Charming Billy Blog 1

Charming Billy, by Alice McDermott: Techniques to Engage Readers

          Specific passages in the novel aim specifically to engage its audience. It is crucial that the author does this early on or the reader will become uninterested. One particular excerpt, as early as page 4 of the novel, illustrates that McDermott mastered the timing aspect. She writes,

                    Billy had died an alcoholic. Last night, in his casket, his face was bloated to twice its size and his skin was dark brown. (Dennis himself, my father, when he had identified the body two days ago at the VA, had said at first, momentarily relieved from the fact that Billy was dead, "But this is a colored man.") Billy had drunk himself to death. He had, at some point, ripped apart, plowed through, as alcoholics tend to do, the great, deep, tightly woven fabric of affection that was some part of the emotional life, the life of love, of everyone in the room. Everyone loved him.

          Several points within this excerpt capture the reader's interest and encourage the reader to continue the story. The first thing that pulls the audience into the pages is the immediate presentation of conflict. Billy's death is immediately identified as the focal point of the story, intriguing the audience and causing them to anticipate details of the happening. 

          The gruesome imagery describing the condition Billy was in upon discovery horrifies the audience to an extent that makes them eager to continue. That's the peculiar thing about humans that McDermott seemed to understand- the more awful something is, the more interesting it is to others. It sounds awful, but no one would read a happy story if it wasn't mixed with some grief and suffering. The detail put into Billy's dead body shocks readers while engaging them in the story.

          Repetition of an idea in the passage adds emphasis to it. It is first stated that "Billy died an alcoholic." Later, the sentence is paraphrased as, "Billy had drunk himself to death." It makes it more real, as if the narrator is repeating it because he or she still can't believe it happened. 

          The final piece that reveals the author's intentional techniques was the boost to Billy's credibility. It is mentioned that "everyone loved him" causing the reader to sympathize with him because he was evidently a wonderful man. The evocation of feeling for Billy makes the plot more attention-grabbing for the reader. Nothing is worse than not caring about a character. The readers are expertly engaged through introduction of conflict, figurative language, and character development. 

The Scarlet Letter Blog 2

The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne: Motivations of Hester Prynne and Outcomes

          Hester Prynne, the accused adulteress in the novel, was shunned by citizens of Boston upon conviction of the felony. Initially, the suffering she endured from social isolation was unbearable and following her release from prison, she fled to a barren forest to agonize alone. However, she eventually finds motivation in her daughter and becomes strong enough to face criticisms and to further help her opposers. It was told in chapter 13 that townspeople often remarked, "'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!'" (Hawthorne 111). The townspeople actually begin to recognize her as their own and talk about her with beaming pride. Hester is still the woman who experienced the "sad transformation" (112) that robbed her of the "light and graceful foliage of her character" (112), but she chooses to make something more of herself by helping others through charity.

          Of course, this sudden change of heart did not occur on a mere whim that she came to on her own. Her main inspiration, her motivation to persevere, is her daughter. Sweet young Pearl, conceived in an illegal circumstance, is nothing less than her name suggests: a precious gem that brings joy to all her beholders. She is described by the author as being "a lovely and immortal flower" (61), which seems to reference the rose outside the prison that was mentioned earlier on. Her mother is the prison, the wrongful sinner, and Pearl is the small and beautiful rose that is graceful even considering its proximity to the prison.

          Hester, in her time of ultimate shame and humiliation, has only her daughter to be proud of. Throughout the novel, Pearl's youth and ignorance allows her to be the only one who does not judge Hester for her actions. She is the only one who is loyal enough to Hester to stick by her through great struggle. Because of this, Hester learns to stay strong so that her daughter's love, innocence, and beauty never falter. Had Hester been truly alone, she would have no reason to pick herself up from the dust and no one to support her along the way. She recognizes that Pearl is her responsibility and that she is obligated to take care of her. In chapter 7, Hester goes to Governor Bellingham's mansion to ensure that her daughter is not taken from her. She begs that the governor allow her to keep Pearl, and cries, "'She is my happiness! [...] Pearl keep me here in life!'" (77). Pearl's existence also motivates Hester to raise her in such a way that would prevent her from making the same decisions she made. She reasons, "'I can teach my little Pearl what I have learned from this!'" (76)
          Without Pearl, Hester would rather die (77), making her the only thing that motivates her in her life. As a result, Hester lives through the shame and the guilt and raises a lovely girl who is bound to avoid the mistakes her mother made. At the end, Hester was even set on creating a life for her family by moving to Europe. Though the death of Dimmesdale stopped this dream, the events of Hester's life showed the audience that persistence and owning up to your own wrongdoings can be rewarding. Though it's rough at first, it gets better and you learn to make the most of it, with a possible benefit to others.

