Literary Criticism and The Scarlet Letter Timed Writing

How to Organize Your Essay INTRO Make sure you have a clear answer to the prompt. Define that tenet/tenets of transcendentalism. This is most likely where you’ll use a quote from Emerson or Thoreau. Explain context/background of the novel. Thesis: clearly answers the prompt with your interpretation of the novel. BPS Toulmin model Evidence from TSL. Consider using your research to supplement your TSL evidence. You’re not proving plot points. You’re proving your interpretation of the novel Warrant back to thesis. Consider the following . . .

An Example What if I were asked to write about Dimmesdale and his relationship to breaking the law? Maybe I would tie that idea into something Thoreau said? My intro would sound something like: Dimmesdale is “content to obey” laws that separate him from his family (Thoreau 22). In conforming to an “[u]njust law,” Dimmesdale sacrifices himself to society (Thoreau 21). This conformity never allows Dimmesdale to accept his sin, and he dies as a result. Hawthorne uses Dimmesdale to show the consequence of not breaking the laws of an unjust society; that consequence, in this case, is a spiritual and physical death. I have two ways I can go about this now. I can prove that Dimmesdale is a conformist and he’s dying. OR: I can prove how and why Dimmesdale represents the antithesis of Hawthorne’s transcendental beliefs. Which do you think I should do . . .

INTRO: Dimmesdale is “content to obey” laws that separate him from his family (Thoreau 22). In conforming to an “[u]njust law,” Dimmesdale sacrifices himself to society (Thoreau 21). This conformity never allows Dimmesdale to accept his sin, and he dies as a result. Hawthorne uses Dimmesdale to show the consequence of not breaking the laws of an unjust society; that consequence, in this case, is a spiritual and physical death. Now, which is better? Hawthorne’s criticism of Dimmesdale isn’t that he sinned; it’s that Dimmesdale is, in Hawthorne’s estimation, an “untrue man” (Hawthorne 121). His inability to align his actions with his beliefs creates a “whole universe” which is “false” (121). At no point does Dimmesdale even follow Hawhtorne’s simple dictum: “ ‘Be True! Show freely to the world’ ” (212). Dimmesdale’s death is inevitable. It is nearly a “suicide” (Emerson 2). If Dimmesdale had followed the transcendentalist belief in self-reliance, he would’ve seen that he didn’t need to suffer. Dimmesdale’s health is failing. He spends a lot of his time “thinking about his grave” (Hawthorne 119). He constantly “holds his hand to his heart” (Hawthorne 118). He does this because he is ill. He is sick because he thinks himself a sinner because that’s what society tells him. Dimmesdale dies because he never accepts his sin.

Organizing your Paragraphs You want to make sure that what you are saying actually proves a point. Including plot points of the novel, irrelevant biographical information, or random historical events won’t do you any good. This is filler information that doesn’t work towards a point!

Hester’s punishment is as much a criticism of her reaction to Puritanical restrictions as much as criticism of Puritanical culture. Hawthorne, who took great care in his personal life, to always “be true” to himself, disagrees with Hester’s course of action—but Hester does not believe she has a choice. She is a “martyr.” The scarlet letter teaches her “shame, despair, solitude.” This all is contrary to how Hawthorne lived his life, from his open relationship with his wife to his time at Brook Farm, it’s clear that Hawthorne wants people to live unfettered lives; Hester’s life is in metaphorical “chains.” But they are chains she imposes upon herself. Hester had opportunities to escape, but she does not. While Hawthorne’s criticism of Hester is slight, it is nevertheless damning. Hawthorne believed in transcendentalism. According to biography.com, Hawthorne spent time on Brook Farm. Brook Farm was a transcendentalist hippy commune. This shows the reader that Hawthorne was a transcendentalist. Hawthorne also says “Be true! Be true! Be True!” This shows the reader that Hawthorne wanted his readers to be true to themselves. This is a transcendentalist belief. This shows that Hawthorne was a transcendentalist.

For Today: Make sure you have at least 4 sources, all of which are academic. Research should be relevant to proving your analytical approach to the novel I don’t care about trivial life details Determine the quotes from your Transcendental texts that you will use. Identify quotes from TSL that will be relevant to the analytical approach Again, I don’t care about plot points. I read the book, multiple times; I’m good.

Henry David Thoreau was an influential Transcendentalist who published various works conveying his personal ideals of individualism and the impact of nature. Thoreau’s literary works were partially influenced by historical events throughout his life but his most famous literary writings were written as reactions to isolated events which occurred in his life. One of Thoreau’s most known works, “Civil Disobedience,” was written in response to his arrest for failure to pay taxes (“The Days of Henry Thoreau”). Thoreau was a passionate abolitionist and therefore refused to pay taxes to a government which supported slavery. Thoreau later advocated his ideas of civil protests, “It is not a man’s duty…to devote himself to the eradication of any [wrong]… but it is his duty to wash his hands of it” (Thoreau). Throughout his essay on civil disobedience, Thoreau continuously advocates other to engage in civil issues. Thoreau also wrote a book known as Walden which was inspired by his time spent isolated in nature. Thoreau spent two years isolated from civilization in a remote cabin. He recorded his interactions and reactions to nature in his book, “I went to the woods to live deliberately, to [view] only the essential facts of life” (Thoreau). The entirety of his book is inspired by his time spent in the isolated cabin. Thoreau’s works of nature and individualism were inspired by events which happened throughout his life.