ELA Culm proj MP2

Transcript

00:01

Experiencing the ruthlessness and brutality of a community’s ideals versus one’s personal motives are demonstrated throughout the series of literature in the second marking period of this school year. Two examples of how strongly this topic is expressed is in "The Scarlet Letter”, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and “The Crucible” written by Arthur Miller, demonstrate the harsh and brutal pressure of a puritan community through their characters and tone.

00:13

Arthur is a minister in this Puritan society and constantly feels and fears the pressure of his community. He is seen as an idol and a mark of purity though his transgressions would be revealed later in the story. Hester is a woman who committed adultery and is punished by the townsfolk for this sin by adorning a scarlet “A” for the rest of her life.

00:18

Previously mentioned, in “The Scarlet Letter” Hester and Arthur’s relationship is foreshadowed and hinted about through their interactions, however what connects the two the most is their shared traumas of the public’s opinion on them. Arthur takes on the role of a wolf in sheep’s clothing, this theme of deception is strung about in both texts mentioned.

00:30

His true sins are hidden up until his death where he reveals that he was the man Hester had had Pearl with. Up until this, Arthur would harm himself and have frequent nightmares of what his followers would think of him, this is stated directly as such on page 120, in which Hawthorne writes, “In Mr.Dimmesdale’s secret closet, under lock and key, there was a bloody scourge. Oftentimes, this Protestant and Puritan divine had plied it on his own shoulders…” (Hawthorne 120).

00:52

While Arthur damaged himself because of the community, Hester was the one being looked down upon the most, she was an outcast to her society and only in her senior years did she ever get any of the respect of her townspeople back.

00:57

The community in which she called home dismissed her and casted her aside.

01:02

The effect the community had on both individuals even went as far as causing Arthur’s death, his only relief ever shown being when he was alone with Hester when they two were consoling in each other's company.

01:07

The notion of deception to the community, community backlash and panic is shown between both “The Scarlet Letter” and  “The Crucible”, however in “The Crucible” it is more blatantly shown to the reader or listener. In Act 1 Minister Samuel Paris’ child, Betty Paris, is ill with an unknown sickness after going out dancing with her cousin and her friends, her cousin lies to her father when Paris asks if they made any deals with the devils in the forest.

01:19

Rumors spread throughout the town of Betty being ill due to witchcraft, putting even more sour of a taste on worsening Minister Paris’ name worries.

01:25

Following the events of the context given, several groups of people all with relations to the minister arrive into the cramped room to judge or comment on Betty’s condition. The author uses this cramped feeling to provide stress to the situation and make the reader understand how forceful and pressuring the community is to Paris’ situation's blight.

01:38

The treatment of community-proclaimed witches, which Paris fears Betty will be victim of, is directly mentioned by the narrator in which the townsfolk could proclaim any woman a witch and they’d be immediately burned at the stake for something they may not have even done.

01:51

The topic of a brutal community versus the victimized individual is shown in novels written by Nathanial Hawthorne and Arthur Miller, “The Scarlet Letter” and “The Crucible”, via the character arcs of characters or through the word of mouth through the background storytelling.

01:51

Puritan values are known to be almost cult-like, the rules are harsh, constricting and leave little room for creativity, clothing styles, the arts, and literature itself were all limited by this time period’s ideology of God’s laws, The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible are both shining examples of what literature was like in the time period it was written in. the novels spoken of show this limitation and brutal time period’s effect on humanity.