2. Dimmesdale’s guilt is destroying his health. Yet he says Chillingworth is more evil than either himself or Hester. Why does Dimmesdale believe this? Do you agree? Explain your opinion.
1. Choose one character and identify 2 examples of that character’s good deed or traits. Then identify 2 examples of that character’s bad deeds or traits. (Use the same character) Why do you think Hawthorne gives both good and bad qualities to his characters?
2. Dimmesdale’s guilt is destroying his health. Yet he says Chillingworth is more evil than either himself or Hester. Why does Dimmesdale believe this? Do you agree? Explain your opinion.
58 Comments
Connor Atwell
7/3/2018 01:28:59 pm
1. Arthur Dimmesdale has both good and bad traits. One good trait is that he is obviously very religious. He is regarded as one of the best Puritan ministers in his town and is very well liked. Another good trait that is shown when Chillingworth begins to first spend time with Dimmesdale is that Dimmesdale is very well educated. Dimmesdale has theories about faith and space that kept Chillingworth's mind active while as his physician. One bad trait of Dimmesdale is his obvious lust. Hester conceived Pearl out of adultery with the minister. Dimmesdale knew that Hester was married, but carried out the sinful deed anyways knowing the possible repercussions. Another bad trait of Dimmesdale is how deceiving he is. Everyone thinks he is a great minister and man of God, but he secretly is the father of Pearl, the man everyone is searching for. Pearl does not even know Dimmesdale's identity as her father. Hawthorne gives good traits and bad traits to his characters to give them depth. A character that is only good or only bad is not interesting. A character with both good and bad traits is more lifelike.
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Lindsey Diamond
7/6/2018 01:44:16 pm
You say that Chillingworth is more evil than Dimmesdale and Hester because they are trying to work it out. But did Dimmesdale really try to fix it? He made his own life miserable by avoiding the truth and self punishment. I do agree that Chillingworth is more evil but for not the same reasons. Because Dimmesdale basically ruined his own life with the help of Chillingworth. Dimmesdale only tried to fix it when the option of running away was presented by Hester.
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Clayton Stoddard
7/17/2018 06:26:10 pm
I agree Lindsey. Chillingworth is more evil not for the reason stated, but because of his religious like seeking of revenge 7/18/2018 07:16:27 am
I also agree that Chillingworth is more evil than Dimmesdale and Hester, but I like your point about how Dimmesdale is still trying to ruin his own life. He is definitely trying to do this with self-punishment, such as the psychological and physical torture he is putting himself through. He didn't really try to fix what he had done.
Mitchell Badurak
7/25/2018 05:28:01 pm
I agree with Connor, Dimmesdale is quite deceiving considering how religious he is and the fact that he knew Hester was married when he committed the act of lust.
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Lindsey Diamond
7/6/2018 01:55:31 pm
1. Hester Prynne has both good and bad traits. A good trait is she is kind. She help the people in need of care even when they show her no such kindness . She also is very protective. She takes it as her responsibility to protect the people she loves or loved . She does all she can to provide for Pearl, and she keeps the secrets of Dimmesdale and Chillingworth to protect their reputations. What one can see as a bad trait of Hester is her impatience. She loses patience for husbands arrival, and she commits adultry with Dimmesdale. She also married young to a man she never really loved. Making her decievable. Chillingworth made her believe she loved him when she did not.
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Ellie Gillam
7/24/2018 02:09:56 pm
I wouldn't necessarily say that Chilingworth manipulated her, maybe she just didn't know what love really was. She might have been though, because she really only became wise after the scarlet letter was thrust upon her.
