn about the schedule for the next few weeks. Ms. Flournoy explained that we are going to finish The Scarlet Letter by Friday and that will be learning about our paper soon after that. After a week of working on our papers after Thanksgiving, we will be going straight into review week. And then Midterms! After that, Ms. Flournoy had us write assertions about important occurrences from our reading over the weekend (ch. 16-18). As we read them aloud, I noticed that most people focused on the theme of sunlight. Some people connected it to purity, God, and goodness saying that it shied away from the sinful Hester. Others commented on how it represented a renewed chance at life for Hester and Dimmesdale. One of my favorite points of the discussion was the connection made between Hester and Janie from Their Eyes Were Watching God. It hadn't even occurred to me that they both had transforming moments in which they let down their hair down and left behind items of their past selves.  My own assertion had more to do with this concept than it did sunshine. I speculated that the discarding of the scarlet letter was symbolic of Hester's release from sin and her past identity; however, the fact that the scarlet letter did not land in the stream and float away represents its remaining presence among the characters. The last part of our discussion was a debate centered around if Hester and Dimmesdales' meeting in the forest was good or bad. There were many conflicting ideas about this, and the predominate answer came to be that it was both good and bad. Finally, our homework for tonight is to read the next two chapters (pg. 19 and 20).
One of the things I struggle most with in this book is that there is no definite right or wrong. Being a person who likes answers rather black and white, the many different interpretations of the book get me all confused. It sometimes frustrates me, for even when I have a eureka! moment, I soon after get lost in deeper analysis. But, I guess that is also part of the beauty of writing and literature. It can mean many different things to many different people. Because of that, I really enjoy our group discussions in class. I've recently found a really good quote about confusion, that helped me come to terms with the difficulties that come with interpreting literature. “Confusion is the welcome mat at the door of creativity,” said by Michael J. Gelb. I liked this quote, for it helped me realize that great ideas can come from just pulling things out of the confused wad of thoughts in your head. This is also a helpful concept for writing papers, for while at first you may not know what to write about, you may eventually come up with some extremely creative ideas. Lastly, the word of the day is "wicked." I think there is so much power behind just the pronunciation of this word. This word is defined as evil, immoral, bad, or playfully malicious. I thought that this was a great descriptive word to use in reference to Pearl's behavior. Sample Sentence: The wicked children taunted the poor substitute teacher by switching names, dropping things on the floor, and pulling pranks.