Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter: Reading Assignment
As we are reading The Scarlet Letter, we will analyze the author’s narrative devices, thematic developments, and language devices.
1. With each reading assignment, you will compose two thoughtful, opened questions to bring to the class discussion. These questions should address either the author’s use of narrative technique and/or his development of theme.
Narrative: How does the author use narrative technique in this section? Consider questions about settings, plot, point of view, and character.
Theme: What arguments does this reading make about those large questions about human nature, society, and the meaning of life? Examine the author’s use of motif, symbol, and metaphor to develop theme. What argument(s) does Hawthorne make?
2. In addition to the questions you write, you will identify one aspect of Hawthorne’s language (diction, imagery, detail, syntax, and tone) that you will analyze.
Steps to analyzing the writer’s voice: • Select a quote that has remarkable diction, syntax, imagery, details or tone. • Provide the relevant context of the quote. • Integrate the quote into your writing; include the page number. • Make a strong inference about how the language contributes to the quote’s meaning. Connect the inference to a larger understanding of the text. Try to complete this task in one sentence, but absolutely not more than two sentences.
|Chapters |Due Date-Bring Typed Analysis |
|Chapters 8 -10 |4/3 |
|Chapters 11-13 |4/5 |
|Chapters 14-16 |4/12
As we are reading The Scarlet Letter, we will analyze the author’s narrative devices, thematic developments, and language devices.
1. With each reading assignment, you will compose two thoughtful, opened questions to bring to the class discussion. These questions should address either the author’s use of narrative technique and/or his development of theme.
Narrative: How does the author use narrative technique in this section? Consider questions about settings, plot, point of view, and character.
Theme: What arguments does this reading make about those large questions about human nature, society, and the meaning of life? Examine the author’s use of motif, symbol, and metaphor to develop theme. What argument(s) does Hawthorne make?
2. In addition to the questions you write, you will identify one aspect of Hawthorne’s language (diction, imagery, detail, syntax, and tone) that you will analyze.
Steps to analyzing the writer’s voice: • Select a quote that has remarkable diction, syntax, imagery, details or tone. • Provide the relevant context of the quote. • Integrate the quote into your writing; include the page number. • Make a strong inference about how the language contributes to the quote’s meaning. Connect the inference to a larger understanding of the text. Try to complete this task in one sentence, but absolutely not more than two sentences.
|Chapters |Due Date-Bring Typed Analysis |
|Chapters 8 -10 |4/3 |
|Chapters 11-13 |4/5 |
|Chapters 14-16 |4/12