Gildead Blog 5 August 29, 2014

Prompt: "often we can learn a lot about a character through his relationship with another character or characters. Discuss a relationship you see between two characters in Gilead and what that relationship tells you about the characters and the novel as a whole."

                                                                                                                   Camille Mihalchik
                                                                                                                   AP Literature
                                                                                                                   August 29, 2014

Creating relationships between two characters is often a main concern when writing a book. Important relationships can portray to the reader from the beginning, what the book is about and how the characters act. Often times, the connection and understanding between father and son is something that cannot be replaced, so in order to make sure that John Ames' son knew him and his background, he writes his autobiography, which contains their relationship as father and son. In Gilead written by Marilynne Robinson, Reverend John Ames writes this autobiography to his toddler son who may not get to know his father all so well as he grows into a man since his father is ill. Overall, this shows the bond and relationship that can be held between father and son and how sacred it truly is, ultimately what John Ames was hoping to keep with his son even when he becomes deceased.

As John writes his autobiography, his main purpose is to impose wisdom on his son about his previous experiences, life, and religion, so that as his son grows older, he is able to keep some part of his father with him. John Ames states, “I told you last night that I might be home sometime, and you said, Where, and I said, To be with the Good Lord, and you said, Why, and I said, Because I’m old, and you said, I don’t think you’re old. And you put your hand in my hand and you said, You aren’t very old, as if that settled it. I told you you might have a very different life from mine, and from the life you’ve had with me, and that would be a wonderful think, there are many ways to live a good life” (Robinson 1). This quote depicts to the reader how John Ames was able to simply explain to his son about why, how, and when he was going to leave, also giving his son a learning experience as he learns at a young age how to deal with his emotions as people come and go in and out of his life. His seven-year-old son reacts in a way that shows how strong their young and developing relationship is. His son does not think John Ames is too old to go, ultimately showing to John Ames and the reader that his son loves his father and wants him to stay in his life.

John Ames devoted his life to his family and his job as a reverend. Through these two things, John Ames acknowledges that he does not have a great life and does not live in a great town, yet he has his son to thank for making all of the troubles somehow get better. John Ames states, “I’m writing this in part to tell you that if you ever wonder what you’ve done in your life, and everyone does wonder sooner or later, you have been God’s grace to me, a miracle. You may not remember me very well at all, and it may seem to you to be no great thing to have been the good child of an old man in a shabby little town you will no doubt leave behind. If only I had the words to tell you” (52). This quote exactly explains how John Ames viewed his son and what he meant to him. This shows how the both of them were able to view each other’s existence and that’s an important thing to have in a father son relationship. This also shows how John Ames views himself with regards to his son. John Ames defines himself as an old father who no longer has the ability and money to give his son and wife a good life. John Ames hopes that his wisdom and intelligence that he writes to his son will makeup for some of the things that he has lacked as father.

Some parents always wish and have the need that their children can be or do something special, while others hope that they can be special, but are simply fine if they are not. John Ames is the latter of the two. John Ames states, “ I have said at least once a week my whole adult life that there is an absolute disjunction between our Father’s love and our deserving. Still, when I see this same disjunction between human parents and children, it always irritates me a little. (I know you will be and I hope you are an excellent man, and I will love you absolutely if you are not)” (73). This shows their relationship in the light that Ames loves his son to the point where he has faith and has hopes and wishes the best for his future, yet he will still acknowledge and love his son if he does not end up to be anything special. It shows that their relationship is something special and it wraps up the whole book in the sense that the relationship between father and son is sacred and a father is an important thing for a young boy to have as he grows up. All fathers wish that their son can grow up and be something special, taking with them the lessons and intelligence that the father has taught him. Overall, this shows how strong and how great of a father John Ames is because although his son will not grow up into a man with his father present, he will still have a book in which he can continue to read and learn from his father. John Ames shows the undying love, bond, and hope that he will always have for his only son.

Charming Billy Blog 4 August 8, 2014

Prompt: “Though Billy Lynch is the title character of the novel, ‘Charming Billy’ presents several other well-rounded characters. Choose a character other than Billy and discuss the methods the author uses to create him/her. How does your chosen character contribute to the meaning of the novel?”

