What do you think of Pearl's reactions to Dimmesdale in Ch. 19 and Dimmesdale's actions in Ch. 20? What do you think will come of these actions?
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It frustrates me that Dimmesdale won't ever tell her who he is. First he wonders why she feels so weird around her, then the second she asks him who he is he won't tell her. I feel that Pearl has every right to resent him for that reason, and I think that will largely affect her feelings toward him when he does finally tell her. Dimmesdale obviously has a problem with running from the truth, which only gets him in trouble the longer he puts it off. The sooner he tells Pearl, the more likely she will grow to like him.
I think the actions of Pearl should be expected by Dimmesdale. I don't see how someone can expect someone else to like them if they wont be honest wtih them the whole time. He has made yet another bad situation for himself and backed himself into a corner. He needs to just tell her the truth about it all because I think shes getting old enough that shes going to figure it out on her own and then it will be even worse. If he doesn't tell her i dont see how anything good can happen.
Pearl, again, is behaving oddly. I understand that she perhaps doesn't like him for not admitting his sins like her mother, but she should show some respect to her apparent father. However, it is to be hoped that once the three of them are out of the country, Dimmesdale will openly act as a father and Pearl will accept him as such. Of Dimmesdale's actions in chapter 20, perhaps Hawthorne is hinting at a possible dark future for the character. Whatever is meant by his action, I do not think anything good will come of them. I still hold firmly to my belief that this story will not have a happy ending, especially for Dimmesdale.
In these two chapters, I observed two very different types of behavior. The first type was that of Pearl in chapter 19. This was a fairly expected reaction for two reasons. Mainly, young children often view change as a negative thing. They don't like things that are different from their daily schedule such as the scarlet letter or the minister being with Hester. Also, this reaction was expected because young children often find that another person will only take attention away from them. So in this chapter when Pearl sees the minister she does not see him as a friend but as a rival. The second type of behavior was that of minister Dimmesdale in Chapter 20. This was a very unexpected thing because he has just been, in away liberated from his sin so one would not expect to see this devilish behavior in a man that has just been forgiven. Furthermore, one would not expect the forgiveness to affect the minister this quickly. It is almost an immediate change in the way the minister feels. For instance, he stays up all night to write a speech. I do not believe that this would be possible in the minister's former condition. In conclusion, these past two chapters have given the reader insight into the emotions of the minister and the young child.
I don't blame Pearl for not immediatly warming up to Dimsdale, they've only really had two big encounters, and relationships take time to build, but there was no need for her to be so rude. Dimsdale was just trying to be nice and fatherly by kissing her head. Her running to the stream and washing it off, seemed like a pretty cruel act considering he was joining the family. Dimsdale's actions weren't to appropriate either. It seems as if he's finding new ways to make himself fell guilty. It also sems like he's ready for a new life totally opposite of his old one. He use to be a respected Reverend whom the adults adorned, but was filled with guilt, but now he's running away with Hester, making nuns cry, and teaching little kids bad words. I think his actions will eventually come back to haunt him and he'll be living with even more guilt than he was in the first place.
I COMPLETLY AGREE WITH COURTNEY!!! it is kinda crazy how dimmesdale won't tell her that he is her father, and in agreence with sam i don't understand how Dimmesdale can't forsee how Pearl reacts to him. Along with Andrew i see do am....confuzzled by the way that he is able to write that speech, when just a little before this he was having truble staying alive almost. This whole relationship bewteen the two will sooth over in a lil' bit if nothing else too drastic happens.
Like what Courtney H. said, (paraphrasing] you can't really love someone that you don't know and haven't gotten a chance to know. Dimmesdale just isn't allowing Pearl to get to know him by not telling her who he really IS. I also agree with Andrew because small children see other people as competition, not family (usually). To kind of answer Andrew's and Greg's question, maybe NOT taking Chillingworth's medicine is already making him feel better. Maybe it was Chillingworth ruining his health so that he will think he is dying and reveal the truth, then he would declare him cured and stop treating him, making him live in shame. Conspiracy! Actually, that was just a thought.
I posted my own blog with unedited quotes and more for the class quotes.
i agree with courtney. how can dimmesdale expect pearl to warm up to him when she still doesn't know the truth about who he is? also he still won't come forward to the rest of the village about who he is by walking through town with pearl and hester, so it was perfectly acceptable of pearl to run off from dimmesdale. by planning to leave for europe with pearl and hester, dimmesdale appears to be succumbing to other sins. he is tempted to say blasphemous statements to a church elder, and he almost teaches children curse words. i think he is going to come out with his sin soon before it eats him inside.
