Prynne and Offred - Nick Brandt

   While in the course of our minute existences, we incur a toll on the psyche. Whether self-imposed, cast upon us by a rigid society, or by another being: the result is a taxed system. This poison unfettered can wreak havoc on a weak willed person, yet this is not the case of Hester Prynne, Puritan seamstress, garnished with a red ignominious badge of shame in The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Yet the same oppressive color has seemed to hammer A Handmaid's Tale (by Margaret Atwood) alleged heroine, Offred, into complacency. The two characters share a certain likeness, yet their internal substance stratifies them all the same.

   To begin with a simple commonality expressed throughout both works, these women are not innocent. Both, in a Judeo Christian frame of reference, are sinners just as all of mankind is. Hester fell victim to lust, just as Offred stagnated in the life of a harlot. The circumstances could be argued, but semantics aside they objectively sinned in the aforementioned context. Also, the Judeo Christian perspective should be deemed most fitting considering both Gilead and Puritan society are Christian theologies. 

   Speaking on these societies, as with all schematics, the commissioner, builders, foreman, and all those involved in the realization of said blueprint can misalign the frame and render the project corrupted. This is the case with both theologies, albeit in some stride of difference. Gilead is littered with rank hypocrisy, inequity of race and gender, and morose bending of the word of God. The rich are indulgent, exploitative, and adulterers, among other things. The case of Puritan Boston is similar in that it's air is saturated with hypocrisy. The community harbors no tenderness of heart, and casts judgement as the Lord is supposed to. Hester finds herself paying back heavenly and earthly tithes because of a single sin committed. This is where we can distance the narratives of Hester and Offred however, because Offred committed no virtual offense, she was simply a woman.

   Offred was largely a victim of circumstance. She was a slave, forced to have sex with the Commander and prodded into trying to get pregnant with Nick. Hester was never forced into anything. She could have chosen to abandon the place of her sin in lieu of wearing the brazen scarlet on her chest and donning the penance in her soul. Yet she chose to stay, and she chose to forge her own destiny in this seemingly simple action. She was kind and charitable and worked her way back into the hearts of a cold, frigid people. She found God smiling down upon her and her posterity. Likewise, when offered a chance to leave opprobrious conditions in Gilead, Offred declined. Yet she did this out of sheer complacency and a lack of will. She was content to live in her present shackles as long as Nick could offer her companionship.

  While Hester doesn't accept her societal fate, she hearkens the belief that her sin has besmirched her and tainted her soul. To clarify, Hester might seem that she is accepting her peer's judgment of fate, but she is in essence doing good because she wants to, nobody else could force her to. Silently and in reservation, Offred disapproves the conditions she and her people are subject to. However, she refuses to externally act on her beliefs, unlike Hester's aforementioned abundant acts of good that encapsulate her good intents to right a wrong. This inclination in her moral fiber might be a product of her raising, however, old works of fiction don't require excessive discourse on such details.

   Offred is subject to Aunt re education as Hester might seemingly be indoctrinated with Puritan principles. Though Hester was brought up surrounded by feminists who gave her blended perspective on her reality, Hester was raised in a traditional religious English camp of thought. Therefore all thought not genetically given would be molded to certain virtue, thought process, etc.

   The will to blaze one's own path is not present in all people, fictional or otherwise. Hester Prynne never once lets anything other than her own action dictate her future, while we see the narrative of a victim present in Offred's storyline. Both characters posses many faults and are certainly not bereft of good qualities. They both portray a lesson in all of their exploits.

Week 8 Explanation

For this week’s blog I’d like you to make comments on the posts of anyone who has participated. Find three different posts to comment on, preferably by different people. You can choose the posts based on whatever draws you to them. When you write your comments, focus on the ideas the blogger presents in his or her post. Agree or disagree with what they present and add your own two cents' worth. You may also comment on the strengths of the blogger’s writing style; at this point, please give only positive comments. To comment on a post, go to the bottom of your chosen post and click on the “comments” button.

