Online pre-discussion

This section is long -- but don't start writing anything yet. 

What follows will be some examples that model a process that leads from non-debatable observations (statements about the plot, setting and character that are "correct" but not very interesting to explore), through some brainstorming that leads to a complex, debatable, even surprising claim.

For item #4 of this online prediscussion, I'll ask you to do some targeted brainstorming, and use the results as the basis of the 200-word paragraph (item #5 of this exercise, mentioned above.)

Remember that a literary thesis statement is the answer to a question, and the body of the paper offers evidence (in the form of quotations from the literary work) that demonstrate why the answer you propose is worthy of consideration.

Each of the following is a true statement, but these statements are so true, and so safe, that there is no room for debate.

• "There is lots of symbolism in this book."
• "Nature plays a symbolic role in this book."
• "The forest, the stream, and the metetor are important symbols."
• "In The Scarlet Letter, different characters respond to nature in different ways."
  
• "The people's are quicker to forgive Hester than the authorities are."
• "Hester get stronger, while Dimmesdale gets weaker."

In all cases above, the statement simply describes the action of the story, without offering an interpretation of that action. The above examples offer the "what," but not the "so what." 

What do we gain from exploring the symbolism, from noticing that Hester and Dimmesdale are headed in different directions, or noting the difference between the way the villagers and the authorities treat Hester?

Consider this potential thesis:

Hester rises while Dimmesdale falls.

It might seems to be an opinion on a debatable claim, since someone who doesn't know the story might think otherwise. But there is no evidence within the story for "Dimmesdale rises while Hester falls."  But if we dig a little deeper, we might be able to turn this simple observation into a more complex, debatable claim. 

Let's do some brainstorming. I am a textual learner, so for me, brainstorming means writing. I'm always very clear to myself that when I'm brainstorming, none of my brainstorming is intended for the final document, so I don't think of brainstorming as contributing directly to the final page count.  (Later, I'll suggest other brainstorming methods, in case my strategy of typing what comes to mind doesn't sound like a useful strategy for you.)  Here goes.

Hawthorne depicts his central characters as complex, having an interior life and an exterior mask. It's no secret that Hester his sinned, and her inner and exterior lives seem to be aligned -- first in shame, but then eventually her choice to do charitable work seems to suggest that her inner self is also capable of good.  Hester's interior and exterior lives seem to be in steady alignment. That's not the case with Dimmesdale, who privately acknowledges his sin, but publicly hides it. The result is torture, not only for his body, also his soul. Now let's consider Chillingworth. He pretends to be friendly to Dimmesdale, and he has a place of honor in the community because of his medical knowledge, but his exterior masks his own evil. Hawthorne says he gets uglier, and the hump seems bigger, but he still maintains his physical health. I could explore why it is that Dimmesdale and Chillingworth react differently to the same kind of discord -- private sin, public silence.  What about Pearl? Does she have any mask at all? Hester can't control her, we see glimpses of empathy and kindness, but those are brief bursts in generally naughty and wanton behavior. But is she evil? Does she suffer from her naughtiness? Does she pretend to be something she is not?  She doesn't seem to have a mask at all. She acts on every little impulse. We see from Dimmesdale and Chillingworth that keeping up a false exterior takes a toll on your interior life, but Pearl has no such tension. So we'd have to conclude that Pearl, though she seems naughty and devilish, probably benefits from her total lack of pretense.  On several occasions, she reveals deep truths as a result of her impulsive behavior (as when she asks Dimmesdale to hold hands with her and Hester in front of the whole community, and chides him for declining her request).

What do you do with this brainstorming?  It's jumbled, it rambles, it could use some editing.  But I'm not going to try to save all of it. I might put it away and return to it later with a highlighter, the same way I might mark up a literary work, looking for patterns that are worth exploring. In this case, I might start a chart, with columns for "interior life" and "exterior life," or "good points" and "bad points," or "individual values" vs "communal values" or any other pair. I might fill in the blocks for each character.

