January Lit Analysis

Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

1.    Hester Prynn, an unfortunate lover, was sent to America with her daughter, without the father ever meeting them in the new world. Hester's lonely travels in America led her to have an affair. The story begins explaining the meaning of the red A that Hester wears upon her chest to show that she has been marked as an adulteress. Though Hester is heckled and ridiculed, she is charitable and kind to the community, and therefore the community develops a bond with Hester and her daughter. As things seem to go smoothly, Chillingworth, the father disguised as a medicinal man, becomes close with Hester and the authorities of the village. Dimmesdale is then watched over by Chillingworth, who is secretly planning to kill the man, but first to expose him as the man that Hester had loved. Dimmesdale's distress and urgency, because he is a preacher, leads him to an unbearable discovery at the end of the story in front of the town, where he dies upon the scaffold that introduced at the very beginning.

2.    The main theme I saw in this novel was that of the identity that society seems to assign to each character, whether they like it or not. An obvious example is with Hester Prynne who is forced to wear the scarlet letter, or move to a different town and forget about the letter. Hester refuses to leave town and to some this may seem odd because she could live a normal life, but to her it makes perfect sense. Leaving town would give the notion that society had won, instead she keeps the letter and wears it as a reminder of who she is and how her past actions/sins have made her who she is.

3.    During the time this novel was written, Puritans were renowned for their morality and religious intolerance. In the Scarlett Letter, Hawthorne through his tone shows his views on Puritan society in a disapproving way.

4. Rhetorical question- “Is there not law for it?” page 45

Metaphor- “poor little Pearl was a demon offspring” page 88

Oxymoron- “die daily a living death” page 153

Anaphora- “Live, therefore, and bear about thy doom with thee, in the eyes of men and women-in the eyes of him whom thou didst call thy husband-in the eyes of yonder child!” page 65

Simile- “The door of the jail being flung open from within there appeared, in the first place, like a black shadow emerging into sunshine, the grim and gristly presence of the town-beadle, with a sword by his side, and his staff of office in his hand.”

Allusion- “Divine Maternity” refers to the Virgin Mary and is used to describe Hester Prynne

Flashback- This entire story is basically a flashback. The narrator stumbles upon a manuscript describing the events that unfolded and he reads these descriptions to us.

Situational irony- Chillingsworth is Hester’s old husband in disguise.

Symbols- Hawthorne uses many symbols in this novel including the scarlet letter (shame and identity for Hester) and Pearl (Hester’s living scarlet letter).

Characterization:

1.    Direct characterization: “But Hester Prynne, with a mind of native courage and activity…” and “beautiful from regularity of feature and richness of complexion” Direct characterization seemed to give away the tiny details that were almost irrelevant, but still important enough as to help progress the story and paint a more vivid picture of each character. They were more used as descriptions of appearances whereas indirect characterization gave insight to the personalities of each character. Some examples include Hester choosing to keep the scarlet letter on as opposed to leaving town and starting a new life, and also Chillingworth’s decision to go undercover and seek revenge on the man who had an affair with his wife.

2.     When describing the important characters in the story, I notice that you can divide them from the normal cast by noticing the change in syntax. The descriptions of the characters also seem to change in diction, for the characters become more animated by the writing and the sentences are long and descriptive so that you may judge the character, similar to how the people in the story judge her. Simply by face value.

3.    Hester Prynne is a dynamic and a round character. Because of her punishment, she is alienated and becomes a contemplative thinker. She has lots of time to speculate about moral questions and human nature. This matures her character and makes her more motherly and independent. She is a round character because of the wide array of emotions and characteristics she displays such as anger, love, compassion, caring, and hatred.

4.    I feel like Hester Prynne was just another character that I read because her choice to defy society is so different from what people nowadays would do. It makes her an admirable character, but hard to view as a realistic one. In today’s time, people would rather go with the flow of things than stand out.

Lit Terms #4

interior monologue: a passage of writing presenting a character's inner thoughts and emotions in a direct, sometimes fragmented manner

inversion: switching the usual order of words or clauses; the placement of two things close together for contrasting effect

lyric: expressing the writer's emotions, usually brief and in stanzas

magical realism: a genre where magic parts are a natural part of an otherwise realistic environment

metaphor: a figure of speech to make a comparison without using "like" or "as"

metonymy: the substitution of the name of an attribute for that of the thing meant

modernism: literature movement influenced by industrialization and westernization

monologue: a long speech by one character

mood" inducing or suggestive of a particular feeling or state of mind

motif: any reoccurring element in a story that has symbolic significance or the reason behind actions

myth: a traditional story, esp. one concerning early history of people, natural phenomenons, or supernatural beings

narrative: a story

narrator: a character who recounts the events of a novel

naturalism: a style and theory of representation based on the accurate depiction of detail

novelette/novella: a short novel or long short story

omniscient pov: a character or third person who is all knowing

onomatopoeia: the formation of a word from a sound

oxymoron: a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction 

pacing: the movement of a literary piece from one point to another

parable: a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson

paradox: a statement that leads to a conclusion that seems self contradictory

WHAT'S THE STORY

Why did Charles Dickens write the novel you're reading/reviewing? What in your analysis of literary techniques led you to this conclusion? (Make sure to include textual support illustrating Dickens' use of at least three techniques we've studied/discussed this year.)

