Reflection

Part 1- Topics:

• Nature Walk
• The Scarlet Letter: Pearl was Hester's joy and torture

During each piece, I learned some more correct writing techniques. Grammar was a really important part of each piece so I really tried to fix any corrections that I saw. Also, most of these pieces were opinioned based. Mrs. Turner really helped us to be able to dig deep and put our thoughts into these pieces. She also really taught us not to hold back and be scared of what people might think of our own opinions. Three things I've learned from this class that have really helped me are: Better revising techniques, better brainstorm techniques, and I also learned how to really let out my opinions.

Part 2- When Mrs. Turner commented on my pieces, it gave me new ideas to put it my paper. She asked me questions about my paper that really made me think so I ended put putting the answer in my paper. Like in my Scarlet Letter paper, Mrs. Turner asked me "Why would Hawthorne make Pearl such a significant character?", and I thought about that and ended up writing about that in the piece.http://http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=dddcx25t_1f4wh9m&hl=en When I revised nature walk paper, I put brush strokes in it and added a few more things that we had learned in class. I liked writing that paper because it was interesting when I re-read it, it had imagery and it painted a really vivid picture in my mind. http://http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=dddcx25t_3fd9kkc&hl=en I had a lot of repeptition in my nature walk paper that I had to revise. I also had to clarify awkward sentence structures that I didn't realize I had until I went back and re-read the piece. My tone was also off on a few parts of the paper. It really didn't sound the way I wanted it to so I revised my tone. http://http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=dddcx25t_3fd9kkc&hl=en

Part 3- One important thing about writing that I want to remember is how to use imagery and paint a picture in the reader's head and explain your thoughts on a topic. Rachel Whitmire did that very well when she used a quote in her introduction to describe her thoughts on the character. It was also a great way to open up her piece. http://http://rachelwhitmire.blogspot.com/ I also want to remember all of the brush strokes we learned. Luke Mosteller used very interesting brush strokes in his nature walk paper. http://http://lukesenglishblogisawesome.blogspot.com/ The last thing I would like to remember is how to recognize the themes of a piece. Though they can be opinionated, most themes still share similar qualities. Erika Verbeck is very good at pointing out the themes of Transcendentalism in her nature walk piece. http://http://erikaverbeck.blogspot.com/

The Scarlet Letter

What would you do if every time you looked into the eyes of a loved one, all you could see was a demon? But then when you took a second glance, all you could see was joy? In a way, Pearl is both the half the makes Hester Prynne whole and the evil that brings out Hester’s worst thoughts. Hester saw Pearl as the light in her life and the only person she had left, but also the human form of the beautiful, yet hideous, mark on her chest. Hester sees punishment and happiness when she looks at little Pearl’s face.
Just like any new mother, Hester Prynne is filled with love when she thinks about her newborn baby. From the day Pearl was born, she has always been bubbly and filled with happiness. Also, because Dimmesdale can’t admit to being the father, it seems as though Hester has no one by her side, except for her loving daughter. After everything God has taken away from Hester, she feels as though Pearl is the only thing she will ever have. When Hester says, “Pearl keeps me here in life,” it shows how much she needs Pearl. Another thing that is joyful about Pearl is that she doesn’t know what the letter “A” on Hester’s chest is. Therefore, she is the only person in the town that doesn’t judge Hester. When Hester is threatened to lose Pearl, she fights for her daughter because Pearl is the only hope left in Hester’s poor life.
Just like Pearl represents joy, she also represents torture. Hester says, “Pearl punishes me too! See ye not, she is the scarlet letter, only capable of being loved, and so endowed with a millionfold the power of retribution for my sin?”. This statement means that Pearl is the scarlet letter in human form and is seen as the daily reminder of the mistake that Hester made. One of the first objects that catches Pearl’s eye when she is a baby is the beautiful letter on her mother’s bosom. When Pearl asks her mother about the letter, it is torture for Hester not to be able to tell her. It is also punishment for Hester when Pearl gets upset when her mother throws her letter on the ground in the forest. Pearl doesn’t understand that by her mother doing that, it represents her freedom so she makes her mother put the letter back on. To all of the townspeople and even to Hester, Pearl is seen as a witch and a demon. Mr. Dimmesdale proclaims this when he says, “The little baggage hath witchcraft in her, I profess. She needs no old woman’s broomstick to fly withal!”. It also breaks Hester’s heart when Pearl screams at other children in the town because they are judging her mother. Pearl is symbolic for pain and suffering, as well as joy and happiness for Hester. Pearl brings a sense of pleasure and normality to the hectic world of Hester Prynne. While she brings happiness, she also escorts pain with it. She brings misery behind a façade of cuteness. In my opinion, Hawthorne has several reasons for creating a character such as Pearl. She is a significant part of the novel because she proves that there is good that can come out of any bad situation. Pearl is basically the central point of Hester’s embarrassment and internal hell.

Nature Walk

Anyone is capable of seeing nature through the same perspective as Emerson and Thoreau, you just have to allow your mind to do so. During Emerson and Thoreau's time, I'm sure that it was much easier to enjoy nature. That was before everyone got so caught up in the techonological advances that are provided for us today. In today's time, noone ever slows down to take the time to relax and consume all of nature's beauty. "Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience." This is a famous quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson that truly describes my view on experiences with nature. That is why I enjoyed getting out of the classroom and venturing into the woods. It allowed me to just let go of all of the stress that had been placed on me throughout the day. There were many beautiful aspects that I took note of throughout the astonishing foilage. To me, our experience in the woods was quite close to that of Emerson and Thoreau. When Henry David Thoreau says, "An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day," he is truly explaining how amazing and beautiful nature can be.
Recently, I had an experience that could easily be compared to a transcendental experience. A couple of my friends and I went on an exciting trip to Turtle Back Rock, also known as, Sliding Rock. I had never been so on our way to North Carolina, everyone was constantly exclaiming of how amazing the rock was. When we arrived, we had to walk about three miles down a jagged path. Once we finally got to the bottom, I was speechless as to what was in front of my eyes. I couldn't even pay attention because the sound of the crashing waterfall was all that filled my ears. I didn't understand how something this astounding could be created by nature and not by man. It seemed surreal and I was almost afraid to go near it or get on it. Everyone, already way ahead of me, began to yell for me to join them on the monstrous boulder. After admiring the beauty, I finally joined my friends and spent the rest of the day gliding down the amazing rock.
While I was at Turtle Back Rock, I never thought about the Emersonian experience that I was going through. It wasn't until we started studying Transcendentalism that I realized how the visit to the rock could be compared to many of Emerson and Thoreau's pieces. I believe that it is possible to transform into a transparent eyeball and take in the many wonderful aspects of nature.