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Avery King
7/7/2018 04:26:27 pm
1. Pearl is a very interesting character. One good trait is that she is wickedly intelligent for her age. The strange child seems to be able to read people's minds when she encounters them. She knows exactly what is going on, even when her mother tries to hide it from her. To be seven and as wise as Pearl is unheard of. Another one of Pearl's good traits is her inquisitive nature. She constantly asks questions and never stops until she has her answer. She questions everything and everyone and this is a wonderful trait for a young child. One of her bad traits, and it is fairly obvious, is her behavior. Pearl is exhaustingly stubborn and disobedient. She is blunt and extremely harsh. She even pelts other children with rocks. Another bad trait of Pearl's is her representation. While the child can definitely not help how she was created, she takes no means in letting her mother forget her sin. Pearl calls attention to Hester's scarlet letter daily and even creates a scarlet letter for herself! On one hand, Pearl is the only happiness found in Hester's life. On the other hand, Hester is reminded of her sinful nature every time she sees little Pearl. This bad trait could go both ways. Pearl has both good and bad qualities because she is a representation of not only adultery but also the love between Hester and Dimmesdale. She embodies a beautiful love that was ruined by ugly sin.
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Gabriela Patino
7/28/2018 08:28:35 am
I agree that Pearl is a very wise child, she pointed out things that no one had even told her yet but she had somehow figured it out for herself. She is also very strong because even though she didn't have any friends, she didn't let this bother her.
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Clayton Stoddard
7/17/2018 06:24:44 pm
1. Pearl was dynamic in that she very innocent and curious. She was interested in her mom's situation and asked many questions. On the con side she was also very transparent and did not hold anything back. She was tone deaf for sure.
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Malea Marchioni
7/18/2018 10:08:18 am
I agree with your opinion on Chillingworth. He only ever looks for revenge. His mind never looks for anything that could be beneficial or helpful to any other character. Chillingworth definitely focuses on doing the devil's work throughout the story.
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7/18/2018 10:33:56 am
Exactly, Chillingworth carries out everything to the farrest extent
Connor Atwell
7/31/2018 09:14:47 am
I agree that Dimmesdale seeks forgiveness, but you also have to consider that he would only reveal the truth about his adultery when it was pried out of him.
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7/18/2018 07:08:59 am
1. Hester Prynne has both good and bad characteristics. One good thing about her is that she is loyal and she won't break her word. For example, when she promised not to tell who her husband or lover was and she never did. Another of her good traits are her strength and ability to forgive. For example, even when the townspeople would mock and ridicule her, she still made things for them and stayed there. One bad characteristic is that she is naive. She married a man that she "loved", because he made her think that, and then cheated on him after she realized she didn't. I think that Hawthorne included both good and bad traits to show that everyone is human and everyone makes mistakes.
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Avery King
7/27/2018 07:04:00 am
I like your point on Hester being naive. It is obvious in multiple scenerios that she has almost a childlike, imaginative way of thinking. One example would be her meeting with Dimmesdale in the forest. For her to think that they can just run away together to a different world is very naive.
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Malea Marchioni
7/18/2018 10:06:29 am
1. The good and bad characteristics of Hester Prynne vary throughout the story as they do for every other character. She has strong loyalty and unwavering faith. Hester protected her husband and would not release his name to anyone no matter what they said. She remained faithful and did not act out against any of the actions taken towards her and her daughter. Hester's bad traits include that she was vulnerable when she was young by letting herself get fooled by Chillingworth. Another bad characteristic would be her ability to stand up for herself and Pearl. She does protect them, but she does not seem to have a very strong backbone to be able to stand up to the men.
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Meredith Collins
7/18/2018 02:31:10 pm
I disagree with your comment that Hester doesn't stand up for herself and Pearl. She might not express it very much, but I think that makes her stronger. She was able to own up to her sin and turn the other cheek whenever people were rude to her and Pearl. She also raised Pearl all by herself. I think that takes much more strength than standing up for herself, and it keeps Pearl and herself safer. If she were to stand up to them all the people would think she wasn't living out her penance. I think she didn't stand up for herself because she knew it would make it worse.
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7/18/2018 10:30:43 am
1. Hester Prynne has many good traits. She is kind to others who need help and is even willing to keep very important secrets. Hester Prynne also has some flaws. She is the one who is labeled with the scarlet letter, becuase she had an affair and concieved a child. She is also very impatient when it comes to simple matters.
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Ethan Parks
8/1/2018 11:53:02 am
I agree that Chillingworth is more evil because of his obsession with prying at Dimmesdale.
