The Scarlet Letter- Part 2

Overall I liked reading this book.  I was happy that there were no cliffhangers.  Sadly, I was not that surprised to find out the Dimmesdale was Hester’s partner in “crime”.  Anyway, I was quite upset that it took Dimmesdale almost eight years to publically confess the “crime” that he had committed.  I feel that if he would have confessed earlier he might have had a better life because then he would not have had to live with the guilt. 

                I do not understand why Dimmesdale would choose to go and stand on the platform in the wee hours of the morning.  All the standing resulted in a very confused Dimmesdale, and then he confused Pearl.  Pearl kept asking him if all three of them would stand on the platform at noon.  Dimmesdale would respond, “Then, and there, before the judgment-seat, thy mother, and thou, and I, must stand together!  But the daylight of this world shall not see our meeting!”  I am pretty sure all this told Pearl was that Dimmesdale did not love her enough to be seen with her during the day.

                I wonder how Hester’s story would have been different if she was living in the Victorian Era.  Would she and Lily Bart have attended the same parties?

The Scarlet Letter- Part 1

                So far I have been enjoying The Scarlet Letter.  While Hawthorne can be a little wordy in places it is overall a fast- paced moving book.  I cannot help but feel bad for Hester Prynne.  Even though she did something that was looked down upon very much during that time period, it seems that no one wants to help her.  Instead the Puritans just want to see her suffer.  Part of her suffering is that she must wear the letter A on all of her clothing.  When Hester makes her first appearance since she has been in jail the A has been intricately sewn on her dress.  Hawthorne describes the letter by saying, “It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and inclosing her in a sphere by herself.”   

                I am curious to see if she will ever tell the town who she had the affair with, or if she will protect them from being ostracized just like her.  I was surprised that she did not tell who committed the sin with her when she was in the town for the three hours.  I also wonder if the baby will live or die because Hester will not be able to get the things she needs for the baby to grow and be healthy.   She has no money and no one to help her.

House of Mirth- Part 2

I was shocked by the ending of House of Mirth.  While I did not have an exact thought on what would happen it never crossed my mind that the story would end like this.  I ended up enjoying this book a lot more than I thought I would.  It was captivating and now I am a little sad that it is over. 

                It was frustrating that the characters could never seem to make up their minds on who to marry.  They constantly seemed to be changing their opinions about who they wanted to marry.   Personally when it comes to marriage I do not think they should have been quite so wishy-washy, but the indecisiveness made it a better story.  I feel that Selden became a more solid character with time and I was sad that things did not work out the way he wanted. 

                At the very end of the book it says, “…and in the silence there passed between them the word which made all clear.”  I feel that this quote adequately represents the book because so many times the characters do not directly say what they are thinking.   

House of Mirth- Part 1

First off, I think that House of Mirth is about a million times better than Wuthering Heights.  Wharton’s characters are sometimes shallow, but yet they lead busy lives.  Lily Bart intrigues me.  She wants to live as though she is part of high society, yet she is not willing to completely compromise her values.   She says about money… “The only way not to think about money is to have a great deal of it.”  I get the feeling she wants to get to a point where she has so much money that she never has to think about it.   She flirts with the notion that a successful romance could bring her wealth.  Sometimes it seems she is willing to risk romance or a long term intimate relationship, if she can acquire money.  However, I was a little surprised to see she did not give in to Trenor when he confronted her to “repay” him at once.  She may have a little more substance than what I first thought.

                  I like reading Wharton’s descriptions of the big parties, the fancy clothes and the guests.  I think part of the appeal of the novel is how much of it transcends any certain period of time.  Many of the characters could be living in Hollywood today. 

                I am curious to see how the story progresses.  Will Lily marry for money or hold out for a more romantic relationship?

Wuthering Heights Part II

Good news, Heathcliff, Catherine, and Emily Bronte are all dead.  There will be no sequel!  It is impossible to read this novel and not realize Emily Bronte’s gift for writing.   I am disappointed that she wasted this talent on such dark dismal characters.  I found it strange that two families would want to live their lives together and secluded from the rest of the world.  I believe that since the two families just talked with each other it created some dysfunctional problems and led the characters to behave in strange ways.  Catherine always seems to be running off and never telling anyone where she is going.  This never seems to do her much good because someone always finds out. 

Between these two families someone always seems to be sick whenever they decide to get together.  For example, when Catherine and Nelly go to visit Linton they find that he is frail and ill.  Also, on the way home from a visit both Nelly and Catherine’s father become ill and Catherine has to nurse them back to health. 

If I was asked to create a soundtrack for a movie based from this book it would include tortured cat screams and nails on a chalkboard.  Much like the weather in this book, every aspect seems dark and depressing.  I believe that Nelly sums up the mood the best when she says, “I believe the dead are at peace: but it is not right to speak of them with levity.”

Wuthering Heights Part 1

                The novel Wuthering Heights reminds me of a car crash.  You do not want to look at the accident scene, but you take a peek anyway intrigued by what you might see.  Emily Bronte’s writing is so wordy that I do not even want to turn the page and yet I cannot help but wonder what happens next.  The intensity of the emotions is a little too much for my taste.  For example, the part where Heathcliff flings hot applesauce onto Edgar’s face just because Edgar made a comment about Heathclliff’s hair seems a little over the top.  This is the level of the emotion when Heathcliff and Catherine are only children.  As they grow older instead of calming down they just seem to get more wild and crazy.  Often they let words work for them instead of physical violence.  Linton says to Heathcliff, “Your presence is a moral poison that would contaminate the most virtuous…”  

                Bronte’s characters spend much of their lives over reacting.  When Heathcliff overhears Catherine telling Nelly that she has decided to marry Edgar Linton because marrying Heathcliff would look bad Heathcliff runs away.  If he would have stayed and continued to eavesdrop he would have discovered that he was Catherine’s true love, and there would be no need to run away.

Cry, the Beloved Country 2

                As I continue reading in the novel the plot is taking some turns that I did not see coming. For example, since the main character is a priest and is always intent on doing the godly thing I was surprised to find out that his son was the exact opposite.  Maybe the name, Absalom, should have been a clue.  I did not think the Paton would portray such a feeling of hopelessness.  Even though Kumalo encounters a few bright spots along the way, like finding Gertrude and her son, he meets with significantly more frustration than happiness. 

                The way this story depicts Johannesburg reminds me a lot of the Gilded Age in history.  People who did not live in Johannesburg thought that living there would solve their problems.  The truth was that living there was the root of many troubles.  From a distance, the smog covered the city’s imperfections.  Up close the city had many flaws.