Nelia ElmeraMrs. MooneyEnglish 3 H4 January 2014The Scarlet LetterChapter 1-The Prison DoorThe first chapter explains the symbols in this novel. It begins with men and women gathered outside a prison. The iron spikes on the prison door let us know that the prison was designed to hold dangerous criminals. The rose bushes next to the prison door “offer their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner as he enters”. This chapter also mentions that building a prison and cemetery was important to the city's founders.C: It's a bit morbid and cruel that one of the first things on the founders' minds was to build a prison and a cemeteryC/I: There must be a reason why the townspeople would place such a beautiful thing (the rosebush) next to something so depressing (the prison).Chapter 2 - The MarketplaceOne group of women discuss Hester Prynne and her fate for committing this grave moral crime. of adultery. On her way out of prison, Hester hugs her three-month-old baby and walks toward scaffolding in the market square. Instead of hiding her face in shame, she is forced to show her child, who is the product of adultery, and the red "A" for adultery embroidered on her chest. On the scaffold, Hester remembers her entire life and is brought back to reality by all the critical eyes of all ages. p. 42 C: I wonder when the idea that small, delicate women are prettier was born, p. 51 Q: Would they really send her to prison even if she had the baby? Who would take care of him? p. 53 C: I don’t think anyone thinks about the baby… p. 55 C: Hester must have been extremely strong to be able to face such criticism p. 56 Q: Where are Hester's parents? Are they middle of paper......and what Dimmesdale faces leads to him getting physically injured. He fasts, whips himself, and constantly meditates on his sin. After the vision, he prepares to go to where Hester experienced public ignominy.C: I am now completely and utterly convinced that Dimmesdale is the father of PearlI/C: I think the vision shows that Dimmesdale should also bear the scarlet letter because it also harbors the sin of adulteryC: I feel bad for Dimmesdale. This sin seems to literally eat away at him. I/C: I feel like his heart pains may have something to do with his sin and where the scarlet letter should be embroidered p. 143 I: I Think Dimmesdale Will Confess His SinChapter 12 - The Minister's VigilWhen Dimmesdale arrives at the scaffold where Hester had been humiliated years before, he cries out in pain but is ignored by the townspeople..