Pearls reaction to Dimmesdale is quite annoying I think. It really annoys me how she would not cross the brook until her mother put her hair up and put back on the scarlet letter. It almost seems as though Pearl can only be happy when her mother is sad. I do understand why Pearl's reaction is such though, because she fears being replaced by Dimmesdale. Hester has never been interested in anyone and it has always just been Hester and Pearl together with no one else. Dimmesdale should expect these responses from Pearl because of his lack of presence in both of their lives. I think Dimmesdale's actions are quite peculior. They may mean some terrible result for him and others or it just may be a sign of something. He may just feel free now to write and to be himself. As for wanting to do all the bad things, I'm not sure what exactly has come over him. I think he now feels free because of the thought of leaving with Hester, but unfortunatly has thoughts of being tempted to do sinful things too. I think before this he felt like he had to always attone for his sin with Hester, but now he thinks he is free from it all.
Anywho, I agree the two things Andrew said about Pearl. That's just what I was thinking as I was reading it. Remember how Hawthorne said the frist thing Pearl really ever learned was the scarlet letter? Change would bother a child anyway, but to take away the first thing the child ever learned really pushes that. And, yeah, like Andrew said: Pearl doesn't want someone else taking away her mother's attention from her. Dimmesdale on the other hand: that was totally unexpected! He's just forgiven, so he feels the urge to sin more? It was so unlike his original character, which always strove to do good. I think there is the chance that this is just something Hawthorne added in simply to express just how HUGE a change has come over Dimmesdale. Mistress Hibbins seemed to have snapped him out of it, so I don't think it will be happening again. I'm looking forward to concluding weather this is really his character now or not from his speech...
He kind of frusterates me. he should totally tell her whats goin on and who he is. i agree with courtney and almost everyone else it seems like. he should just get over it because she has to to know who her father is if he is around to be known. this kind of lowers my thoughts of Dimmesdale and hester because they need to tell her whats goin on. i dont blame pearl at all for not liking him. i was also surprissed at how he wrote a new sermon and seemed to better understand life. i truly wish this would help him to better understand pearls attitude and stuff. they just need to tell her the truth or it will seriously damage her in life.
Pearl has every right to act spiteful towards Dimmesdale. After all these years, his social status was more important that being a father figure, and telling Pearl the truth that he was actually her father. In a way, I feel that Pearl acts so rude to Dimmesdale, because when she comes back to them, her mother, Hester, has changed. She no longer wears the letter and lets her hair down. I think that Pearl did not like this change, and blames Dimmesdale for it. As for Dimmesdale, who knows. He is such a confusing character to me at this point in the novel. He went from being a well-known, all-around good guy, to a sick man fighting for his life, to being perfectly fine. His attitudes towards people have also changed. He is afraid that if he openly talks to anyone, he will break out and confess about his sin. Therefore, he often ignores people, and is trying to break away from the town.
I think that Pearl is behaving absoulutely normal. She is having troubles accepting the fact that Dimmesdale hasn't been there for her for some seven years. She doesn't like the changes that have been going on with the people in her life. When she sees how much her mother has changed in such a short time, she doesn't know how to handle it. Her head doesn't spin quite yet, but any more changes or catastrophic turns in this girl's life and it will. She's a normal demon girl and she can overreact if she wants to. Who's going to stop her? Dimmesdale's actions baffle me a little bit. He can't decide which extreme he is going to take. I'm starting to think he has some disease like being bipolar or something. He's all happy-go-lucky, then he is sick and dying, then he is forgiven and happy again. The devil makes an appearance in him every so often, and then he turns and goes all religious again. I don't really understand why he doesn't talk to people because he thinks he will spill his sin, because that would be the best thing for teh situation. I just hope Pearl gets done what she needs to get done soon, if you know what I mean! ;)
I agree that Dimmesdale should have expected this type of behavior from Pearl. Her tantrum about Hester removing the scarlet letter was a little odd, but perhaps, in some way, she wants it there to remind Dimmesdale of what Hester has gone through for both of their sins. I don't think Pearl will ever warm up to Dimmesdale unless he confesses to the townspeople. Also, it is true that Pearl has known the scarlet letter all her life, and it would be strange for it to just be taken off. She also seems connected to the scarlet letter. Hawthorne called her the 'living hieroglyphic.' Dimmesdale's actions in the next chapter were also a little odd. I agree with Shleby that it's possible he might subconsiously be trying to find new ways to make himself feel guilty, as he knows that Hester doesn't hold anything against him anymore but that the right thing to do is confess. He feels compelled to commit sinful acts, and I don't see how anything good could come of that.
I think Pearl is acting normal considering the situation. If a man that I barely knew kissed me on the head I would feel awkward. Dimmesdale really needs to tell Pearl that he is her father. The sooner he does, the sooner she will start warming up to him. I think bad things will happen if Dimmesdale keeps acting the way he is. He is sinning left and right. He used to be completley opposite. There will most likely be consequences for it.