Or, I might decide to find a key event in the novel, make one column "before" the event and the other "after."  How do the major characters change as a result of the event?

Here is what I came up with, after pushing a little further in my brainstorming.

While Dimmesdale's health suffers as a result of the conflict between his public ministry as a preacher and his private guilt as an adulterer, he is not the only one who suffers physically.  Hester's public shame has earned her public support, Hawthorne notes that "there seemed to be no longer anything in Hester's face for Love to dwell upon," suggesting that her newfound respect came with a physical price. Chillingworth's increasingly evil appearance conforms with Hawthorne's representation of evil having a harmful effect on the body as well as the soul.  While the other major characters rise or fall with the action of the plot, Pearl is unique because, from her start in life, as the product of a sinful union and from her first appearance as a sickly baby, she becomes a voice of truth, on several occasions making statements of uncanny wisdom. Her health and beauty, her fierce independence, and her flashes of insight and all mark her as rising above Hawthorne's representation of drab Puritan norms.

That final bit about Pearl really made me think... I abandoned all the rest, and gave just that idea some more focused thought.

Upon a first reading, the emotional core of The Scarlet Letter seems to be the reader's empathy for Hester's plight. While Hester pleads defensively in Chapter 8 that the child might be able to profit from the lessons the scarlet letter has taught the mother, the new strength we see in Hester in Chapter 13 suggest that Hester has, in fact, benefited from her isolation. If we consider The Scarlet Letter as Hester's story, we risk ignoring the positive results that come from Hester's passionate nature and her forced isolation. The Puritan society's rejection of Hester is not the whole story; it is, instead, merely the set-up for the creation of a triumphant romantic heroine: Pearl.

While I don't think that it's possible to claim that Pearl is the protagonist, or that her story is more important than Hester's, the claim that the main purpose of the novel is the creation of Pearl's character is much more worth of discussion than simply "Hester's fate rises while Dimmesdale's falls."  Note that the fate of Dimmesdale pretty much drops out of my revised thesis statement. It turns out he wasn't that important after all -- not for the point I stumbled across here.

The Puritan society's rejection of Hester is not the whole story; it is, instead, merely the set-up for the creation of a triumphant romantic heroine: Pearl.

That's just a starting point. I'd need to back it up with evidence, which means I'd go back to the text, looking for quotes.

Let's review.

Simply stating an observation is not enough.

[Observation.]

Try instead:

Because [non-debatable observation], [debatable claim].

Or

[Observation A] and [Observation B] seem to contradict each other, but [Observation C] and [Observation D] suggest that A and B are not opposites, but rather B is a kind of A.

Or

Although [prominent detail Q] suggests that [some detail X] is [an obvious interpretation Y], a closer examination of [less prominent details R and S] suggests that [detail X] is actually [some less obvious interpretation Z].

What to do for #4:

Come up with your own creative pre-writing activity -- something that leaves a record (digital or physical) that you can show me, and that gears you up to write the 200-word paragraph (described in #5, above.)  But don't start by churning out 200 words.

I happen to be a textual learner, so for me, the best way to find a good idea to write about is to write.  But I start my thinking process when I highlight, when I speak up in class, when I record podcasts, when I remember discussions my previous classes have had. So the ideas are already floating around in my head, and for me, writing them down is just giving them form.

How do you get your ideas rolling?  To help you get started on the 200-word paragraph for #5, step #4 asks you to find a creative way to get those ideas rolling.

• If you are a visual learner, draw a chart, bubble map, or diagram. 
• If you are an auditory learner, talk your ideas into Evernote (a free iPad app that lets you record your speech) or Dragan Dictation (another free app that will turn your spoken words into text).
• If you are a tactile-kinetic learner, try arranging Post-it notes on a sheet of paper, or use the iPad app Corkulous (which lets you manipulate a digital corkboard).

Whatever method you choose, bring it to class for a show-and-tell.

(Remember, this pre-writing activity is preparation for a 200-word paragraph to be uploaded to Turnitin.com. See details at the top of this page.)