Scarlet Letter: part 2

   Hawthorne introduces a very estranged character in the novel. Chillingworth is a man coming to the town to try to discover who Hester Prynne committed adultery with. He is first looked upon by the towns people in a positive way. People then learn he is a dark person and they start calling him a leech, or black man which is a connection to the Devil. This allows the reader to look at him as the antagonist of the story, creating a more romantic type feeling between Prynne and Dimmesdale.

Scarlet Letter: part 1

   What I found interesting in the beginning of the scarlet letter when the town was patronizing Hester Prynne. Although they were ridiculing her on the mistake she had made, they still identified this as less harsh than the punishment that they were supposed to give her. This is very much the Puritans way of life, they are technically showed mercy on Hester by not killing her.

The American Scholar

   Emerson talks about the value of books in The American Scholar. A part I found interesting was when he talked about students today not creating their own ideals, calling them bookworms. They attain everything they know from reading about some other scholar's studies. This is definitely a fact. That being said, not everyone is born to be great at creating their own ideals like Emerson. This is a skill some are born with while others much research subjects and develop an opinion on other scholars information. While I agree that books may cloud judgment on some subjects not everything is meant to have 7 billion viewpoints from different people in history. Sometimes there only needs to be a certain group of people that have ideas that exceed anybody else who tries.

Thoreau

  Thoreau stands out because of his stance on whether to put yourself before others or not. He shows his colors by making the argument that caring about oneself is beneficial to society, which in some ways can be true. For instance, if you do a good job and everyone else thinks the same way, more positive outcomes will occur. I've always been taught to put others before myself no matter what. This allows for a more verbal and helpful community, rather than a community fixated on what they have to do themselves.

Emerson: Nature

   I really admire Emerson as he describes his opinions on people's views of nature. He is very truthful and goes on to say, "few adult persons can see nature. Most persons do not see the sun. At least they have a very superficial seeing. The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and heart of the child." I am always able to respect those who speak what is truly on their mind, even if he is somewhat describing me, given that I am an adult man. a person should not take offense to this given the experiences and knowledge that Emerson has acquired. The writing speaks to readers beautifully and reminds us that there are people out there who see the world in a much different light.

James Fenimore Cooper

   I enjoyed Cooper's writing in The Pioneers because of the beautiful language he continually used. One passage I really enjoyed was "It was one of those picturesque and peculiar scenes, that belong to the Otsego, but which required the absence of the ice, and the softness of a summer's landscape, to be enjoyed in all its beauty." The picture he is able to create in my head was incredibly beautiful. He is able to continue the use of this language throughout the entire volume of the work, describing scenes of the places he and his daughter visit.

Washington Irving

   Irving's story Rip Van Winkle contained some very strange literature in my opinion. First of all, the exposition and introduction of the story is extremely long. For me it was a little too long and I had begun to lose interest as I awaited the actual plot. I was taught that stories had an introduction, then rising action which lead to the climax which was then followed by falling action and then the conclusion. Irving said the heck with that and just did his own thing in this story. It continued to stay, not boring, but dull to say the least. The main character seemed like a melodramatic, monotone type of guy which personally does not enrich me and bring me into the work. When his wife died it was as if he had no emotion as he described her death as a "drop of comfort". This even makes me a little bit angry not caring for the death of a loved one, or even possessing enough empathy to show the slightest amount of emotion. Maybe its just me who doesn't reflect positively on stories based on normality.

Literary Renaissance 1820-1865

   The time period of 1820-1865 was filled with fantastic authors and can also be known as a time in literature in which writers take a leap forward. This is very true because this time period includes the likes of Hawthorne, Poe, Emerson etc. These authors were able to bring more class to what literature was before them. We remember these writers and all of the good they had written but as we look back to the time period, females and African-Americans are discredited in their writing. In fact, it took until around 1970 for scholars to acknowledge what these writers with less fortune were able to do.
   This time period was able to build off what had come before it and created cornerstones for writers even today.