Dickens wrote Great Expectations to display a bildungsroman. The story is about the growth of Pip and how his dreams and definitions of success change as he goes through life.

Lit Terms #3

Exposition: beginning of a story that sets forth facts, ideas, and/or characters, in a detailed explanation.
ex: “A long time ago in a galaxy far away, far away…” This is at the beginning of the Star Warsmovies where everything is explained in text on the screen

Expressionism: movement in art, literature, and music consisting of unrealistic representation of an inner idea or feeling(s).
ex: Samuel Beckett was an expressionist playwright

Fable: a short, simple story, usually with animals as characters, designed to teach a moral truth.
ex: Aesop's fables include The Ant and the Grasshopper and The Hare and the Tortoise 
 
Fallacy: from Latin word “to deceive”, a false or misleading notion, belief, or argument; any kind of erroneous reasoning that makes arguments unsound.
ex: the appeal to popular opinion fallacy "A lot of people buy this, so it must be awesome"

Falling Action: part of the narrative or drama after the climax.
ex: In Titanic when the survivors get rescued and put on the other boat
 
Farce: a boisterous comedy involving ludicrous action and dialogue.
ex: The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde

Figurative Language: apt and imaginative language characterized by figures of speech (such as metaphor and simile).
ex: "A host of golden daffodils;  Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze." from Wordsworth "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

Flashback: a narrative device that flashes back to prior events.
ex: In Into the Wild Chris has several flashbacks while in the wild about his life in society

Foil: a person or thing that, by contrast, makes another seem better or more prominent.
ex: In Harry Potter, Voldemort is a foil to Dumbledore
 
Folk Tale: story passed on by word of mouth.
ex: Paul Bunyan.

Foreshadowing: in fiction and drama, a device to prepare the reader for the outcome of the action; “planning” to make the outcome convincing, though not to give it away.
ex: In John Steinbeck novel “Of Mice and Men”, the George killing Candy’s dog foreshadows Candy killing Lennie because Candy is identical to George and Lennie to the dog.

Free Verse: verse without conventional metrical pattern, with irregular pattern or no rhyme.
ex: Fog by Carl Sandburg
The fog comes
on little cat feet
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

Genre: a category or class of artistic endeavor having a particular form, technique, or content.
ex: Mystery, romance, fiction, non-fiction

Gothic Tale: a style in literature characterized by gloomy settings, violent or grotesque action, and a mood of decay, degeneration, and decadence. 
ex: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Hyperbole: an exaggerated statement often used as a figure of speech or to prove a point.
ex: I am dying of shame
 
Imagery: figures of speech or vivid description, conveying images through any of the senses.
ex: He whiffed the aroma of freshly brewed coffee

Implication: a meaning or understanding that is to be arrive at by the reader but that is not fully and explicitly stated by the author. 
ex: When the professor said, “All the other professors in this college are pushovers,” he implied (not inferred) that he was a tough professor.

Incongruity: the deliberate joining of opposites or of elements that are not appropriate to each other.
ex:  in fables, the clever ones are usually the small/oppressed, while the foolish ones are usually the big/gigantic/ ones. in the end, the small ones always win against the big ones.

Inference: a judgement or conclusion based on evidence presented; the forming of an opinion which possesses some degree of probability according to facts already available. 
ex: Based on the fact that Allyson got into Princeton, you can infer that she is very intelligent.

Irony: a contrast or incongruity between what is said and what is meant, or what is expected to happen and what actually happens, or what is thought to be happening and what is actually happening. 
ex: The fire station burns down.

Lit Terms Remix (1-5)

Circumlocution

Classicism

Cliche 

Climax

Colloquialism

Lit Terms #2

Circumlocution: a roundabout or evasive speech or writing, in which many words are used but a few would have served
ex: saying "a certain long-eared animal with a penchant for carrots" instead of saying "rabbit"

Classicism: art, literature, and music reflecting the principles of ancient Greece and Rome: tradition, reason, clarity, order, and balance
ex: writers like Homer, Ovid, Virgil, Sophocles, etc.                                                                                             
Cliché: a phrase or situation overused within society
ex: "There are more fish in the sea"

Climax: the decisive point in a narrative or drama; the point of greatest intensity or interest at which plot question is answered or resolved 
ex: The climax of the movie Titanic is when the ship hits the iceberg.

Colloquialism: folksy speech, slang words or phrases usually used in informal conversation 
ex: "Hey, let's get some grub."