You are required to make 3 comments -- one each on 3 different posts -- and each comment should be about 250 words long. Remember which posts you commented on for you will be asked to include your comments when you turn in a printed copy of your posts at the beginning of the school year. You should use first-person POV. There will be no example for this week as you have plenty of leeway to respond positively as you see fit.

With this assignment, the summer blogging is complete! By the end of this week, you should have completed 6 out of 8 blog topics. Remember, this summer blog alone comprises 20% of your first nine week’s grade. If you need extra credit for missing a blog, you may comment on 3 more posts. If extenuating circumstances caused you to forgo the blogging experience, there will be an alternate and less convenient assignment.

When you write for this assignment (and most of the others) keep the following general guidelines and possibilities in mind: 1). DO NOT SUMMARIZE. I don’t care if I haven’t read your book; I’m not asking for the plot. 2). Pay attention to your content, ideas, organization, using quotes, and citation as you structure your post. 3). Deal with other issues that are interesting, novel, and intellectual yet still relate to the general topic of the post.

Try to have a good time. Remember internet safety protocols: don’t use your entire name or give away identifying information. You should probably change your display name if you’re using your real name. Be tactful and don’t disparage anyone. You are graded on the quality of thought and expression in your post, its length (between 700 - 1000 words), and on using quoted material properly (if you use any). I suggest writing the post in a word processing program and then pasting it into the post window. Contact me if you have any questions and I’ll answer ASAP. There is no example for this week’s blog. Enjoy the vestiges of summer. See you soon!

Hester Prynne and Sula Peace - Martin

Characters are important parts of most novels. Their decisions and interactions are an essential part of the plot. A character can make or break a book, especially if the entire storyline revolves around them. Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and Sula Peace in Toni Morrison’s Sula are essential character’s to their novel’s plot. They are both important women who have their similarities and differences.

Hester Prynne and Sula Peace are similar women. They are both fiercely independent and do not conform to the society in which they live’s social norms. Hester refuses to acknowledge her child’s father. She insists on raising Pearl herself and is adamant about keeping the father’s identity a secret. Sula refuses to marry and have children because she wants to remain independent. While in an argument with Eva, Sula says, "I don't want to make somebody else. I want to make myself" (1937,21). This shows that Sula wants to be her own person and plans to stay that way. They both defy social norms. Hester refuses to let the scarlet letter define her and Sula refuses to settle for a life of just marriage and children. Sula and Hester also have defining physical attributes. Sula’s birthmark on her face is seen as many different things by different people, and what they see it as reflects on them. Hester’s scarlet letter defines her to many people, but Hester does not let it define her. Both women also have sexual affairs, but Sula’s is not as defining because she is not married and Hester was. Both characters are very honest. Hester never lies, and even says "A lie is never good, even though death threaten on the other side!" Sula is very honest in who she is. She does not try to change herself or censor her actions in order to fit in to the community. Both women are also hated by their peers for not conforming to societal norms they are subjected to.

Hester and Sula have similarities, but they also have many differences. They live in very different societies and time periods. Hester lives in Puritan New England in the 1600’s and Sula lives in the black community called The Bottom in the 1900’s. As a reader, one does not know much about Hester Prynne’s past before the book takes place but much of Sula Peace’s life is accounted for. Hester’s affair is the main focus of her life because it leaves her with Pearl while the affair that Sula takes part in does not define her life. While both women are independent, they are independent in their own ways. Sula refuses to get married and have children, while Hester was married and has a child. Sula has friends and family while Hester mainly keeps to herself and has no close friends or family other than her daughter Pearl. Hester’s life choices go against what Sula wants for herself. While both women experience sexism, Sula is also subjected to racism because she is black.

I can somewhat relate to Hester and Sula because I am also a woman so I experience sexism although it may not be as extreme. I also wish to remain very independent for the rest of my life. I cannot relate to many of their hardships as I have not experienced them.

Hester Prynne and Sula Peace play important roles in their stories. They are both portrayed and written well. They experience real problems that readers can relate to, making them seem more realistic. They are both important characters.