                                                                                                                   Camille Mihalchik
                                                                                                                   AP Literature
                                                                                                                   August 8, 2014

To enhance a character in the eyes of the reader, authors use methods associated with emotion in order to connect the reader with the book overall, but most specifically, the characters and the personal aspects. Billy Lynch, the title character, is an important character in the novel Charming Billy written by Alice McDermott, although there are also other main characters. Maeve Lynch is originally portrayed as newly widowed and quiet upset. Throughout the novel, the author takes the reader back to the death of Maeve’s mother, the fiascos between Maeve’s drunken father and husband, and her position in her relationship. Due to a lie in hopes to help someone, Maeve’s life continued to be a life where she was continuously obligated to help others.

Before Maeve came along, Billy was in love with a girl named Eva who was from Ireland. Throughout Maeve and Billy’s relationship and marriage, Eva and the past secretly had a lot to do with the way that Billy acted, therefore creating inconvenience for Maeve. Ironically, Maeve and Billy met at the shoe store, which Billy worked at, in order to pay back the money that he borrowed from his boss and gave to Eva, so that she could come to America and marry him. For Billy, this was the start of all his problems; Eva stayed in Ireland, married, had children, and used the money to open up her own café. To protect Billy, his friend Dennis told him that Eva had died. This seemingly innocent and helpful lie to protect his friend ultimately ruined his friend and Maeve.

 Although Billy was fully committed to Maeve once they got married, Maeve was always the second girl in Billy’s heart. Eva would always be his first and that’s the way he felt, he would never be changed. In a conversation with Dennis, Billy’s best man, Dan Lynch stated, “They’re loyal to the first plans they made- just like Billy was loyal to Holtzman and the job he gave him. And like he would have been loyal to her if she had lived and come back here and they’d gotten married. Just like he was loyal to Maeve: Billy never breathed another word about that girl after he married Maeve. But the girl was first, and for Billy she would always be first. That’s the kind of guy he was. Maeve couldn’t change him” (McDermott 21). This passage explains Maeve and Billy’s relationship in the sense that Maeve was fully committed to Billy. Billy acted in a way showing that he could reciprocate the same feelings, but in his heart, he could not. Through the emotion that Alice McDermott created in Billy and Maeve’s relationship, Maeve was able to become an central character who was blinded by her own husband and his true feelings.

Maeve’s life consisted of taking care of the two most important men in her life. After the death of Maeve’s mom, her life changed forever. Her dad started to drink alcohol and became addicted. Maeve then went on to meet Billy, a man who was already an alcoholic.  The “death” of Billy’s first love, Eva, caused Billy to start his new addiction. The narrator explained Billy as having an “irreparably broken heart.” Through deaths dealt by Maeve’s father and Billy, it is shown that death creates the need to drink, as if the drinking erases all problems that one might have.  Although, what is actually shown through these deaths is that as family members start to drink, they actually cause more problems for others, as if it is a domino effect. Unfortunately, through blood and marriage, Maeve was obligated to deal with adversity. In a conversation after the death of Billy, one of his sisters Kate stated,“‘ Toward the end it was a foregone conclusion,’ Kate said. ‘I think it was worse for her at the beginning, when she has her father and her husband to keep track of” (12). Maeve dealt with the problems associated with her fathers and her husband’s problems, such as getting them off of the streets, changed, and in bed. Although Maeve was practically obligated through blood and marriage, there was love that encouraged her to help each in every time. After Billy’s death, Billy’s best friends, Dennis, was talking about Maeve and stated, “She hoped the world would somehow turn out to be just the way he believed it to be. She hoped somehow that he’d turn out to be right in the end, with all his hanging on to the past. All his loyalty to the dead. Even if it meant she’d have no life of her own” (194). Maeve loved Billy immensely, making it hard for her to not help him. She believed that if she constantly helped him, he might turn out okay, even if that meant that she had to give up her life for him. Through these tough tasks and dealing with drunken, grown men, the reader is able to understand how Maeve loved and had a significant part in these peoples lives, especially Billy’s as his family and friends dealt with his death. Through the emotion created throughout the book, the reader is able to connect and sympathize with Maeve and the problems that she encountered.

