GUILT or SHAME? Exploring the differences and applying it to literature

Like two peas in a pod, guilt and shame are two human experiences that we intrinsically tie together.  But is that where they belong?  Are they really so synonymous?

According to psychologists, the answer is sometimes.  But these same psychologists assert that this is not where they should stay.  Both don't feel too great, but one of them serves a valuable purpose while the other is not too much unlike that prison door back in Salem or the scarlet letter Hester Prynne wore constantly affixed to her chest.

This week, I would like you to read an article that explores the differences between guilt and shame and how they affect us throughout our lives.  Then, there is a short video that very clearly gives us a definitive line between guilt and shame.  It is pretty eye opening.  I can honestly say that it really increased my awareness of how I have evaluated my own shortcomings and those of others.  Once again, the power of our words is emphasized.  The tiniest change in our language expression to ourselves and others can make a world of difference:  "I made a very careless error," vs.  "I am a very careless person."

Guilt requires cognitive dissonance--a sense that a very important moral code or valued rule has been broken.  Shame, on the other hand, does not necessarily require the breaking of a rule or moral code.  It could come from feeling wronged or embarrassed.  Guilt is more closely associated with me hurting someone else in some way while shame may also be associated with a hurt that has been inflicted upon myself.  How does this apply to our literature, The Scarlet Letter?  Hester felt internal guilt for adultery, but the scarlet A she wore made her a victim of disapproval and ostracization.  That, my friends, is shame.


Here is the link for the article:  http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/guilt-shame
Here is the link for the short video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgm5PdENAxM
Enjoy, and share your reactions.

Are you holding on to some hidden shame?  Something that is inhibiting you from moving forward and becoming the best version of you?  Reflect on these two messages, and then maybe you will enjoy the freedom Hester discovered for one precious moment on a walk through a forest....  "The stigma gone, Hester heaved a long, deep sigh, in which the burden of shame and anguish departed from her spirit.  O exquisite relief!  She had not known the weight

                                                                until she felt the freedom..." (186).

FOLLOWING THE THEME....Unlocking the Secrets

In my experience as a literature teacher, I have learned that the one thing that usually stumps the literature scholar is theme.  First of all, it takes a scholar awhile to fully comprehend what a theme is...what it means.  It's more than just the lesson, isn't it?  It's too universal to be summed up that way.  But it certainly is a message...it's an important truth or observation that the author is making about his or her world...not just his or her created world, but the world, in general.

Once a scholar seems to have an understanding of what theme is, then comes the fun of finding them.  That's right, them.  Very seldom to you find a novel that has only one.  Of course, there may be an overriding theme, an "umbrella" theme, but there are often many others lining up, hidden amongst the words and phrases, intermingling with the dialogue, waiting to be uncovered to sweeten the story.

You will be assigned a poster project this week.  You will have a choice to create a character collage poster, or a theme collage.  Whichever you choose, however, theme is important.  It not only drives the deeper meaning, it also drives the character--it can even be his or her major motivation, objective, or source of conflict.  It matters.

The following is more than an article, it is an exploration into several themes for The Scarlett Letter.  Have fun exploring, and let me know here which theme you found most compelling.

Happy unlocking!
http://www.shmoop.com/scarlet-letter/themes.html

A HEART TO RECEIVE YOURS: Nathaniel Hawthorne & The Scarlet Letter

"The Scarlet Letter continues to enthrall, asking us over and over what it means to live with others and feel apart; to be part of history yet separate from it; to love passionately and never forget; to hope too long, plot secrets, face reality, feel scared and yet still believe in the promise, as Hester does at the novel's end, of a better world." ~Brenda Wineapple

What better topic for literary scholars on Saint Valentine's Day than an American romance novel written by a true Romanticist?  (Alright...Dark Romanticist.  Semantics!)  The English in which he writes may feel antiquated and require closer reading by contemporary readers, but the layers of meaning, the universal themes and use of allegory, the rich imagery that burns into our imaginations just as the scarlet letter itself burned the chest of the author when he found it in The Custom House, is what gives Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel its permanent place on the greatest American literature shelf.

