Activity 1: Chapter 9-14 quiz

Activity 2: Silent Reading


For Wednesday, October 14, read chapter 15-18 (120-141); during class on Wednesday, I will give students time to write one inferential question and complete their theme reflection for chapters 15-18.  If you are not in class Wednesday, please do that on your own time prior to Thursday.

For Thursday, October 15, read chapter 19 (141-146) write one inferential question for that chapter.

Tomorrow we will not be in the room. We will be in the following places:

2nd period - Library Floor (downstairs)
3rd period - DC East
4th period - DC East 

Possibly a shorter version of vocab, close reading, rhetoric assessment similar to the one on Friday, October 16 (chapters 15-19)

The Scarlet Letter

More Essay Options

If the theme/rhetorical analysis essay did not appeal to you, you may choose one of the following prompts and reply to it with a 3-4 pages, researched, formal essay.

1. Is Hester a strong female character or is she a more traditional female who is deferential to males in society? Write an argument on whether or not you consider Hester to be a strong female character. On a related note, consider touching on whether you would consider The Scarlet Letter a feminist novel given the time it was written (during the 19^th century Romantic Movement).

2. What do you make of Pearl? Although she at first appears to be a secondary character in the novel, Pearl figures significantly into many of the novel’s key narrative events. Argue what you believe to be  Hawthorne’s most important uses of Pearl as a character in the novel.

3.  Based on your readings and note-taking on Romanticism, write an argument supporting, refuting, or qualifying the claim that The Scarlet Letter is a quintessentially Romantic novel.  Cite outside sources as needed (e.g., Romanticism PowerPoint or the American Puritanism/American Romanticism handout, etc).  

4. Dimmesdale may be seen as a figure of hypocrisy who preaches virtue from the pulpit and refuses to take his daughter’s hand in public, but pays a terrible personal price for his actions. Argue the extent to which Dimmesdale is responsible for his own actions versus how much the Puritan religious teachings and culture as whole are responsible for forcing him into his position. You may cite outside sources as necessary to present Puritan beliefs.  If you do use outside sources, please use MLA citation formats for internal and external citations. The Purdue Owl and the University of North Carolina are among many websites which can show you how to properly cite sources in the MLA style.