Billy’s drinking at night had a routine, in which Maeve was an important part of. Billy would drink while walking the streets late at night with his dog. Maeve would then find him stumbling inside, giving the dog a treat, where Maeve would then have to help him up the stairs for bed and warm up her kettle. After Billy’s funeral, Billy’s family and friends gathered at his house while Maeve took a nap upstairs. Their dog was still alive, so Dennis took her out for walk. Upon returning to the house, Maeve came downstairs, “She looked around the room, her eyes weak. ‘I was just getting up,’ she said. ‘I hadn’t put the light on yet.’ Now she had put her fingertips to her forehead and lowered her eyes. ‘I thought Billy was down here with the dog’” (144). Through this passage and conversation, Alice McDermott is able to show to the reader how Maeve was used to her routine with Billy. Upon going downstairs, Maeve was expecting Billy, not a group of his family and friends. Maeve was in denial about Billy’s death and thought that it was all a dream. Maeve shows how hard it is to experience a death and what a normal routine is like without the person who made it so difficult and structured.

Love is a feeling that Maeve’s life was revolved around. Alice McDermott used this feeling of love and emotion to capture the true characteristics of Maeve, so that the reader is able to personally connect to her character. Through Maeve’s life, her father, and her relationship, Maeve encountered many hardships, proving how strong she truly was. Most of Maeve’s problems were caused by alcohol and death. Although Maeve had difficulty taking care of her father, she had the most difficulty taking care of her husband, Billy. Alice McDermott shows through Charming Billy that lies where one friend or family hopes to help the other can cause problems, despite the good intentions. For Dennis, all he hoped to do was help Billy. Ultimately, Billy tried to fix his problems with alcohol, which then created problems for Maeve. Maeve’s strong and loving character shows that you have to support and help the ones you love because sometimes, people cannot be changed. After Billy’s funeral, Dan Lynch stated, “Maeve couldn’t change him” (21).

Charming Billy Blog 3 July 30, 2014

Prompt: "One of an author's goals at the beginning of a novel is to fully engage her reader. Select a passage from the first half of "Charming Billy" that you found particularly interesting and explain how you think it contributes to engaging the reader in the novel."


                                                                                                                      Camille Mihalchik
                                                                                                                      AP Literature
                                                                                                                      July 30, 2014

During a time of death and sorrow, many families and friends choose to temporarily forget all of the problems and bad decisions that the particular deceased person has done, such as drink alcohol incessantly, and they choose to focus on the lovable characteristics and good times shared with the deceased, but for Billy, that was not the case. In the very beginning of Charming Billy, written by Alice McDermott, Billy’s family and friends are shown to the reader directly after his funeral, discussing the very good things in Billy’s life and how Billy’s character had a significant impact on theirs, along with all of the bad decisions that Billy made and how their love for him made them tolerate his actions in order to help him. Through the constant discussion between family and friends about Billy and the legacy that he left behind, Alice McDermott is able to engage the reader in an extremely critical point in the book.

“Billy had drunk himself to death. He had, at some point, ripped apart, plowed through, as alcoholics tend to do, the great, deep, tightly woven fabric of affection that was some part of the emotional life, the life of love, of everyone in the room.

Everyone loved him. It was Mickey Quinn saying this, down at my end of the table. Mickey Quinn, who also worked for Con Ed, his territory being here in the Bronx, although he’d never heard of this place before. Mickey with a beer in his hand, and the irony either lost on him or too obvious even to bear mentioning. ‘If you knew Billy at all,’ he said, ‘then you loved him. He was just that type of guy.’

And if you loved him, we all knew, you pleaded with him at some point. Or you drove him to AA, waited outside the church till the meeting was over, and drove him home again. Or you advanced him whatever you could afford so he could travel to Ireland to take the pledge. If you loved him, you took his car keys away, took his incoherent phone calls after midnight. You banished him from your house until he could show up sober. You saw the bloodied scraps of flesh he coughed up into his drinks. If you loved him, then you told him at some point that he was killing himself and felt the way his indifference ripped through your affection. You left work early to identify his body at the VA, and instead of being grateful that the ordeal was at long last over, you felt a momentary surge of joy as you turned away: This was not Billy, it was some colored man” (McDermott 4).