Here is a mind blowing fact about this novel.  Since the 1920's, seven Scarlet Letter films have been made, and one is currently in the works, and one film has been made inspired by the story and its themes (Easy A) and became quite a hit at the box office.  High school classrooms all over The United States and Europe have it on their classroom studies list, and it has even seeped into our idiomology ("Gosh, one mistake and it's like I'm wearing a scarlet A or something!")  Whatever you may think of this novel, it has that lasting quality.  It is here to stay.

This begs the question, of course:  What makes a work of literature timeless?  Language is constantly evolving, so it is a given that as time marches on, the language on the pages will go out of vogue.  Meaning may be harder to access.  It will take patience, dedication, passion for great story, and a sophisticated vocabulary to muddle through and find that diamond.  But the pursuit is worth the time in the end. The Scarlett Letter is a haunting story that stays with you.  Hawthorne purposefully leaves some questions unanswered.  This adds to the mystery of Hester Prynne as well as makes us, the reader respect her a little bit more for stubbornly refusing to reveal to her nosy, judgmental neighbors the identity of her lover and the details of their sinful tryst.  In many ways, we see fractals of Hawthorne, himself in Prynne:  beauty, austere determination and fierce protection of privacy.  There is also the fact that Prynne is described as a beautiful, dark-haired woman.  Many of Hawthorne's contemporaries have hinted that Hawthorne, himself had a weakness for stunning brunette ladies. Here, I am stepping outside the arena of supportable fact and into the dangerous realm of assumption, but it IS Valentine's Day!

I digress.  In this literary lover's humble opinion, one of the biggest reasons The Scarlet Letter will remain steadfastly on the greatest works bookshelf is the same reason that Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet  will never be knocked out of its position as the most famous and beloved love story of all time.  It is, in its heart, a story of a love that can never be.  It tugs at our own hearts.  It turns us all into, for at least that short span of time it takes us to read it, fellow Dark Romantics who share in Hawthorne's angst.  We want desperately to create a different, happier ever after ending for our protagonists, but somewhere in our hearts and minds, we realize the truth of the dichotomy: it is the painful tragedy of it that makes the story beautiful.

Please read the essay via the link below about Hawthorne and The Scarlet Letter.  It is an excellent resource, and provides some insights as to what it is about this novel that still draws us in and intrigues us.  Below, tell us what you found most compelling in the article, and any new things you learned, or inspirations that struck you as you read.

Happy Saint Valentine's Day, and here is to the steadfast Romanticists everywhere.

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE/SCARLET LETTER ARTICLE

CREATING CHARACTER....fantastically flawed, beautifully broken, readily redeemed

What is it about a character that makes him or her so memorable?

Hero or villain, damsal or duke, rebel or royal, the characters in a story are the author's greatest assets in the quest to win the heart, mind and soul of the reader.

How that character is manipulated by the plot, and how he/she in turn manipulates it right back, that is the key to story telling.We have been exploring characters in our FOA presentations and we are also, from different angles and approaches, analyzing how stories impact readers and how the author creates a unique story to entice and inspire the reader in our Written Task 2.  Each one of you represents a very unique and original set of backstories and experiences.  You bring these in to each new experience you encounter, including reading a novel.  Because of that, how you interpret stories and respond to and relate to characters will always be different.  Your culture, your virtues and values, your personality and preferences and past experiences will color the lenses through which you read and interpret literature.

The first step in becoming a thorough and credible literary critic (critic in this case meaning someone who engages in the act of dissection, evaluation or appreciation of literature) is to acknowledge the fact that you do look at everything through a unique perspective that can and will color your evaluation.  That is not a bad thing, it's a human thing.  Recognizing it and graciously allowing for other possible interpretations is a professional thing.

Okay, so we've acknowledged that we do have a limited view--a unique and valid one, but limited as we, in each of our own unique perspectives are limited.  Now; how do we become more comfortable and confident in that adventure that is dissecting, exploring and detecting as readers?

You know the answer.  It's the same answer for everything you seek to do well:  you practice.