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James Frazier
7/18/2018 11:47:42 am
1) In my opinion, Hester is a very complicated character. She has good and bad traits. Her good traits include her lack of care for the opinions of others and her willingness to raise her daughter right and try to maker Pearl a better person than she, Hester, is. Despite everyone's hate for Hester, she continues to live her daily life and even continues her trade as a seamstress who makes articles of clothing for everyone in town and for every occasion, except for weddings. Her bad characteristics, however, are also very prevalent. For example, she gave in to her desires and committed adultery even though she was already married, and she is impatient. In my opinion, Hawthorne includes good and bad characteristics of characters to make them seem more believable and realistic.
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Tyler
7/31/2018 07:17:30 pm
I agree with your second point, Chillingworth never lets up on Dimmesdale and always presses him for more information. Making his life, as you said, a living hell.
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Alaina Olsen
7/31/2018 08:15:28 pm
I agree with your choice of character for this question. Hester is probably the most well developed character in the story. The traits you have listed are interesting but correct!
Meredith Collins
7/18/2018 02:20:55 pm
1) Pearl is a very peculiar little girl with both good and bad traits. For example, Pearl protects her mother when she can and does what she says for the most part. However, Pearl is repeatedly called an elf or a sprite because she is very strange and scares her mother occasionally. Her purpose is also for her mother to live out her penance, so she is constantly hurting her whether she means to or not.
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Meredith Collins
7/18/2018 02:24:29 pm
1) (continued) I think Hawthorne did this to show that everyone has bad sides and that you can't expect someone to act one way. Good people can do bad things and bad people can do good things, this doesn't mean that good people are bad or that bad people are good, it just shows that people can surprise you.
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Jacob Roberts
7/21/2018 07:06:15 pm
I agree and think that an example of this is Hester. Hester, while having the scarlet letter, is compassionate towards the poor and needy. After seeing her good deeds, the town sees Hester in a different light which is a surprise because seven years earlier, some wanted her dead.
Anne Simmons
7/24/2018 03:17:29 pm
I completely agree with meredith’s first answer and her continued statement. Pearl isn’t a good or bad person, she isn’t the normal child everyone expects her to be either, but everyone is different they shouldn’t expect her to be.
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Jacob Roberts
7/21/2018 07:03:35 pm
1. Hester is a complex character with both good and bad traits. Her good traits include working work and giving what she can to the poor. She is very compassionate. Her bad traits include adultery and she lets Chillingworth harm Dimmesdale for about seven years. Hawthorne's characters are given good and bad qualities to simulate a more realistic person. No one is fully bad or good.
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Ellie Gillam
7/23/2018 11:51:38 am
1. Pearl is both sweet and wild. Even though everything she attempts to do is to help her and her mother, it often comes across to other people as misbehavior. Pearl is head strong and rude. She is set in her ways and doesn't take much care to watch others and their feelings. She is, however; very attentive to her mother, and her head strong nature is not always a bad quality when it comes to protecting her and her mother. Hawthorne gives all the characters good and bad qualities in order to allow the reader there own opinions on morality and the frail line between right and wrong he presents throughout the book.
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Lauren Johnson
7/24/2018 06:17:10 pm
While I agree that Chillingworth is acting out of senseless rage, I don't believe there isn't a detour. Although he has reeped havoc upon Dimmesdale, he has the ability to mend the minister's mind and quite possibly their relationship. If he has enough knowledge to take apart Dimmesdale's inner feelings, he should have enought skill to put them back together again.
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Hallie Ladner
7/30/2018 03:00:49 pm
I agree with Ellie's response. Chillingworth is worse than Dimmesdale because Chillingworth is trying to make it worse and just has one thing in mind which is getting revenge unlike Dimmesdale who is seeking forgiveness.
