Conclusions

[Richard Stone]

Richard walked into his classroom, glad to be able to get back to things now that school had started up again. Over the summer vacation, he had assigned his students the book The Scarlet Letter to read, and those that had applied to join the school were given the book as part of their summer reading. The man hoped that the students had indeed read the book, as the next few classes were going to be about it... or at least about the end of it.

Grabbing his whiteboard markers he walked over and wrote Conclusions across the board. Yes, he had made them read an entire book and they were going to look at the end of the book. Leaving the markers on the tray at the bottom of the board, he walked over and sat down behind his desk.

He didn't have to wait very long for the students to arrive and when the tardy bell sounded, he rose to his feet and walked to the front centre of the room and smiled at the students. "Welcome back. I can see we have a few new faces, but I'm not one to play name games, so let's just get into the lesson." He held up his copy of the book. "I'm hoping that everyone read the book?" He arched his eyebrows as he looked around for any guilty looks. "Don't stress, I'm not going to make you write a book report, I'm going to do worse, we're going to discuss the book." He glanced around the room again. "Some critics say that Hester Prynne was the first American heroine. Others, however, say that her somewhat silent suffering isn't truly heroic. What qualities and actions make a character heroic? Are there any heroes or heroic actions in The Scarlet Letter? And I want you to defend your answer" He nodded his head toward the students who rose their hands and listened to their answers before moving on.

"If Hester Prynne is the protagonist of The Scarlet Letter , who is the antagonist? Arguments can be made not only for Roger Chillingworth and Governor Bellingham, but also perhaps for Arthur Dimmesdale—and even for the Puritan society as a whole. Which of these characters (if any) do you believe serves as the villain in the novel? Why? What qualities and actions make a character villainous? If you believe that there are no villains in the story, why do you feel that is the case?"

After some answers were given, again he pressed on, hoping that the students were taking notes of each other's answers. "Throughout America's history, there have always been laws that regulated citizens' personal behaviour. Among the Puritans of the 18th century, for example, adultery was a serious crime, as The Scarlet Letter makes clear. Today we have laws forcing motorcycle riders to wear helmets, laws that make suicide illegal, and laws against speeding on an empty highway, among many others. Where should society draw the line between personal and political actions? Should society have the right to tell you how to behave on your own time? Why or why not?"

"In recent years, the growing popularity of witchcraft, a neopagan religion with many traditions derived from pre-Christian and prehistoric religions, has caught the public eye. There are stores that sell witchcraft-related wares, movies with witches as heroes, and popular books about pagan religious traditions. In The Scarlet Letter , however, the portrayal of witches—particularly Mistress Hibbins, the sister of Governor Bellingham, is far more negative. What differences between Puritan New England and American culture today account for the fact that the practice of witchcraft is no longer considered an abhorrent crime? How has society changed during that span of time?"

"The authorities ordered Hester Prynne to wear an 'A' as a punishment for her adultery, but nobody told her to make it as beautiful and elaborate as she did. The elegance of the 'A' she embroidered revealed her self-pride, even in the face of her public shame. Can you think of any similar symbols that people wear today? In what ways do people change their appearance to show self-pride, even when others see those changes as sources of shame? What do our outward symbols say about us?"

"Does the character of Pearl seem realistic? Some readers of The Scarlet Letter think she seems much older than her age—far too mature for a young girl. Can you think of any reasons why Pearl should seem so unlike a child at times? Are children her age today ever "forced to grow up early" like that? Why? Pearl is also a very angry child—angry with her mother, in particular. Does this seem like a realistic trait as well? Why or why not?"

[Cortney Smit]

Cortney walked into the English classroom, he head was held high as she walked into the room, trying to give off the aura that she owned the room. She was wearing her cheer uniform, since school had started up again, she decided to let people know that she was a part of the cheer squad. However, she betrayed the entire act when she gave Mr Stone a cheeky grin and headed toward her seat.

Sitting down she pulled out her folder and the book she had read over the vacation. She wasn't sure whether she would say that she exactly enjoyed reading The Scarlet Letter, but she hadn't not enjoyed it either. The book had been a little dry in places, especially at the very start, but had got better as it went through.

She nodded her head as their teacher asked if they had read the book and groaned when he said that they were going to talk about the book. She listened to his words and lifted her hand into the air. "To me, a heroic person is something who is mentally strong and no matter what others say about them, they will do their best to help others, even those that are looking down on them. Hester didn't suffer silently. She went on with her life, even wearing the scarlet letter with pride. She helped others and didn't allow the puritans to knock her down." She listened to the others and jotted down a few notes that added to her own.