15 comments:
It frustrates me that Dimmesdale won't ever tell her who he is. First he wonders why she feels so weird around her, then the second she asks him who he is he won't tell her. I feel that Pearl has every right to resent him for that reason, and I think that will largely affect her feelings toward him when he does finally tell her. Dimmesdale obviously has a problem with running from the truth, which only gets him in trouble the longer he puts it off. The sooner he tells Pearl, the more likely she will grow to like him.
I think the actions of Pearl should be expected by Dimmesdale. I don't see how someone can expect someone else to like them if they wont be honest wtih them the whole time. He has made yet another bad situation for himself and backed himself into a corner. He needs to just tell her the truth about it all because I think shes getting old enough that shes going to figure it out on her own and then it will be even worse. If he doesn't tell her i dont see how anything good can happen.
Pearl, again, is behaving oddly. I understand that she perhaps doesn't like him for not admitting his sins like her mother, but she should show some respect to her apparent father. However, it is to be hoped that once the three of them are out of the country, Dimmesdale will openly act as a father and Pearl will accept him as such. Of Dimmesdale's actions in chapter 20, perhaps Hawthorne is hinting at a possible dark future for the character. Whatever is meant by his action, I do not think anything good will come of them. I still hold firmly to my belief that this story will not have a happy ending, especially for Dimmesdale.
In these two chapters, I observed two very different types of behavior. The first type was that of Pearl in chapter 19. This was a fairly expected reaction for two reasons. Mainly, young children often view change as a negative thing. They don't like things that are different from their daily schedule such as the scarlet letter or the minister being with Hester. Also, this reaction was expected because young children often find that another person will only take attention away from them. So in this chapter when Pearl sees the minister she does not see him as a friend but as a rival. The second type of behavior was that of minister Dimmesdale in Chapter 20. This was a very unexpected thing because he has just been, in away liberated from his sin so one would not expect to see this devilish behavior in a man that has just been forgiven. Furthermore, one would not expect the forgiveness to affect the minister this quickly. It is almost an immediate change in the way the minister feels. For instance, he stays up all night to write a speech. I do not believe that this would be possible in the minister's former condition. In conclusion, these past two chapters have given the reader insight into the emotions of the minister and the young child.
I don't blame Pearl for not immediatly warming up to Dimsdale, they've only really had two big encounters, and relationships take time to build, but there was no need for her to be so rude. Dimsdale was just trying to be nice and fatherly by kissing her head. Her running to the stream and washing it off, seemed like a pretty cruel act considering he was joining the family. Dimsdale's actions weren't to appropriate either. It seems as if he's finding new ways to make himself fell guilty. It also sems like he's ready for a new life totally opposite of his old one. He use to be a respected Reverend whom the adults adorned, but was filled with guilt, but now he's running away with Hester, making nuns cry, and teaching little kids bad words. I think his actions will eventually come back to haunt him and he'll be living with even more guilt than he was in the first place.
I COMPLETLY AGREE WITH COURTNEY!!! it is kinda crazy how dimmesdale won't tell her that he is her father, and in agreence with sam i don't understand how Dimmesdale can't forsee how Pearl reacts to him. Along with Andrew i see do am....confuzzled by the way that he is able to write that speech, when just a little before this he was having truble staying alive almost. This whole relationship bewteen the two will sooth over in a lil' bit if nothing else too drastic happens.
Like what Courtney H. said, (paraphrasing] you can't really love someone that you don't know and haven't gotten a chance to know. Dimmesdale just isn't allowing Pearl to get to know him by not telling her who he really IS. I also agree with Andrew because small children see other people as competition, not family (usually). To kind of answer Andrew's and Greg's question, maybe NOT taking Chillingworth's medicine is already making him feel better. Maybe it was Chillingworth ruining his health so that he will think he is dying and reveal the truth, then he would declare him cured and stop treating him, making him live in shame. Conspiracy! Actually, that was just a thought.
I posted my own blog with unedited quotes and more for the class quotes.
i agree with courtney. how can dimmesdale expect pearl to warm up to him when she still doesn't know the truth about who he is? also he still won't come forward to the rest of the village about who he is by walking through town with pearl and hester, so it was perfectly acceptable of pearl to run off from dimmesdale. by planning to leave for europe with pearl and hester, dimmesdale appears to be succumbing to other sins. he is tempted to say blasphemous statements to a church elder, and he almost teaches children curse words. i think he is going to come out with his sin soon before it eats him inside.
Pearls reaction to Dimmesdale is quite annoying I think. It really annoys me how she would not cross the brook until her mother put her hair up and put back on the scarlet letter. It almost seems as though Pearl can only be happy when her mother is sad. I do understand why Pearl's reaction is such though, because she fears being replaced by Dimmesdale. Hester has never been interested in anyone and it has always just been Hester and Pearl together with no one else. Dimmesdale should expect these responses from Pearl because of his lack of presence in both of their lives.