            Literary devices become very significant for an author, when attempting to engage their audience and creating and interesting and lovable book. “Love” is a strong word, which Billy’s family used seriously. Through Alice McDermott’s diction in this passage, the word “love” serves as a way for the reader to feel emotion. It not only shows the reader how it was like to be a part of Billy’s life, but it allows the reader to feel emotionally connected to the story. Through the use of diction and the emotions attached, Alice McDermott creates a need for her audience to continue reading, almost as if they too, were a part of Billy’s core family and friends.

In the last paragraph of the passage, Alice McDermott chooses to list off many of the things that Billy’s family and friends dealt with, such as driving him to his AA meetings or watching him cough up flesh into his drinks. The list of hardships is Alice McDermott’s way to include syntax, which ultimately engages the reader, making the reader feel they were a sitting at that table after the funeral, contributing in the conversation to the things that they helped Billy with. Through these hardships that Billy’s family and friends endured while attempting to heal him, Alice McDermott is able to show the reader just how strong, encouraging, and important these people were, proving their constant point on how great Billy was able to love other people and how he was able to be loved by others.

Authors often use specific passages in their novels to engage their audience, creating a book that is not only enjoyable, but also intellectually stimulating. As a whole, this particular passage serves as a pivotal point in Charming Billy, where Alice McDermott is able to engage her audience. This passage, which contains a discussion, creates the need and want for the reader to continue searching for the answer to their questions about the life of Billy, along with his family and friends.

The Scarlet Letter Blog 2 July 16, 2014

Prompt: "Choose one of the three main characters and discuss his/her motivations throughout the novel. What is the final outcome for the character you are discussing, and what does this outcome suggest to the reader?
                                                                                                                      Camille Mihalchik
                                                                                                                      AP Literature
                                                                                                                      July 16, 2014

Hester Prynne, the woman who was ridiculed for committing adultery in The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, portrayed how motivations can change a person in the eyes of the community. In the 17^th century novel, Hester ultimately chooses to accept her punishment, therefore moving on and improving her life, along with attempting to protect the two people she loved, Pearl and Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale. Hester showed that it was her duty to bring herself, Pearl, and Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale together, as they were connected together with love and the crime of adultery. In the middle of the book, the narrator summed up all of Hester’s motivations, stating, “And there stood the minister, with his hand over his heart; and Hester Prynne, with the embroidered letter glimmering on her bosom; and little Pearl, herself a symbol, and the connecting like between those two” (Hawthorne 135).

Directly after Hester’s crime was announced to the community, Hester was greeted with derision. This derision was a way to show Hester how awfully she wronged the community and the Puritan views on how adulteresses are dealt with. Upon the release of Hester from prison, the narrator stated, “It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and in-closing her in a sphere by herself” (50). At this moment, Hester was defined as the woman with the Scarlet Letter “A” that burned and glowed on her chest, rather than a woman who simply made a mistake because for the people of the Puritan community, Hester’s crime was bigger than a simple mistake. This Scarlet Letter symbolized a woman who committed an appalling crime and betrayed her husband. After living in pain and hiding for many years, Hester decided that she would change and better her life rather than mourn by helping the sick, bringing food to the poor, and by being a source of aid. Through these acts, many forgot that Hester still wore the Scarlet Letter “A”, which symbolized adultery, the narrator stated, “The letter was the symbol of her calling. Such helpfulness was found in her, - so much power to do, and power to sympathize, - that many people refused to interpret the scarlet letter A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength” (141). To the reader, this shows that despite original beliefs, people can change or adapt, shown through Hester and through the people who once thought she was a unpleasant person, but now thought that she was a respectable person. To enhance what Hester had done, the narrator later stated “Individuals in private life, meanwhile, had quite forgiven Hester Prynne for her frailty; nay, more, they had begun to look upon the scarlet letter as the token, not of that one sin, for which she had borne so long and dreary a penance, but of her many good deeds since. ‘Do you see that woman with the embroidered badge?’ they would say to strangers. ‘It is our Hester, - the town’s own Hester, - who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted!‘“ (142). By doing these acts of kindness, Hester was Able to improve her life for the sake of herself and her family. Hester’s motivations were to accept her crime and move on from it and instead of hurting the community like before, she chose to help and improve it.