Comedy: originally a nondramatic literary piece of work that was marked by a happy ending; now a term to describe a ludicrous, farcical, or amusing event designed provide enjoyment or produce smiles and laughter
ex: Twelfth Night by Shakespeare, Friends the TV show

Conflict: struggle or problem in a story causing tension 
ex: The conflict in The Hunger Games is that Katniss must fight for her life while also protecting Peeta.

Connotation: implicit meaning, going beyond dictionary definition 
ex: "Mother" has a more negative connotation than "mom"

Contrast: a rhetorical device by which one element (idea or object) is thrown into opposition to another for the sake of emphasis or clarity 
ex: "What a distressing contrast there is between the radiant intelligence of the child and the feeble mentality of the average adult." (Sigmund Freud)

Denotation: plain dictionary definition 
ex: the definition of definition is: a statement of the exact meaning of a word, esp. in a dictionary.

Denouement (pronounced day-new-mahn): loose ends tied up in a story after the climax, closure, conclusion
ex: In Into the Wild the denouement is when Chris dies

Dialect: the language of a particular district, class or group of persons; the sounds, grammar, and diction employed by people distinguished from others.
ex: In Uganda, the main dialect is English but there are also Bantu dialects

Dialectics: formal debates usually over the nature of truth.
ex: "Sophists employed the method of dialectic (Greek: dialektike) in their teaching, or inventing arguments for and against a proposition. This approach taught students to argue either side of a case." James A. Herrick

Dichotomy: split or break between two opposing things. 
ex: The dichotomy between right and wrong

Diction: the style of speaking or writing as reflected in the choice and use of words. 
ex: Classroom diction is different than the diction we use when with friends.

Didactic: having to do with the transmission of information; education. 
ex: Some boring classes are said to be too didactic

Dogmatic: rigid in beliefs and principles. 
ex: "Anyone who wants universal health care is a socialist." is a dogmatic statement

Elegy: a mournful, melancholy poem, especially a funeral song or lament for the dead, sometimes contains general reflections on death, often with a rural or pastoral setting. 
ex: "Here Captain! dear father!/This arm beneath your head;/It is some dream that on deck,/You've fallen cold and dead."-"O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman

Epic: a long narrative poem unified by a hero who reflects the customs, mores, and aspirations of his nation of race as he makes his way through legendary and historic exploits, usually over a long period of time (definition bordering on circumlocution). 
ex: The Epic of Gilgamesh 

Epigram: witty aphorism. 
ex: "It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness." - Eleanor Roosevelt

Epitaph: any brief inscription in prose or verse on a tombstone; a short formal poem of commemoration often a credo written by the person who wishes it to be on his tombstone. 
ex: "Here lies Frank Pixley, as usual." (Composed by Ambrose Bierce for Frank M. Pixley, an American journalist and politician)

Epithet: a short, descriptive name or phrase that  may insult someone’s character,
characteristics 
ex: Lord of the dead and mighty for Aidoneus

Euphemism: the use of an indirect, mild or vague word or expression for one thought to be coarse, offensive, or blunt. 
ex: to say "passed away" instead of "died"

Evocative (evocation): a calling forth of memories and sensations; the suggestion or production through artistry and imagination of a sense of reality. 
ex: "The river runs steadily through this vivid evocation of a childhood in India at the time of the First World War."

Lit Terms #1

So I've definitely been slacking on my blog, just busy with school, sports, and work, but I've got some time to get caught up.

allegory:a tale in prose or verse in which characters, actions, or settings represent abstract ideas or moral qualities; a story that uses symbols to make a point


alliteration:the repetition of similar initial sounds, usually consonants, in a group of words


allusion:a reference to a person, a place, an event, or a literary work that a writer expects a reader to recognize


ambiguity:something uncertain as to interpretation


anachronism:something that shows up in the wrong place or the wrong time


analogy:a comparison made between two things to show the similarities between them


analysis:a method in which a work or idea is separated into its parts, and those parts given rigorous and detailed scrutiny


anaphora:a device or repetition in which a word or words are repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, phrases, clauses, or sentences


anecdote: a very short story used to illustrate a point


antagonist:a person or force opposing the protagonist in a drama or narrative


antithesis:a balancing of one term against another for emphasis or stylistic effectiveness


aphorism: terse, pointed statement expressing some wise or clever observation about life


apologia:a defense or justification for some doctrine, piece of writing, cause, or action; also apology


apostrophe:a figure of speech in which an absent or dead person, an abstract quality, or something inanimate or nonhuman is addressed directly


argument:the process of convincing a reader by proving either the truth or the falsity of an idea or proposition; also, the thesis or proposition itself


assumption:the act of supposing, or taking for granted that a thing is true


audience:the intended listener or listeners


characterization:the means by which a writer reveals a character's personality


chiasmus: a reversal in the order off words so that the second half of a statement balances the first half in inverted word order