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Anne Simmons
7/24/2018 03:14:38 pm
1.Arthur Dimmesdale is presented as a bilateral character, as are most within Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, having good and bad traits. One of his good traits is evident in his devotion to his Puritan obligation that he treats more like a homage in a novel that is a criticism of Puritan rigidity and intolerance. This shows Dimmesdale is a dedicated minister not through his pride but through his vitality and action. A second good trait Dimmesdale posses his his charismatic nature evident in his profession has a minister. His audience adores him and while he himself doesn’t know his soul’s status, he does good work in guiding others. One of Dimmesdale’s bad traits is his self-guilt that goes to the extreme when it starts to effect his health and mental state. In an attempt to seek salvation from his past lustful sins, which he feels he cannot disclose to the public, Dimmesdale fasts until he faints. He also begins to suffer physiologically from the torment he feels and whips himself on the shoulders until he bleeds. An additional bad trait he posses is his deceiving nature. In the face of society, he presents himself as a forthright Puritan minister with strong morales and self guidance but in reality Dimmesdale is a conflicted man having an obstruct past of sins. Hawthorne’s perspicacious implication of characters having both good and bad traits is to add a sense of realism and fathom to the audience.
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Teal Salloum
7/25/2018 01:50:59 pm
I agree with this. Dimmesdale's guilt was destroying his health. However, I feel like he says that "Chillingworth is more evil than either himself of Hester" only because he did not want to face the truth about himself.
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Lauren Johnson
7/24/2018 06:12:53 pm
1. Dimmesdale is a good character in the sense that he cares so deeply for others even if it's at the cost of his own mental health. Even though this behavior caused him not to come forward, it also allowed him to continue in his work as a vital and powerful minister to others. This behavior only seemed to directly benefit Hester and Pearl once. This was the instance of his decision to allow Hester to keep Pearl in her custody. Dimmesdale's lesser characteristics also stem from his habit of deep feeling. Because of his obsession with the better influence of his position, he wouldn't sacrifice his social standing to take responsibility for his actions and claim Hester and Pearl as his own. This habit also seems to get in the way of his own healing. Because he feels that he'll betray the image the townspeople have created of him, he continues to damage his spirit with quiet self-loathing and is unable to heal. Without an open confession and a surrender to fear and pride, the pain of the sin and continual hypocrisy chip away at not only his sanity but also the strength of his spirit. I believe Hawthorne gives both good and bad qualities to his characters to make them more human. He wants his audience to see the character's issues and relate them to either themselves or to issues in their environment. This strategy helps prove his various points of human behavior and morals.
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Jesse Kearns
7/25/2018 12:00:24 pm
I agree with your statements, specifically that Dimmesdale did not wish to give up his position. He had built a reputation with the people and would not forsake that reputation, not even for his daughter. His self-righteous sense of importance overwhelmed his duty.
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Carmen DeStazio
7/28/2018 02:40:52 pm
I agree with what you said, but I believe that Hawthorne didn't necessarily include the good and bad traits to be relatable. I feel he wrote it that way so that we could see that everyone has a side we don't know about, whether it be a bad side or good side.
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Jesse Kearns
7/25/2018 11:52:15 am
1) Hawthorne is a master of outstanding character creation, Hester Prynne is an excellent example of this. She is patient with her rebellious child and patient with herself. She does not rise to her harassers and accepts her lot in life. She also is protecting the reputation of two men who hurt her tremendously. They do not deserve that protection, but Hester gives it anyway. However, she is an adulteress and permits Chillingworth to harass Dimmesdale. These varied characteristics create a character that feels real and believable. A character that people can sympathize with.
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Lauren Dossett
7/27/2018 12:58:34 pm
I agree. Even though Hester and Dimmesdale sinned, that doesn't make them evil people. Chillingworth, on the other hand, is seeking revenge from a situation that has long been over with, and yet he is still trying to destroy Dimmesdale. This makes Chillingworth the more evil person.
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Teal Salloum
7/25/2018 02:04:41 pm
1) I think the character with the most interesting personality traits is Pearl. She can have a joyful childlike attitude, however sometimes she can get in a temper. Two good aspects of her are her loyalty to her mom and her curiousness. However, she did have some bad traits. She had a temper and this caused her to become angry easy. She was also disobedient at times.
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Gracie Davenport
7/25/2018 07:47:47 pm
I agree that it's possible that Dimmesdale tells himself that Chillingworth is much more evil to make him feel less guilty than he already does.
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Mitchell Badurak
7/25/2018 05:49:54 pm
1. Arthur Dimmesdale is a great character to discuss when thinking about a character with good and bad traits. He is a very religious and a kind man which is one of his best traits, yet he loved his women. He was obviously lustful when it came to women especially when it came to Hester. This would be one of his worst qualities in my opinion.
