English 11 Puritan Perspective and Literary Techniques in The Scarlet Letter Warm-Up Introduction to the Scarlet Letter The Custom House Modern Connections Homework

Warm-Up: Student Outcomes: Understand Hawthorne’s purpose in writing The Scarlet Letter. Identify key Puritan ideals discussed in the text. Examine society’s involvement in the creation or laws. Examine society’s role in communication social expectations. What are your thoughts on the term punishment? What makes a punishment fitting? How do you know?

Puritan Beliefs – Quick Review Theocracy: religious and political law are the same Predestination: God has predetermined who is saved and who is damned God has a plan for all humankind. Good will prevail over evil, and Christ will defeat Satan. Goals: cleanse society of corrupt, sinful actions/vices and experience “conversion” to lead a righteous life Predestination Innate “depravity” : humans are innately sinful (original sin) Unconditional “election”: Salvation in reserved for those chosen by God “Irresistible Grace”: Good works do not save an individual.” An “elect” group of “saints” possess God’s saving grace

Questions to Explore Why did followers of Puritanism accept this doctrine? Need for order, certainty, spiritual security Effects on Puritan lives? Committed to shaping society and government into what God would desire -Strove to live godly lives—disciplined, sin-free -Living a righteous life was the EFFECT of being one of God’s chosen -To ensure salvation (not to gain or earn), Puritans attempted to display signs of purity as evidence of God’s saving grace. Within the text, pay close attention to how Hawthorne challenges Puritan beliefs? Background Information

The Scarlet Letter: Introduction What happens when a private sin becomes a public crime? Can you think of any examples of this in modern society?

The Scarlet Letter: Introduction Perhaps hidden suffering is even worse than public shame.

The 411 on The Scarlet Letter Set in 17 th Century Boston Puritan code of life Main characters Hester Prynne Pearl Prynne Arthur Dimmesdale Roger Chillingworth Novel spans a total of seven years The Scarlet Letter as a SATIRE

The Scarlet Letter: Background Those considered sinners were publicly—and harshly—punished, as an example to others.

Seven deadly Sins Also as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a classification of objectionable vices These particular bad habits are called the seven deadly sins because according to the Catholicism, they’re mortal sins – sins that kill the life of grace.

Modern 7 Deadly Sins The Catholic Church has come out with a list of seven new modern day sins - 1,500 years after announcing the original Seven Deadly Sins 1.Genetic modification 2.Human experimentations 3.Polluting the environment 4.Social injustice 5.Causing poverty 6.Financial gluttony 7.Taking drugs According to the Catholic Church, a person who commits a mortal sin risks burning in hell unless it's absolved through confession and penitence. Do you think that the addition are valid?

What is a guilty pleasure? A guilty pleasure is something one enjoys and considers pleasurable despite the feeling guilt for enjoying it. The Guilt is involved is something simple fear of others discovering ones embarrassing tastes. Entertainment, fashion, video games movies, Music junk food

The Scarlet Letter: Big Question Hester goes to jail for an action that, in our society, usually would remain private. What kinds of wrongdoing do you think should be punished publicly? What kinds should remain private for the people involved?

The Scarlet Letter: Big Question Motivated by love and loyalty, Hester keeps a painful secret. What kinds of secrets should you keep? When might it be better to reveal a friend’s secret, even though that person will be angry with you?

Literary Devices Diction Descriptive Details Imagery Irony Characterization Figurative Language Allusion Symbols

Point of View:  Omniscient: able to recount the action thoroughly and reliably, and able to enter the mind of any character at any time; can conceal as well as reveal at will.  Direct address: “Satan, that afternoon, had surely led the poor girl… and thrown her into the pathway of this solely tempted, or – shall we not rather say?-this lost and desperate man” (200). “we blush to tell it…” (201).

Paradox:  A statement that seems self-contradictory or nonsensical on the surface, but may be seen to contain an underlying truth. Dimmesdale’s attempt at categorizing himself as a sinner, and the people’s reverent response

Allusion:  An indirect reference to a person, event, statement or theme found in literature, the other arts, history, mythology, religion or popular culture “Another man had returned out of the forest: a wiser one; with a knowledge of hidden mysteries which the simplicity of the former never could have reached. A bitter kind of knowledge that!” (203)

Symbols: Something that, although of interest in its own right, stands for or suggests something larger and more complex The Scaffold Roger Chillingworth Pearl The Scarlet Letter The Forest The Brook

Themes: Consider questions, rather than answers Psychological novel – What aspects of human nature does Hawthorne focus on? What do we learn or observe about those aspects?

Homework Read Chapters 1 – 4 for Monday’s Class