Moles' Classroom

Essays, Journals etc.. 

Journal One-- Throughout America's history, there have been laws that regulated citizen's personal behavior. Jut like in Puritan times, we now regualte seabelts, and any number of other personal choices a person might make in the name of safety. Should society be able to tell a person how they can behave and if so where do we draw the line?

Journal Two-- It is said that everyone lives a secret life to some degree. Dimmesdale does and so does Chillingsworth. Hawthorne suggests that there is a price to pay for this.  Does every one  live a secret life to some degree? Do you agree or disagree?

 Journal Three -- What effects does guilt have on a person's life? Everyone feels guilty about something at some time in his or her life. Describe a time when you felt guilty. How did guilt change your behavior? What if anything, did you do to rid yourself of the guilt?

 Journal Four --  If Hester Prynne is the protagonist of The Scarlet Letter, who is the antagonist? Arguments can be made not only for Roger Chillingsworth and Governor Bellingham, but also perhpas Arthur Dimmesdale and even Puritan society as a whole. Which of these characters (if any) do you beleive serves as the villian of the novel? Why? If you believe that there are no villians in the story, why do you feel that in this case?

Journal Five -- Hawthorne writes this novelle to exercise his demons concerning the acts of his family as orthodox Puritans. By the end of the story many beleive that the resolution for each characters is a depiction of Hawthorne exercising those demons as well as making a statement concerning those times. Do you agree or disagree? In either case make an argument for your opinion.