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Abigail O'Connell
7/26/2018 12:32:22 pm
I agree that Chillingworth is only filled with revenge. He does not possess any love or compassion. He only feels anger.
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Gracie Davenport
7/25/2018 07:46:00 pm
1. Hester Pyrnne has good and bad traits. Hester has an incredibly strong loyalty to others. For example, she never told the people in her society about her husbands secret identity, and she never exposed the father of Pearl. Another good trait is that she is very kind. Even though the people in her town treated her horribly, she still performed her needlework for the benefit of others and still treated others respectively. Her bad traits are the fact that she was weak enough to commit adultery against her husband, and she willingly allows Chillingworth to torment Dimmesdale for a while. I think Hawthorne makes the characters have good and bad traits because it makes a story more interesting and realistic.
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Abigail O'Connell
7/26/2018 12:28:18 pm
1. Although the town thought Hester was sinful, she also was full of loyalty and compassion. She was a good mother and took care of her child through all the rough times. She also honored both Chillingworth and Dimmesdale by keeping their identities a secret. Hester was not perfect. She committed adultery and she also knowingly allowed Chillingworth to harm Dimmesdale. I believe that Hawthorne includes characters with both good and bad traits to show how not everyone is who they seem. Everyone has a side to them that they would rather keep hidden from the public.
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Lauren Dossett
7/27/2018 01:30:56 pm
1. Hester Prynne is a complex character with both good and bad character traits. A bad trait, lust, was obvious in the story, but another bad trait was the loss of her tenderness and love. As the story went on the narrator states that because of the loneliness and shame, "the tenderness will either be crushed out of her, or crushed so deeply into her heart that it can never show itself more." She let the shame get to her as time went on. She also had good traits such as her obvious independence and her strong loyalty to those she was close to. I think Hawthorne gave her good and bad traits to make her a realistic character because everyone makes mistakes, but that doesn't mean they can't be a good person.
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Gabriela Patino
7/28/2018 08:25:21 am
1. Hester Prynne is very hardworking and loyal. She never reveals the secret of her husband or her lover, even if it could have made her life easier. She worked hard to create a living for her and Pearl, even when she was constantly judged and ridiculed by everyone in the town. Hester did have a few bad qualities too. She gave into the temptation of sin by committing adultery against her husband. She was too strict on herself and saw many things in life as her punishment, even after she repented so many times. She even imagines Pearl as having a devilish face sometimes. Hawthorne give the characters both good and bad qualities in the Scarlet Letter so the reader is able to see both sides and have different views on the characters instead of one stereotype.
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Carmen DeStazio
7/28/2018 02:36:39 pm
Hester shows both good and bad traits. She is very caring and loving about others. She does everything she can to protect Pearl, and she radiates love. She shares her kindness, even when people don’t return it. She is also very loyal. She is loyal to others for keeping their secrets. She also blames herself for a lot of things she didn’t cause, which is not good, but it shows she has a humble heart. Some bad traits are that she gave in to Chillingworth and everything that he wanted to do that was bad. She blamed herself for his ruin and allowed him to torment Dimmesdale and seek vengeance on him. She also is very gullible. She married a man that she didn’t even love, and realized that later, which led to the downfall of many things. I think Hawthorne chose to show both bad and good sides for all his characters to show that no person is just good or just bad. We are all imperfect and have different sides of who we are.
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Micah Webb
7/30/2018 08:24:57 pm
I agree that Hester is very loving, kind and loyal. The respect she shows towards others who have wronged her makes her strong, and the love she has for her daughter proves her caring nature. I like that you mentioned how humble she is and how sometimes she doesn't think things through that much, like marrying a man she did not love or committing adultery.
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Hallie Ladner
7/30/2018 02:57:13 pm
1. An example of a character with good and bad qualities is Pearl. She changed from a happy, cheerful girl to someone with poor behavior. Although she is honest and loyal to family she also has bad qualities like attitude towards the other children and sudden anger tantrums she would have. Pearl is represented as child with mood swings and represents how a child's attitude can change very suddenly if not getting there way and getting upset.