The ridicule experienced by Hester ended through the seven years she had before she and her accomplice in adultery, her secret lover, which she cheated on her husband with, decided that the community should know the truth. Hester’s motives for this was that she wanted the community to know her final secrets, probably making sure that there were no more secrets that she would leave in America before deporting to Europe. With their decision to leave for Europe together with their daughter, Pearl, Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale had to give a speech on Election Day, letting the community know his secret. His secret was that he was Pearl’s father, which was the reason for why he had been sick for so long; he too wore the pain of the scarlet letter. After Dimmesdale admitted to his secret, the narrator stated, “That final word came forth with the minister’s expiring breath. The multitude, silent till then, broke out in a strange, deep voice of awe and wonder, which could not as yet find utterance, save in this murmur that rolled so heavily after the departed spirit” (222). Through the death of Dimmesdale, Hester was not able to fulfill her wish of moving to Europe together, but the idea of it was all that mattered as they were trying to create a new life, accepting and escaping from their old one. After the death of Dimmesdale, Hester and Pearl moved to Europe, but Hester later moved back to America by herself. Many believed that Pearl was a woman, now married and happy. Hester ultimately lost Dimmesdale due to his secret, his part in Hester’s sin, and his guilt, along with Pearl, in which Hester lost to womanhood. Through this outcome and ending of the novel, Nathaniel Hawthorne shows the reader that through her motivations, Hester was able to create a better life for herself while literally wearing and accepting her sin, yet she was never able to escape her sin, the cause for why she lost the two most important people in her life.

The Scarlet Letter Blog 1 July 2, 2014

Prompt: “Setting includes more than just time and place. It also concerns social conditions and customs of a given location and time period. Discuss the setting of The Scarlet Letter and how it contributes to your understanding of the book so far.”

                                                                                                         Camille Mihalchik

                                                                                                         AP Literature

                                                                                                         July 2, 2014

The Scarlet Letter is a 17^th century novel, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, which reveals the crime of adultery and the consequences thereof. In the novel, the reader is introduced to a woman named Hester Prynne. Hester Prynne is the women who has committed the crime of adultery and gives birth to a girl, who Hester names Pearl. Hester gets punished due to her crime and the setting, which includes the social conditions and customs of Boston, Massachusetts. Due to Hester’s crime, she continuously struggles to fit in with society and society’s religious and moral values, which in return gives the reader a thorough understanding as to why Hester feels guilty and becomes the center of conversation in Boston. Ultimately, Nathaniel Hawthorne proves that when someone goes against the society’s rules and religion, society tends to ridicule and banish him or her from his or hers everyday life.

In The Scarlet Letter, the narrator does not directly state the time period in which the book takes place, he rather hints towards the time period through the religious and social beliefs that are mentioned. In the beginning of Chapter 2, titled The Market-Place, the narrator states, “It might be, too, that a witch, like old Mistress Hibbins…" (Hawthorne 47).  Mistress Hibbins was accused of being a witch and was then hanged in 1656. Through this reference to Mistress Hibbins the witch, the reader is able to figure out that this book takes place in the 17^th century because this reference would have been relevant to the time period in which the book took place. The narrator also mentions “ The Puritan character” (47) and the “whipping-post” (47), which are two other indications that the book takes place in the 17^th century due to the religious beliefs and the types of punishments given.

Throughout the novel, the townspeople are seen constantly voicing their opinions on the crime that Hester has committed, yet the ones that are seen to the reader as the most important and influential are the ones that are brought up during Hester’s public punishment. Among the people who voice their opinions are the reverend, females, and judges. In a conversation about the crime Hester has committed, one individual states, “‘…that the Reverend Master Dimmesdale, her godly pastor, takes it very grievously to heart that such a scandal should have come upon his congregation’” (48). Through this statement and the constant references to religion and God, the reader is able to notice that religion played a significant role in the peoples lives during the 17^th century and that when something went wrong in their church, others felt ashamed and embarrassed also. This shows that people were not in favor of this crime of adultery and Hester’s Reverend spoke about his angry feelings towards the situation. This also contributes to the idea of average townspeople who spoke out and wanted to ruin Hester’s life even more than what was already done.  In a crowd, one-woman states, “‘ This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die. Is there not law for it? Truly there is, both in the Scripture and the statue-book. Then let the magistrates, who have made it no effect, thank themselves if their own wives and daughters go astray!’” (49).  Through this statement, the narrator shows that some people voiced their opinions and were not afraid to voice them, even if they were extremely strong and straight forward. This women did not agree with the punishment given to Hester and believed that she should get the death punishment. The townspeople believed that the wearing of the Scarlet Letter by Hester for the rest of her life was not enough, and her punishment should be taken to the next level. This quote shows the views of the townspeople and their strong religious views against adultery. 

