The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, displays a great depth into the realities of early society, and the Puritan perceptions of sin. Though the story is told through the eyes of a surveyor to the Custom- House of Salem, who happens to stumble upon a document and a scarlet in the attic of the House (giving him the notion to write a story based upon it), he tells it in such a way that helps us understand the extreme shame the town places upon Hester Prynne, and her secret lover's agony over the concealment of his adultery. Added with the princes of Church and State, as well as characters of Witchcraft, and Revenge, these themes of the novel peer into the depths of human hearts, as they search for love and understanding, through trials, shame, and despair.

For me this one of my favorite novels, just because it can be so easy to relate to. No, I have never committed adultery in my life, but there is no doubt that many times throughout my life I have done things that I wish I would have never done, and have been forced to bare the shameful consequences that came with it. I am sure there are many of us that have. But just like in this story, there is always redemption for those who choose to repent of their sins, and turn back to God.

What I want to do for this story is to look at it from a more personal perspective of the Minister. We are told several times, that Mr. Dimmesdale is haunted by the sin he has committed with Hester, yet is afraid to reveal it publicly because of his high position as spiritual leader of the town. Anyone who has every committed any sort of sin, and then has tried to hide it for one reason or another understands exactly how Dimmesdale feels in this case. I wonder if many of us would have done exactly the same thing as he does in reaction to his sin? I know that if I was in Dimmesdale's shoes I would have done the same thing, When it is something as big as that, I know that I would have been afraid of the stern looks of the towns people, and their waging heads of disappointment. For myself, I know that I care too much about what people think about me, and so I can in a way relate to insecurities of Dimmesdale's attitude toward the town. Unlike Dimmesdale though, I probably would have run away long before those seven years agony. It goes to show though, that it is better to be honest about my sin, and rely on the grace of God to endure the consequences as I have often experienced in my life.

Now for you.... what would you do in Dimmesdale's shoes? Or any character for that matter? If you feel like commenting tell us about a character that you think you would have reacted differently in their circumstance... or maybe the same.

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Bartleby, the Scrivener by Herman Melville

As a first read for me, I have to admit that this was a most odd, yet fascinating piece of literature, of which I quite enjoyed reading! The story is told through the eyes of a successful lawyer who practices in New York. Though he has two less than perfect copiests for his legal papers, and a young errand boy, he finds himself in need of more help, as his work demands continue to pile up. Though strange nonetheless of the employees the lawyer has to start with, there oddities were nothing short of a commonality to the rest of the worlds irritation and misgivings. However, Bartleby's character, who is the new employee, struck me with an uneasy sickly feeling, as the depths of human virtue and prosperity are questioned. Though Bartleby really did not do anything wrong per-say, and had very little agitations in his demeanor, his refusals to do anything for his employer by stating that he simply "would prefer not to," gave me an unkindly irritation about him, as much as it did to his boss, and coworkers.

The main themes of Melville's story center around that of virtue, charity, and the essence of life. As one who has had a number of short term jobs throughout my twenty-two year life span, I have learned a little already about all of these, and can see very easily in this story what it means to give in order to live. What is the saddest part though, is that many people work at jobs today that they absolutely hate, but however disparagingly are forced to continue working in order to survive. Bartleby's character, however, goes against this reality, and through the events that facilitate the end of his life, one learns that doing what one would rather do, is simply suicidal.

This journal is taken from the perspective of Ginger Nut, the errand boy, of the lawyer who observes Bartleby from a naive perspective.

My mouth formed around one of the round red apples I had just gotten at the market an hour ago for Turkey,and felt it to my amusement to chomp at the same pace as the wall clock over head. There was fifteen minutes left until lunch, and the groans of my stomach seemed to inform me of this little fact with a steady nagging. Red Delicious apples were my favorite,and luckily I saved enough money to get myself an extra apple on my trip to the market today for Turkey. His cakes weren't too expensive really, but I always had a few extra cents that my father had given me for the various chores he wanted me to do. On occasion though, my boss would throw in a half dollar for me to run and get refreshment for him and his men as a great charity to me. He was a good man, and though I did not know much else of his affairs or his personal life, of that I was for certain. "Five minutes to go," gazing at the clock with it's tick tock. The thought of my mother's left over pot roast was impressed upon my mind and tongue. "Maybe we will get to go early?" I turned my head a few feet and looked into the next room, hoping to catch a glimpse of my boss's sterile face. Usually at about this time, he would make a quick glance at his pocket watch, and fold up the book he had been studying in preparation for our lunch period, however today he was quite different. He sat back in his chair still with steady glazed eyes at the screen in the corner of his room. There was no doubt that his mind was wondering to the peculiar oddities of his newest employee, instead of whether it was lunch or not. Bartleby was an odd sort, to say the least. Though Turkey and Nippers always had there own temperaments and misgivings, I quickly learned how to get along with them, just like they were my own brothers. Bartleby was different. He never said much or did much else then seclude himself behind his screen, and this seem to speak the loudest of his personality. In a simple word, I thought he was just plain weird...and nothing was going to dieter my mind from that. I envied him though,... because he had a seemingly subtle air about him, which although he would often politely refuse a command of boss, with his usual, "I would prefer not to," it seemed to work at his advantage,... at least as far as I knew. It definitely would not have worked for me. Boss pulled his chair away from his desk, and stood up straight. Hopefully this was a sign that lunch was at hand.