Hawthorne the Painter

Great class today! I thought your comments and insight into the connections between painting and writing were fabulous. For your reflection, I want you to find another painting and compare it to the literary techniques that Hawthorne uses in The Scarlet Letter.
SO....you may use googleimage and type in "Romantic Painting" or "Romanticism and art" or do some other web research to find a painting that you can analyze.

• Compare the techniques of the artist and the painting to the literary techniques of The Scarlet Letter. Give specific similarities.
• Provide the image of the painting or a link to it in your post
• Comment on each other's paitings for extra fun! :)

"Higher - Order" Thinking Questions about the Novel

Dear students, I apologize for not having the blog assignment up before now. I was having my own technological difficulties! If you can, bring in your answers to the "higher-order" thinking questions you generated in last class. We will have another chance at this assignment for homework tonight. 

Reflection Question: Ch 1-3

In Ch 3, the ministers ask Hester an important question - a question that is probably on your own mind. What is the question?? Based on the reading you have done in these chapters, do you have a theory about the answer to the question which the ministers have put to Hester? If you do, explain what you have noticed in your reading that might support your theory.

Is Shame Effective? Some food for thought.

After reading your exit slips, I was interested to see that many of you answered both yes and no to the question, "Is shame an effective way to teach a lesson?" This got me thinking (thanks, you all!) about the concept of shame and how it is still used in our penal system today. Would it be better to publicly shame criminals than to keep them in jail?

Naturally, I googled the question. Here's a few links to opinions on both sides of the argument:
http://www.epinions.com/content_2905317508

http://law.jrank.org/pages/2120/Shaming-Punishments-Policy-issues.html

http://gideonsguardians.blogspot.com/2005/12/shaming-as-legitimate-punishment.html

I think it would be exciting if some of you read these and came to class informed and opinionated. I'd love that! :)

Reflection Question

After reading the article and reflecting on your own experiences, answer the following question:
Do you think shame and guilt are necessary to keep people in line? Do you think shaming someone is an effective punishment to teach them a lesson? Think of an example in your life or in current events to illustrate your opinion either for or against the effects of shame and guilt on people's behavior.

• Reference the article on shame in the buisness model (What did you think? how do your opinions match with the article's presentaiton of shame?)

Anne Hutchinson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and the Crucible

How do they connect?!
I asked you to find interesting facts about Anne Hutchinson and  Nathaniel Hawthorne online. What did you find? What connections can you make between these two and the Crucible???

 

Half-Hanged Mary

In class today, we read Margaret Atwood's poem "Half-Hanged Mary" about a woman accused of witchcraft who was later hanged for her crime. She survived the hanging. The poem describes her experience.




Which time period (its arranged by hour) in the poem most appeals to you? Why? What images or lines really work for you in this time period?



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