"Chilling worth is not only the story's antagonist, he is also the main villain. He finds out that Hester has committed adultery, he seeks revenge by tormenting her lover psychologically, acting as the primary roadblock preventing Hester and Dimmesdale's happiness. However, Dimmesdale's conscience seems to have a bit to do with it as well."

[Othello Buskirk]

Othello walked into the room for his next class, taking the cap off his head as he entered the room, and by habit ran his hand over his cropped head. He hadn't been feeling very well that morning and just hoped that the queasiness would hold until lunchtime, which was when he could retreat to his room and have a lie down, which would probably be contrary to what he really needed, because if he lay down, he would miss out on lunch and his body needed the fuel, even if he struggled to force himself to eat as of late. Finding a seat near the front of the room, he pulled everything he needed out of his bag and waited for class to start.

The assigned book, although he had read it from cover to cover, hadn't been a book he would have chosen for himself. He listened to the teacher and the students as they discussed the book. The cheerleader sitting in the middle of the room seemed rather full of information. He jotted down notes on what was said by the others, but he just wasn't in the mood to join in the discussion that day.

[Elizabeth Toman]

Elizabeth waltzed into the classroom and stood in the entryway looking around, like a Queen surveying the common folk. Lifting her chin slightly, her nose twitched as though she smelled something bad. With a toss of her head, she strolled down the rows of tables, as though she had all the time in the world, and lowered herself into a desk not too far away from the cheerleader, Cortney.

Placing her pink bag on the floor she opened it up and took out the things she needed, as well as the book she had been given as part of her reading list when she had been accepted into the academy. She had argued with her parents about having to read the book over the summer - as it wasn't vacation time for her - but her parents had made her sit down and read at least half a chapter a night.

Once the man started the lesson, she listened and took notes - more often doodling in the margins of her pages though. She felt that joining in on the questions and answers was beneath her until the teacher spoke of Pearl. "Pearl lived in a time where is wasn't feasible for her to be a child. Her world consisted of her and her mother and she needed to grow up quickly so that she could understand what went on around her, why her and her mother were outcasts and to help with the chores. She was also a free spirit, whim many thought to be untameable, but that didn't matter to her." She lifted her hand and played with the black and diamond horse pendent that was on the chain around her neck.

Outfit

[Miranda Florin]

Miranda threw her copy of The Scarlet Letter into her bag before she left her dorm to head to class. She had read the book over the summer, mostly while she was sitting by Fingal's yard or Dynamite's stall, and while it had been hard to get through at first, she had found herself getting into the story once she had looked online to help her understand the first few chapters.

As she entered the classroom, she looked at the students that were already there, deliberating for a moment between sitting next to Cortney or Leo, then decided to sit next to Cort, at least for this class. While she had gotten on well with Leo the few times they had shared classes or met at the Equine Clinic, she wasn't sure if they were friends or not, just yet.

As class started, she pulled out her notebook, which had a number of flamingos on the front cover, then opened it to the first page and started taking notes. She listened to the answers that were given, then added on to the conversation as she thought of it, "The pink triangle would be an example of a symbol that was once a symbol of something abhorrent, but now it's more for pride. In World War Two, it was used to denote homosexuals, much like the Jews had to wear the yellow star, but now, it's used upside down and is used for pride for the same group." She remembered learning about that once, or perhaps Kent had talked about it, she didn't quite remember, but it seemed fitting for the question.

[Deleted]

John frowned as he dug through the pile of things on his desk, trying to find the book that he should have read over the summer. He had read about halfway through before putting it aside, and then had subsequently forgotten about it, until today. Muttering at himself, he finally found the book and threw it into his backpack, telling himself that he would be able to muddle through class, at least for the first period, and then he'd look up the SparkNotes later.

As he entered the classroom, his brown eyes ran over the students that had already assembled before he moved to sit down next to a dark-skinned male, giving him a nod but not speaking as he pulled out his notebook. He wrote down some basic notes on the first question, but the second one piqued his interest, "The laws are in place for people's protection, although a few of them do go too far. I think anything that has a chance of injuring another person, like speeding, even if the highway looks empty, is fair game, and the same case could be made for the others, that those people that have to extricate wrecks might be in danger, but that could be taken as too specific." He paused, gathering his thoughts, "Society should have a right to tell you how to structure your time so that you don't harm others, but beyond that, I don't think so."

Leaning back in his seat, he kept taking notes of other answers, relieved that he had been able to answer a question without having to have read the book, seeing as not speaking would have been more suspicious. No harm, no foul, right?

[Amelia DeFoe]

Amy managed to find her English classroom without too much trouble and slipped through the doorway, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. Glancing around, she made her way to an empty back corner of the room, where she settled down, with Wolf laying beside her chair. She pulled out her ornate copy of the Scarlet Letter, as well as her notebook, then pulled out a pen from another pocket of her backpack.

