Naturalism

Naturalism has plagued our class these last two weeks, and has managed to turn our brains inside out and upside down in an effort to comprehend such an abstract topic. Although I have yet to present anything to the class, everything I have looked up for Naturalism has made my understanding of the topic less and less clear in comparison to my previous "comprehension". I do not like to say that anyone in our class, besides you of course, has a clear understanding of Naturalism because it seems that the more we learn our previously bullet proof ideologies are instantly questioned and torn apart. It seems that Naturalism is not only a branch of Realism, but a concept that has been around since the Greek times, who in science and in mostly in their mythology have very similar styles like the Naturalism we are looking at. Right now my understanding, if you must say, is very varied, and needs to worked on because it seems that almost every day it changes when introduced to new ideas and new information.

Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

I thought the movie was well made and from the very start created a dark and solemn atmosphere. But in comparison to the text, the movie seems to try to make a over done eerie feeling for the tv show it was on. I liked how the story really did not need diolouge to get the tones across, and stress the point of view opposite the author's.

If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking: Emily Dickinson

I like this poem because it is different from her other works; her other poems seem extremely depressing or sorrowful, but this one doesn't exactly have a flamboyant and uplifting tone, but it has a positive message. This poem also gives us a little insight into her personality which at first I thought was almost self destructive, but this shows that she has a caring and sensitive nature about her, and that she wishes to help those around her. Even though the message or substance of the poem is different from her others, it follows the similar style of writing, choice of wording, and length of the others. This poem also makes me think that she must have gone through some sort of major heart break or some very bad times to want to protect others so much.

Class Disucssion on Rappichini and Industrialization

Rappichini tried to play God through his science, and the concept of having no metaphysical presence in the world, and that the world is solely based on science, is thought to be bad by many, such as our founding fathers. Im confused about we talked about in class yesterday, I understand the concept of the "Watch Maker", but I don't understand how industrialization ties into the story. I understand what industrialization was, but in relation to the story im totally lost. I understand what we talked about but im not sure what to write about here. I think that im missing the connection between the concept of Hubris we talked about and Industrialization.

Another View on Hester

Ch 13 does not go far into the story line to say, but takes time to give the reader prospective on Hester and what is going through her brain. Hester sees Dimmesdale in a state that makes her feel guilty, but she isn't sure whether or not to help him. Hester knows that Chillingworth is not healing his "friend", and she knows that he is gaining his trust so he can execute his revenge causing the most damage to him. We also are told that Chillingworth has sunk down morally to execute his revenge on Dimmesdale, while Hester supposedly has risen up after her sinful action. Discussion wise, we didn't get to talk long, but I did find the section talking about Hester's A important; comparing her A to the cross of a nun in my opinion is a bold statement. As Hester is portrayed helping the poor and needy, I kind of get the feeling that it is almost not sincere, like her thinking is not all there, and that her sanity is a tiny bit shaken.

Hester's new persona

From the chapter we read in class today, we got to see that as 7 years have passed since Hester stood on that pedestal holding her "sin" in her arms, the community that cast her out and take all normalcy out of her life, has come to forgive her. To the community, Hester's scarlet "A" is not clear, its seen as a sign that she is indeed different from others, but it is seen in a positive way, compared to the cross around the neck of a nun. Hester is a symbol of almost saintly status from what I got from the text, of course she sinned in the eyes of her people, but in comparison to the average person, her deeds towards the poor, sick, and afflicted place her on a higher moral standard in my eyes. I am no where sure of this, but while reading this, I felt that Hawthorne was pressing his transcendentalist ideologies because the concept of being accepted by God after a sin without going directly through the church is tradition of the Catholic and Puritan sects of Christianity, but her good deeds and love for her child seem to make me think Hawthorne is leaning towards the forgiveness from God that is preached in new Christian sects. I think the point of this chapter was to show that Hester is not looked down upon in her community, but is seen as a person who cares and tends to the people that need it, not a sinful woman deserving isolation.

Scarlet Letter Drawings Project

To my disadvantage, I have little skill at drawing and I also had no computer in class, so I was locked into reading off others. In class I reread chapters so I could help paint a better image of the settings and story for Nina and Eunji to actually draw on our paper. That night I also read chapters 8 and 11 and wrote out summaries for Nina to draw out today. Chapters 8 and 11 were not exactly clear to me, the reappearing rose bush in the courtyard just confused me, I can't understand what it means or symbolizes yet. I also wasn't sure if the Governor's  wife was the "Black Man" that was holding that witch like stuff was indeed Chillingworth because that is the same thing Pearl called him. Also I noticed that Dimmesdale, when Hester made him stand up in her defense, said that Pearl was a blessing and a burdening reminder, but when they walked out the house, Hester stayed away from the offer that was given to her, that would have most likely seemed sinful, because she had to tend to Pearl, so Pearl saved Hester from sin. Also, we found out that Dimmesdale has  "something" on his chest that seems to drive Chillingworth into absolute revenge mode/insanity.