The Scarlet Letter Group

Question:

karang
karang
Student
High School - 11th Grade

  the lines 'the sad colored garments of the spectators;the prison door itself,heavily timbered with oak and studded with iron spikes.' 

its on the first chapter 'the prison door'.first paragraph.what kind of mood they create or picture of Boston?

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Posted by karang on Friday October 12, 2007 at 2:18 PM and tagged with themes.

Answers:


  1. sagetrieb Teacher
    Doctorate

    Yes, extremely dark and foreboding. The verb "was assembled," in the passive voice (in reference to the crowd) adds to this--consider the difference if Hawthorne had chosen the verb "gathered," active voice and much more robust, giving authority to the people. The descriptors of the door, on the other hand, "timbered" and "studded" are very aggressive. "Iron spikes" are positively scary, and ending the first sentence of the novel with such an image indicates the sort of values this society holds and that the novel will subsequently explore.

    Sources:
    http://www.enots.com/scarlet-letter

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    Posted by sagetrieb on Saturday October 13, 2007 at 6:44 AM

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