ch 9-12

It is ironic that Chillingworth is called a leech by the towns people. Leeches normally drain blood from the ill and ultimately curing them. Chillingworth is doing the opposite and almost sucking the life out of Dimmesdale. He has incorporated himself into Dimmesdale's life so much because he is suspicious of him. Chillingworth aims to suck the secret out of Dimmesdale, much like a leech would. It has become Chillingworth's mission to find out the secret that Dimmesdale is hiding. He tries to scare him by saying that some of the weeds he found are darkened from a dead persons unconfessed sin that was buried with them.

Chillingworth keeps prodding at Dimmesdale for information but how is it that Chillingworth knows that Dimmesdale is that father? Many townspeople have started to call him the devil, so maybe he possesses some super natural powers that have led him to Dimmesdale. In earlier parts of the book Pearl has acted as an informer to her mother about evil. With the power to sense evil she protects her mother from it. When Pearl sees Chillingworth she calls him the "black man"and says he has already gotten to the minister. Chillingworth is portrayed by using words such as "leech" or "black man" which sound dark and evil. I think it is foreshadowing how his revenge is going to be, perhaps like a leech, slowly sucking the life out of its victim.

Chapter 4

On page 70 Hester refuses to tell the scholar who the man is that she was unfaithful with and he replies by saying that he may not bear a letter of infamy on his garment but he can read it in his heart.

This is true in this day also. When people have a guilty conscious sometimes it is possible to read it just by the look on their face. When people have done something wrong and they know it they automatically act differently even if they don't realize it. When I was younger and would do something I shouldn't have my mom would always know because of the way I acted. I didn't have to tell her I did something wrong or as Hester does in the story wear a letter on her clothes, my mom just knew by the way i looked and acted as the doctor says he will know who the man is.

The scarlet letter on her chest not only shows what she did wrong but over takes Hester in a way. Once the letter was put on all of her clothes that became her identity. It didn't matter who she was before that, once she did that the letter identified her. Its the first thing people see when they look at her and its what they will label her as for as long as she wears it. In a community such as the one she lives in, such a label is disastrous on her character and she will forever be an outcast. Its unfair that the main doesnt have to wear this same label and be identified in this way forever. Even though the guilt he feels may show on his face or through his actions he will never have to suffer the same shame and embarrassment that Hester does because of her new identity.

In As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner a common reoccurring symbol was of Addie's coffin. Her coffin represents the cumbersome burden that was placed on the family when she died. Like the family members lives, the coffin is thrown off balance when she dies.

Foster would argue that I should interpret the symbol as something I know or what the coffin stands for to me. He would say that there is not one definite symbol that the coffin represents and that it varies among different people. To determine what a symbol means to us personally, people should use questions, experience, and preexisting knowledge to connect it to our own lives. Every persons perception is different because they all have encountered different experiences and all value different things.

My experience as a reader did not match his suggestions. I simply asked what the coffin represented and was told by my classmates and by google that it represented the burden placed on the Bundren family. I didn't look to see what the coffin meant to me or how I could relate it to myself and just accepted what others told me. But this was wrong, because as Foster pointed out, there isn't just one answer in particular that can apply to everyone, I had to search for the answer that applied to me.

Walden Blog

"Public opinion is a weak tyrant compared with our ow private opinion. What a man thinks of himself, that is which determines, or rather indicates, his fate."

Public opinion plays a much larger role in someones fate than Thoreau believes. Each day many people base what they wear, how they look, and what they say on how they want others to view them. They want the public opinion to be positive and may change their actions to fit into others expectations. It is in human nature to strive to please others and receive appraisal in return.

Many times what people think of themselves, is not genuinely their own opinion. It is shaped and molded by interactions with other people. Positive interactions generate a higher self esteem of ones self and negative interactions generate the opposite. How people view us effects how we view ourselves. Being constantly put down by others would cause someone to believe those put downs are true.

It would be nicer to believe that our own opinions have more influence on our fate than others do, but in my opinion this is untrue. To solely base our lives off our own opinions and never consider outside forces we would need to block out all outside forces by living in solitude. We have forever changing and developing opinions.

An example of this is an adolescent becoming a teenager. That's a time where teens can become their own person and create their own beliefs about themselves and the world around them. They experiment with style and music and believe they are truly their own person. Yet, the way they portray themselves is with the intentions of having others view them they way they want the audience to view them. No matter how much we think we are doing things solely for ourselves, societies impact is just too great to completely ignore and shut out.

Success, Wealth, and Happines

Success, wealth, and happiness are probably the three most common words used when people describe what they want in life. How can one measure happiness? It could be from being successful and wealthy, but chances are that's not what makes someone genuinely happy. Happiness is a short lived emotion that does not last forever, but instead, a temporary feeling that comes and goes.

Being successful and wealthy is no guarantee that someone is going to be happy for the rest of their lives. Reaching success and remaining successful is very time consuming and working long hours to receive that huge paycheck at the end of the month can get lonely and stressful. Not being around friends and family can impact happiness. According to a new psychology movement the happiest people surround themselves with family and friends. 

I think that the three are centered around priorities. Different people have different priorities and somethings are more important to them than others. If material items and being wealthy are all they're concerned about, then on their own personal scale of happiness they would be considered content with their life. Some people prioritize family and being with loved ones over wealth and success. If they had to work long hours to be wealthy they wouldn't be happy with that. 

Then there's that cliche quote that "money can't by happiness" and the thought that people who believe money can buy happiness are shallow. They're not shallow, they just may have other beliefs and priorities than others. Deep down we all know that money can at times make us feel happy, and success whether it's getting an A on a test or getting a job promotion can as well. But the happiness felt is not permanent. The way to achieve permanent happiness is by realizing what is important to you in life and putting that first.


Articles I thought were interesting:

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/2002-12-08-happy-main_x.htm

http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S15/15/09S18/index.xml?section=topstories