"The Custom House" Pre-Discussion

In the beginning of "The Custom House", Hawthorne discusses the role of an author and the relationship he has with his writing. He says, "Some authors, indeed, do far more than this, and indulge themselves in such confidential depths of revelation ... as if the printed book, thrown at large on the wide world, were certain to find out the divided segment of the writer's own nature, and complete his circle of existence by bringing him into communion with it" (7). Hawthorne talks about how an author's work, whether intentional or not, is often "autobiographical" (7-8). An author becomes immersed in his writing, and adds aspects of himself and his thoughts into his works.

When commenting about how he found the original manuscript of The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne says, "It should be borne carefully in mind, that the main facts of that story are authorized and authenticated by the document of Mr. Surveyor Pue ... I have allowed myself, as to such points, nearly or altogether as much license as if the facts had been entirely of my own invention. What I contend for is the authenticity of the outline" (27).

Given this, what is the significance of the fact that The Scarlet Letter was not a completely original idea of Hawthorne's? How does Hawthorne add aspects of his own original thought and create an "autobiographical" work, like the authors he describes in the beginning of "The Custom House"? More importantly, how does this relate to the idea of tradition, and the fact that The Scarlet Letter was written literally from something created previously by someone else?

Housekeeping Discussion Test Reflection

Before today's discussion, I hadn't thought much about the role of men in "Housekeeping". However, I really liked Connor's point about Ruth's grandfather in the novel, and the significance of the fact that he built the house that was ultimately burned to the ground. Like Connor said, it's as though in burning down the house, Sylvie and Ruth show that they are not dependent on men to live in a stable environment. They leave Fingerbone and create a living for themselves (though it is still unconventional), without the aid of a male figure. When they burn the house down, "One moment I had no idea where Sylvie was, and the next moment the parlor curtains were a sheet of flames and Sylvie was kneeling in front of them, dull rose in the light with a black shadow behind her. But the curtains were consumed in moments and fell to the floor and went out. 'Damn!' Sylvie said, and we laughed, but as little as we could, because we knew it was a solemn thing to burn a house down" (Robinson 208). Sylvie and Ruth almost find an enjoyment in burning the house down, aware of the closure it contains; they are leaving behind the unwanted aspect of female-dependency in Fingerbone to wither away in the remains of the household. The burning of the house represents a finality to housekeeping: there is no longer anything to take care of.

Ruth's relationship with her grandfather is also interesting to the story. Ruth seems to envy the fact that her grandfather "escaped this world years before [she] entered it" (Robinson 3). Based on this statement, it seems as though Ruth dreads the idea of living and wishes not to. Robinson uses the word "escaped" to show Ruth's feelings of uncertainty with the idea of life; she is a part of this world, but lacks an urge to be there. Ruth also has an undeniable respect for her grandfather, which is again shown within Robinson's language. Ruth regards her grandfather as a "dutiful and industrious worker, [who was] bound to rise" (Robinson 5). Robinson uses a good amount of description and elaborate language in order to create a respectable image of Ruth's grandfather, and show Ruth's reverence towards him. Based on this level of respect, it seems contradictory that Ruth would find such joy, even humor, in burning down the foundation he built; perhaps Ruth did so in a need to feel the closure of her past. She says, "Now truly we were cast out to wander, and there was an end to housekeeping" (209). Once the house was gone, Ruth and Sylvie truly had to make an existence of their own; they could no longer rely on the foundation they were given to provide them with a stable environment. By burning the house, Ruth leaves herself with only one option: to move on. Ruth and Sylvie ultimately burn the house in order to eliminate the alternative option to leaving Fingerbone behind; their past is in ashes, and they leave knowing that they cannot return.

The Raven Rhetorical Analysis

In his poem “The Raven”, Edgar Allen Poe uses a variety of rhetorical devices that enhance and help add interest to his writing. In the poem, Poe is relatively isolated from the rest of the world, choosing to live within darkness as a means to escape his fear of his surroundings. He sets a melancholy tone to relate his setting to his own feelings about the world. Poe addresses his loneliness with comfort, mirroring his own situation with “each separate dying ember [which] wrought its ghost upon the floor” (8). He lives alone in his home, choosing to keep not only himself, but any item he can place under his control, separate from the outside world. Poe continually discusses darkness and uses somber, depressing words to make his tone apparent: “Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, … The silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token” (25, 27). The raven, or “the bird of ill omen” (“The Philosophy of Composition” 5), further enhances this tone. Poe contrasts the raven’s movements with the rest of the poem, as it “flirts and flutters” (37) its way into his house. It is a metaphor for the part of Poe’s mind and soul that craves release into the outside world, away from the suffocating grasp of his home. The raven ends each of his statements with “Nevermore” (Poe uses this word as his refrain), which invokes Poe’s fear of change and of removal from isolation. Poe illuminates this fear in his lines, “Leave my loneliness unbroken! – quit the bust above my door! / Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!” (Poe 100-101). When interacting with the raven, Poe becomes paranoid, and the fear within him arises; he becomes defensive and emotional, and attempts to convince himself that his isolation is a satisfactory way of living. He uses pathos, or the use of emotions to support an argument, in his attempt to justify his choices. Poe’s use of rhetorical devices adds interest to his writing: he uses tone, metaphor, refrain, and other tools to support the ideas he chooses to convey.