The Scarlet Letter Blog 1

The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne: Summary Analysis

          The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and published in 1850, is considered one of the greatest American novels. It contains themes that reflect the lives of many Americans, such as sin, guilt, and redemption. The novel itself is about a woman, Hester Prynne, who commits the crime of adultery and gives birth to a baby girl while in prison. The story is set in New England; specifically, in Boston, Massachusetts. The prison, where baby Pearl was born, is described as "overgrown with burdock, pig-weed, apple-peru, and such unsightly vegetation, which evidently found something congenial in the soil that had so early borne the black flower of civilized society [...]" (Hawthorne 33). It is dreadful and  grotesque, which adds to the impact of the overall story because it evokes sympathy for Hester and her daughter. The jail is contrasted by the town outside it, which had "a wild rose-bush, covered, in this month of June, with its delicate gems, which might be imagined to offer their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner as he went in [...]" (33). The image of this is refined and attractive, further enforcing the idea of a cruel life inside the prison.

          The time period is not directly mentioned, but can be deduced through clues in the text. The discussion about "Puritan character" (34) illustrates how the Boston colony was ruled by Puritans in the 1600s. And the various remarks about "witch[es]" (34) confirms that the novel takes place in the 17th century. 

          However, the setting of a story includes more than just time and place. It also incorporates social conditions and customs of a given location and time period. Much is revealed throughout the first half of the story about the ideas of the Bostonian locals. The belief of the death sentence is strong, as made evident by a random citizen who exclaims, "'This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die. Is there not law for it? Truly there is, both in the Scripture and the statute-book'" (36). The way people think is also portrayed excessively. Hester Prynne was probably a functional member of society with many people who cared about her. Yet as soon as the scarlet letter was placed onto her gown, she was an object of "ridicule" (39). People were so quick to judge her, even the schoolboys who knew nothing about what was happening to her. Such a simple object had the ability to turn an average woman's life around by "taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and inclosing her in a sphere by herself" (37). She was literally abandoned by fellow citizens of Boston without being given a chance to explain. This shows the character of the people during this time, because they were so brainwashed into thinking that those accused of a wrongdoing were sinful and not worthy of their compassion or tolerance. They also believe in the Devil, and refer to him as "The Black Man."

          Further, when Hester's husband, Roger Chillingworth, disguised as a man foreign to the area visits and questions "'wherefore is [this woman] here set up to public shame?'" a townsman replies, "'You must needs be a stranger to this region[...]" (42), informing the audience that the town's mockery is a common occurrence. 

          Everything points to the idea that laws were strictly enforced during this time period. There was also a fervent belief in a standard family, one with a husband and a wife and their kids. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it allows for severe punishment when something goes awry. Towards the middle of the novel, this is clear when the author states, "In giving her existence, a great law had been broken; and the result was a being, whose elements were perhaps beautiful and brilliant, but all in disorder [...] (62). People care more about the fact that the child was born under dishonorable circumstances rather than the fact that the child is beautiful and bright. 

          The setting contributes immensely to the understanding of the book because it provides a reason for why Hester Prynne was being treated in such a way. The values and ideas of society at that particular time prohibited any man or woman from violating any societal policy. Without the context that the setting indicates, the events occurring in The Scarlet Letter would make less sense to the audience. Today, we also have a strict system of law and the ideas presented in the story are not exactly foreign to us, but it clarifies the fact that similar ideas were present even in the 1600s.