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Micah Webb
7/30/2018 08:19:32 pm
1. Arthur Dimmesdale is a great example of a character with both good and bad traits. He is kind and very respectful within the church. Dimmesdale isn't as strict or overbearing as other Puritans and is a little more lenient when it comes to sins. That leniency becomes a problem when his bad traits are expressed. He committed adultery and knew what he was doing. Dimmesdale also blames himself far too much for things that have happened as the outcome of the scandal. He puts himself through both physical and mental pain as punishment for what he did with Hester. He did not want to claim Pearl as his daughter at first, which put a lot of stress on Hester and made her suffer through the crime alone. Hawthorne gave his characters good and bad qualities because it reflects true human nature. A majority of people are not completely good or evil, and we can find a bit of both in us all.
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Alaina Olsen
7/31/2018 09:23:32 am
1. Hester is so dynamic in terms of what she makes you feel as you read the book. She brings out the reader's judgement, sympathy, encouragement, sorrow, and many, many others. Hester is good in that when asked for her paramour's name, she protects him. She knows his position in the church/government is important to him. She also becomes a charitable person in the years following Pearl's birth. She remains good during those years and does not resent her daughter the way some mother's might. Despite the abnormal personality traits Pearl presents, Hester is strong and does not let her suffering control her completely.
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Emily Miller
7/31/2018 10:48:18 am
I disagree that Dimmesdale did not think he would cause problems between Hester and Chillingworth. They were married and an affair would ruin any marriage, although I do agree that Chillingworth was more evil. Chillingworth had tried to ruin any time of social ranking Dimmesdale possessed and had threatened Hester if she told anyone who he really was.
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Emily Miller
7/31/2018 10:40:26 am
1. Dimmesdale has many good traits as well as bad. Dimmesdale defended Hester to the council and made them understand why Hester needs Pearl hence him being kind and compassionate. He also is very religious and reasonable, he can compel most of his listeners with his services and make them repent for their sins. Although Dimmesdale has many good traits, he also has many bad traits. For example, he is too trusting causing him to be in a compromising position with Chillingworth. Dimmesdale also is very self critical, he nearly drives himself mad from guilt of his sins.
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Beyla Bleichner
7/31/2018 07:38:13 pm
2. I disagree with Chillingworth threatening Hester. He had no blackmail on her. She is already shunned from society and if he threatened to tell who the father was then it would be of no consequence for her since she has been through the worst.
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Misty Wilson
7/31/2018 01:29:13 pm
1. Hester Prynne has many good traits. She is kind to others who need help and is even willing to keep secrets. She also has some flaws. She is the one who is labeled with the scarlet letter becuase she had an affair and which then came a child.
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Makenzie Stenum
7/31/2018 03:39:30 pm
1. Throughout the book, Pearl is very inquisitive and accepting of her mother's situation. So much so that Pearl was distraught when her mother removed the A from her dress. However, Pearl tended to be a precocious child and very intense compared to children of that time. The author gave characters good and bad qualities because the traits make them more realistic or human. Because of their complexity, it even makes the characters seem more interesting.
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Tyler
7/31/2018 07:15:27 pm
1) Pearl maintains her innocence as a child in spite of all the other kids constantly trying to whittle down her spirit. However, like all children who are told or hear important information, she tends to speak to much and lets the important information slip.
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Beyla Bleichner
7/31/2018 07:35:43 pm
1. Chillingworth has good traits such as his knowledge and his determination. He also had did bad deeds with these traits though. He used his extensive medicinal knowledge to keep Dimmesdale in somewhat good health, but he only did this to keep tormenting him. Chillingworth also used his determination to have revenge and not let up on poor Dimmesdale. The doctor went too far with his revenge. Hawthorne gives good traits and deed as well as bad traits and deeds to his characters to give readers a connection with them. In other words we can empathize or disagree with their actions and this makes them feel more realistic and human.
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Ethan Parks
8/1/2018 11:51:27 am
1) Hester has displays many good traits throughout the story. She is kind and thoughtful, and is always willing to help others in need. Hester also shows some bad traits. She lies to her husband and has an affair. She is not loyal to her husband and betrays him.
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