The Scarlett Letter Reading Questions

Valentina Martinez

Period 2.

Labels

3. Why is it hard for people to change their labels--or to take them off?
I thought this was a very deep and meaningful question that I was thinking about last night. Ever since I
was like in kindergarten, I had teachers that really believed in me and encouraged me to keep going and
keep trying, as well as parents who told me the same. Because of this, I grew up thinking that if I try
hard enough and work hard enough, I will be able to do anything I want, and that I can do whatever I set
my mind to do. I grew up thinking that I am capable and smart. However, I have a friend, who wasn’t
encouraged by teachers to try his very best, and to keep working harder. Many teachers discouraged
him and made him feel like he wasn’t worth a lot and wasn’t good enough. Because of this, today we are
very different people academically and, really, in every perspective of life. While I try to have all straight
A’s and work as hard as I can to understand everything, he doesn’t care too much about school and only
wants to pass high school with D’s. I’m not saying either is good or bad, but I think that this has to do a
lot worth deep-rooted labels. I always labeled myself as a smart, capable person. He didn’t. And I know
that this is just a theory, but I believe that because of the way we have both labeled ourselves, our view
on life is very different.

Universal Truth About Humanity

10. What is the relationship between what is precious in life and the pain it requires?
(Remember: Pearl of great price)
When I was in 8th grade, I read an amazing book, historical fiction, from a great series. It was about an
Ancient Greek who gained immortality through his twin brother’s godhood. However, he didn’t want to
be immortal. Many bad things had happened in his life that he just wanted to run away somewhere
where he could be with his family, and no one could find them. Sadly, this never happened. Before they
could meet at the safe house where they would be safe, his wife, a goddess, was imprisoned and
petrified, and he was imprisoned as well. He spent eleven thousand years trapped in the Greek Elysian
Fields, where he was the only person there, and it was not a great time for him. She was pregnant
during the time that she was petrified, and the child was still inside her, when eleven thousand years
later, he was able to free her and be with her again. Styx, the main character of the story, grew up
during a very bloody war, in ancient Greece. He was betrayed many times, hurt by those he trusted, and
hurt so much by the people he didn’t. His life wasn’t one that was easy, but he had to go through all of
that, so that, thousands of years later, he could be able to have all his family safe and reunited. So far, I
haven't read a book that good, with such an amazing character, and I think that he fits in very well with
this question because he had to sacrifice so many things to be able to finally be happy. Hester reminded
me of him because, she, like him, made a mistake. They are both great characters, and even though they
sacrificed a lot, they were at the end both able to be happy.

Quotes
11. Explain what this quote means to you in the context of the novel and in life: “No man for
any considerable period can wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without
finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.”
The way I interpret this quote is to be basically true to yourself. I know that at times, we don’t
show our full true self, because maybe we don’t want to overshare, or trust people, or maybe
we just don’t want to be a burden to others. I know that I don’t go talk to everyone about my
problems or all my thoughts, because I don’t know them, and I don’t know if I can trust them. I
have found that people won’t trust someone who is fake, and pretending to fit in, while really,
not being able to feel a connection with the people they are fake with. I know that they will
only trust, and really let them into their life, if they are willing to be vulnerable and to trust in
them first. There was a great comic book about a girl who didn’t want to get close to people,
because she was afraid that if she let them into her heart, they would only hurt her. She had
grown up in a verbally abusive home and with a very twisted misconception of love and
friendship, so she wasn’t very quick to trust others. So, what she did instead of trying to earn
their friendship is she would pay them to pretend to be her friends, and what she really meant,
was that they wouldn’t leave her lonely. They would only laugh at her jokes and nothing else
really. There was no connection between them, until she met two great people who taught her
that love and friendship are all just a gamble. They taught her that unless she decided to take a
blind leap of faith towards them, she wouldn’t know if they would be there to catch her. They
would only both be talking through a great distance, where they both felt comfortable, but
wouldn’t get any closer to each other. In the end, Zylith, the girl in the story, found an amazing
best friend and an amazing husband. This is relevant because unless you aren’t trying to protect
yourself, or impress others, you won’t be able to feel a connection with the people around you.
You will be completely lonely. No one who to trust when you’re having a bad day, and no one
to celebrate with on a good day.

(I really loved those books and I loved the characters too. I really look up to them and I think they’re very
cool people, so sorry if I derailed a bit from the topic)

Human well-being

I think that the best way to achieve well-being, is to give it some time and see things through a positive
lense, so you don’t lose hope in humanity. A great song by Shakira says that time, combined with a
change of perspective due to time, is the best healer. Hester chose to keep living in Bostin, which I think
is admirable, and chose to live her life in her own terms. Through her sewing, she was able to create
many beautiful things, that gave her happiness, but really, her greatest joy was Pearl. Pear was the
reason Hester kept going and didn’t have such a hard time, because without Pearl, Hester would have
been completely lonely.