During Hester’s public punishment, her husband shows up, despite being disguised as a physician who has been captured by Native Americans. Upon arriving in front of the prison, he sees Hester taking her punishment, yet decides to ask a local on what is happening and his views on Hester’s crime. The local man responded to his question and states, “‘ You must be a stranger in this region, friend… else you would surely have heard of Mistress Hester Prynne, and her evil doings. She hath raised a great scandal, I promise you, in godly Master Dimmesdale’s church’” (56).  Through the mockery from the townsperson, Hester’s husband is being insulted because he is not aware of the drama unfolding in front of his eyes. This shows that in this era, crimes, punishment, and drama were extremely important and sacred to the community.

Hester’s main form of punishment was the Scarlet Letter, which she had to wear for the rest of her life. The Scarlet Letter was the symbol for adultery. With regards to her punishment of wearing the Scarlet Letter, the narrator states, “It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and inclosing her in a sphere by herself” (51). Despite wearing the Scarlet Letter as her punishment, it also created another punishment, which was the fact that she was never let back into the ordinary lives of her fellow townspeople. Hester had to look at her punishment whenever she looked in the mirror, but also she had to take her punishment when she received the looks and cold shoulders that she got when she stepped out into public. Later in the book the narrator states, “ In all her intercourses with society, however, there was nothing that made her feel as if she belonged to it. Every gesture, every word, and even the silence of those with whom she came in contact, implied, and often expressed, that she was banished…” (76). Through this quote, the narrator shows that after Hester’s punishment, people still did not except her, even though she felt guilty for what she had done. The narrator shows that in this time period, people felt as if they would be the ones punished and embarrassed if they were to associate with Hester or a person similar. The narrator also later states, “ –and, looking up, she would detect the eyes of a young maiden glancing at the scarlet letter, shyly and aside, and quickly averted, with a faint, chill crimson in her cheeks; as if her purity were somewhat sullied by that momentary glance” (79). This shows that although people would be embarrassed and punished in their society to associate with her, they also believed that they would be ruined morally and spiritually; that their purity would be gone forever. Through the townspeople’s actions and views, the narrator shows the 17^th century and how people banished others from having a regular life.

Throughout the novel, the narrator often referred to the way in which children acted. These children were not aware of what was going on with regards to Hester and were rather influenced by their parents and what they heard around the town.  To sum up the idea that these children looked at Hester with fear and often threw mud at her and Pearl, the narrator states, “ Children, too young to comprehend wherefore this woman should be shut out from the sphere of human charities, would creep at nigh enough to behold her plying her needle at the cottage window, or standing in the door-way, or laboring in her little garden, or coming forth along the pathway that led town ward; and, discerning the scarlet letter on her breast, would scamper off, with a strange, contagious fear” (73). Through this quote, the reader is able to deduct that these children were not aware of what happened to her and the guilt she had about the situation. These children were only told what their parents wanted them to know and how they could take part in continuing the ridicule towards Hester.

Setting includes social conditions and customs of a given location and time period. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne took place in Boston, Massachusetts during the 17^th century. Due to the time period, beliefs, and religion, Hester was constantly seen ridiculed, punished, and embarrassed because she committed the crime of adultery. At her punishment, around the town, and even in her home, her reverend, women, men, and children feared for their purity and embarrassed her and her daughter. Nathaniel Hawthorne ultimately showed to the reader that when someone goes against the society’s rules and religion, society tends to ridicule and banish him or her from his or hers everyday life.