WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MY ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS?
WHAT SHOULD I ADD OR TAKE OUT?
(I AM A SOPHOMORE.)
1. What does Rev. Dimmesdale’s congregation think of him? Why is that ironic?
“The people [of Mr. Dimmesdale’s congregation] ... deemed the young clergyman a miracle of holiness. They fancied him the mouth-piece of Heaven’s messages of wisdom, and rebuke, and love. In their eyes, the very ground on which he trod was sanctified.”
This is ironic because Reverend Dimmesdale has been deceiving them. He has committed an unforgivable sin that breaks law, and more importantly, the Seventh Commandment. Dimmesdale is a well-respected minister and is supposed to be the “mouth-piece of Heaven’s message,” but he does not even live his life in accordance to God’s rules.
2007-11-04
05:41:54
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2 answers
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Education & Reference
➔ Homework Help
2. Where did Mr. Dimmesdale go at midnight? Why?
Mr. Dimmesdale went to the scaffold at midnight because his guilt had been causing him to hold nighttime vigils. That particular night he decided to go to the scaffold for penitence and to experience what Hester Prynne had already experienced. He was torturing himself because he could not bring himself to confess and be shamed in front of the community as Hester had. Dimmesdale temporarily compromised by imagining what it would be like at a time when he mistakenly thought he would not be discovered by anyone.
3. What did Pearl ask Mr. Dimmesdale?
Pearl asked Mr. Dimmesdale “Wilt thou stand here with mother and me, to-morrow noontide? When Mr. Dimmesdale refuses, Pearl asks him to specify a time. Mr. Dimmesdale assures Pearl that he will do it, “At the great judgment day!”
2007-11-04
05:42:27 ·
update #1
4. What “sign” did the meteor make in the sky?
To Reverend Dimmesdale, the meteor made an “A” in the sky to represent what he should be wearing on his chest because he feels guilty about not owning up to his immoral behavior. To most of the community, the meteor made an “A” in the sky for the word “Angel” because that is what they believed that an angel was what Governor Winthrop had become that night.
5. Where had Mr. Wilson, Hester, Pearl, and Roger Chillingworth been that night, that they would all be walking by the scaffolding at midnight?
Mr. Wilson, Hester, Pearl, and Roger Chillingworth had all been at Governor Winthrop’s deathbed that night. Mr. Wilson had gone to pray for the governor. Hester Prynne had gone to take Governor Winthrop’s measurements so that she could make him a burial robe. Young Pearl had accompanied her mother, Hester. Roger Chillingworth, the town physician, was there to ease the pain and suffering of death for the governor.
2007-11-04
05:42:46 ·
update #2
6. What was the other view of Hester?
Hester Prynne went from being viewed as the lowest of the low to being looked upon favorably by most of the people in her community. People who knew her would say to strangers, “Do you see that woman with the embroidered badge? It is our Hester,––the town’s own Hester,––who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted.” Hester was not shunned by society anymore; in fact, she was welcomed. The scarlet letter she wore no longer stood for “Adulteress” in the eyes of her fellow Puritans. It had come to mean “Able” because “so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength."
2007-11-04
05:43:09 ·
update #3