I think Dimmesdale's actions are quite peculior. They may mean some terrible result for him and others or it just may be a sign of something. He may just feel free now to write and to be himself. As for wanting to do all the bad things, I'm not sure what exactly has come over him. I think he now feels free because of the thought of leaving with Hester, but unfortunatly has thoughts of being tempted to do sinful things too. I think before this he felt like he had to always attone for his sin with Hester, but now he thinks he is free from it all.
Nice conspiracy, Dan :P
Anywho, I agree the two things Andrew said about Pearl. That's just what I was thinking as I was reading it. Remember how Hawthorne said the frist thing Pearl really ever learned was the scarlet letter? Change would bother a child anyway, but to take away the first thing the child ever learned really pushes that. And, yeah, like Andrew said: Pearl doesn't want someone else taking away her mother's attention from her. Dimmesdale on the other hand: that was totally unexpected! He's just forgiven, so he feels the urge to sin more? It was so unlike his original character, which always strove to do good. I think there is the chance that this is just something Hawthorne added in simply to express just how HUGE a change has come over Dimmesdale. Mistress Hibbins seemed to have snapped him out of it, so I don't think it will be happening again. I'm looking forward to concluding weather this is really his character now or not from his speech...
He kind of frusterates me. he should totally tell her whats goin on and who he is. i agree with courtney and almost everyone else it seems like. he should just get over it because she has to to know who her father is if he is around to be known. this kind of lowers my thoughts of Dimmesdale and hester because they need to tell her whats goin on. i dont blame pearl at all for not liking him. i was also surprissed at how he wrote a new sermon and seemed to better understand life. i truly wish this would help him to better understand pearls attitude and stuff. they just need to tell her the truth or it will seriously damage her in life.
Pearl has every right to act spiteful towards Dimmesdale. After all these years, his social status was more important that being a father figure, and telling Pearl the truth that he was actually her father. In a way, I feel that Pearl acts so rude to Dimmesdale, because when she comes back to them, her mother, Hester, has changed. She no longer wears the letter and lets her hair down. I think that Pearl did not like this change, and blames Dimmesdale for it. As for Dimmesdale, who knows. He is such a confusing character to me at this point in the novel. He went from being a well-known, all-around good guy, to a sick man fighting for his life, to being perfectly fine. His attitudes towards people have also changed. He is afraid that if he openly talks to anyone, he will break out and confess about his sin. Therefore, he often ignores people, and is trying to break away from the town.
I think that Pearl is behaving absoulutely normal. She is having troubles accepting the fact that Dimmesdale hasn't been there for her for some seven years. She doesn't like the changes that have been going on with the people in her life. When she sees how much her mother has changed in such a short time, she doesn't know how to handle it. Her head doesn't spin quite yet, but any more changes or catastrophic turns in this girl's life and it will. She's a normal demon girl and she can overreact if she wants to. Who's going to stop her? Dimmesdale's actions baffle me a little bit. He can't decide which extreme he is going to take. I'm starting to think he has some disease like being bipolar or something. He's all happy-go-lucky, then he is sick and dying, then he is forgiven and happy again. The devil makes an appearance in him every so often, and then he turns and goes all religious again. I don't really understand why he doesn't talk to people because he thinks he will spill his sin, because that would be the best thing for teh situation. I just hope Pearl gets done what she needs to get done soon, if you know what I mean! ;)
I agree that Dimmesdale should have expected this type of behavior from Pearl. Her tantrum about Hester removing the scarlet letter was a little odd, but perhaps, in some way, she wants it there to remind Dimmesdale of what Hester has gone through for both of their sins. I don't think Pearl will ever warm up to Dimmesdale unless he confesses to the townspeople. Also, it is true that Pearl has known the scarlet letter all her life, and it would be strange for it to just be taken off. She also seems connected to the scarlet letter. Hawthorne called her the 'living hieroglyphic.'
Dimmesdale's actions in the next chapter were also a little odd. I agree with Shleby that it's possible he might subconsiously be trying to find new ways to make himself feel guilty, as he knows that Hester doesn't hold anything against him anymore but that the right thing to do is confess. He feels compelled to commit sinful acts, and I don't see how anything good could come of that.
I think Pearl is acting normal considering the situation. If a man that I barely knew kissed me on the head I would feel awkward. Dimmesdale really needs to tell Pearl that he is her father. The sooner he does, the sooner she will start warming up to him. I think bad things will happen if Dimmesdale keeps acting the way he is. He is sinning left and right. He used to be completley opposite. There will most likely be consequences for it.
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