As the class started, she sunk into her chair, trying to hide, as she took notes. She had read, and actually enjoyed, the book, and she had a few opinions on the questions that the teacher asked, but didn't voice them, instead scribbling them among her notes from other students, using a different colour of pen for her own ideas.

As she waited for someone to speak up for a particular question, she sketched out an ornate 'A' in the corner of her paper and added embellishments, going back to it whenever the conversation lulled, until it looked far too fanciful to even be recognized as the letter it had started, with leaves and branches coming off of it. Amy went back to taking notes, listening to the ideas being batted around, knowing she couldn't lose track of the conversation on her own, or else she would never know when blanks happened.

[Peter Holden]

    Peter found his way into his English class and found a seat towards the middle, folding himself into one of the desks that were not meant for people of his height. Pulling out his notebook, a pen, and his summer reading book The Scarlet Letter, Peter kept alert, waiting for the class to begin. He hadn't minded reading the book over the summer, and thought he hadn't minded it, it wasn't the sort of book that he really liked to discuss. Flipping through it, he looked over the annotations he had made in the margins once more, and the gist of the book came back to him fairly quickly. 

    When class started, he followed along with the class, taking notes of what Mr. Stone said, as well as his fellow students. He didn't answer the questions aloud, but jotted down his own thoughts in his notebook so that they would be ready if he was called on. He was careful to make sure that it was obvious that he was alert and following along and not just choosing not to participate. He just didn't like articulating his analysis to the class when he could just have it in his notebook.

    The question about Pearl made him think, and his notes about that question were the longest. It was difficult to imagine a child that young being so angry, especially at her own mother, but when he called to mind Kate at a young age and made the image extreme, he realized that it may not have been so unrealistic, though one still doubts if a child can really hate her mother that she has grown up with.

[Deleted]

    Anna made her way to her first English class and found it rather easily. She arranged herself in a seat near the front and pulled out her neat copy of The Scarlet Letter that she had reread over the summer. She wasn't particularly worried about this class, since it was supposed to be the easier class on her schedule, but she would still take it seriously. 

    Once class started, Anna began taking notes in the notebook she had brought along, but paid more attention to the answers her fellow students gave to the questions that Mr. Stone asked. It wouldn't be too difficult to remember the discussion, so she didn't take notes that were too in depth, but instead took down words and phrases that would remind her of the discussion.

    She especially liked the response a girl gave about symbols, and that she involved the yellow Star of David, which Anna had been thinking of herself. When the girl finished speaking, Anna raised her hand to answer the same question about wearing symbols, and spoke up when she was called on. "Another example of symbols that people wear today is religious jewelry, for example a cross necklace for a Christian, or an ohm pendent for a Hindu person. This jewelry is something that people do not have to wear, like Hester had to wear the "A", but instead choose to wear for their own benefit. Still, people who wear these have pride in their religious preferences even though others may frown upon them. There is also religious clothing that members of the religion may be required to wear. These people may be required to wear a certain article of clothing that defines them as a part of a certain religion, and other people may frown upon them because of it, especially if the religion is very discriminated against wherever they are. Despite the shame though, all of these people keep pride in themselves and for their religion, just as Hester used the letter to show her own self-pride."

[Richard Stone]

Richard listened and nodded as the students offered their suggestions. "Very well thought out answers." He commented. "I commend you all." He turned back to the board and began writing up questions on one half of the board:

1.How might Pearl's childhood experiences affect her emotions and her life choices once she leaves New England?
2. What basic life skills will Pearl have to learn as a young woman?
3.Under what conditions might Pearl marry or have a child?
4.How likely is it that Pearl might take out her anger on people in her new community? What antisocial actions might she take?
5.How likely is it that Pearl would grow beyond her anger? How would Pearl display normality?
6.If Pearl survives, what communication if any do you think she will have with her mother back in New England?
7.What role could Pearl play in a new community — witch? religious leader who dispenses mercy and punishment? recluse? mystery woman?
8.If Pearl survives and has a child, what if anything do you think she will tell the child about Hester? about Dimmesdale and Chillingworth? about Pearl's own childhood?

"Can you please write these out in your folders and answer them, you might want to write each question at the top of a separate page, so you have room to answer them."

He then drew a line down the centre of the board and headed the other side with HOMEWORK and under this wrote:

Please complete (at least) one of the following:
1. Write a short story with Pearl as a young woman of 18 as the main character
2. Write a letter from Pearl as a young woman of 18 to her mother
3. Write a scene between Pearl as a young woman of 18 and her mother, whom she goes to visit

"You have a week to complete the homework. You have until next class to answer all of the questions, which you may as well get started before the bell sounds."