This week, that is exactly what you are going to do!  I am giving you a chapter to read.  The title of this chapter is:  A Drink with the Devil.   It is about ten pages long.  Not bad at all as far as chapter lengths are concerned.  Here is the catch and part of the fun:  this chapter is not from the beginning, but the deep middle of a novel.  So, you really are going to have to depend on your own personal detective skills.  You won't have a lot of context, so you will have to read for clues the author gives you in this excerpt as to setting, character backgrounds, and story.
Your main study focus is character, so this is reflected in the questions you will answer for your blog this week.  Here are the questions:
1.  When does this story take place and how do you know?
2.  Where does this story take place and how do you know?
3.  One of the two characters is Will.  Tell me what you know about Will.  Not just surface stuff like what he does for a living, but WHO IS HE?  What is he about?  What are his values?  What type of person is he and why do you think so?  In other words, how does the author reveal him?
4.  Same question, this time for the character of Mick O'Shaughnessy.  GO BELOW THE SURFACE.  How does the author reveal him and how is this different?
5.  Finally:  What are some flaws you see in the characters?  How does the author present them?

You will have TWO weeks to complete this blog.  There will not be a new blog next weekend.  It is this one.  I realize it requires more work and effort, therefore you have more time and it is worth more points (ten instead of five).  My advice?  Type your answer up on a word or text document.  Then, when you are happy with it and it is finished, copy and paste your answer in the blog.

Thank you, and happy detecting!
https://vicosystems.net/Kristin/Chapter35.pdf

THE BLINDING GLARE OF THE EMPTY PAGE...or 10 Tips to Writing an Interesting Essay

Your teacher has just assigned you the one thing you dread, but know you will face several times during the school year in several of your classes.  Yes, that's right, kids, it's time to write

THE ESSAY.  

You let out a deep sigh as you feel the heavy weight of dread in your gut, and your entire attitude fades to black.  It's as if someone has pulled a dark veil over your formerly sunny outlook.

Okay, maybe that's a BIT dramatic.  But for many of us, writing the essay is a task that takes more gumption just to begin than to actually complete.

We have now been assigned Written Task 2, which is the formal essay.  If that isn't punishment enough, we also must include an outline with it to clarify for ourselves and our reader just what we are supposed to be focusing on in our paper (thus providing a possible highlight of where we have fallen short!)  

Now, now, now.  Writing the essay doesn't have to be such a downer.  In fact, it can become something you look forward to!  (Okay, maybe that's taking it a bit too far).  At the very least, it can be a challenge you are ready and able to meet.

Like anything else worth doing, writing takes what I like to refer to as the three P's:  perseverance, passion and patience.  You need to eliminate the idea of "trying my best" and substitute that notion with "I will DO my best."  Do not even entertain the notion of "this will be hard" or "I cannot do this well," or "my teacher will hate this."  Do not put it off until the last minute or it will be a self-fulfilling prophecy of doom.

Instead, set aside a quiet space, do some relaxation breathing like we learned in class, and ELIMINATE DISTRACTIONS.  Silence your phone.  Do not allow yourself to text friends or scope out Facebook.  It's just you, some paper (or a screen) and words.  Take some time to go through your notes and quotes, and begin the process of writing.  Don't put the pressure of editing or grammar on yourself at this stage.  Writing is a process.  Allow your subconscious creativity to flow first, uninhibited.  You can fix it all later.

Be patient with yourself and your thoughts.  Wait for the right words or search them out until you find the one you truly feel is best.  Use a thesaurus for inspiration.  DON'T SURRENDER.

Write something YOU like.  Don't think about me (aka your teacher), or anyone else.  Take your topic, and write about it in an interesting way that appeals to you and reflects your writing style.

 Again, revision and editing will come later.  The first stage of the writing process is....wait for it....WRITING!  Find something fun in it...something that stirs your creative passion.

Writing the essay may never be your favorite thing to do, but at the very least it doesn't have to be a punishment.  Take some time to read this article about "Writing the Essay."  The tips are awesome, I think.  Drink them in, and come ready to attack Written Task 2....

AND WIN.

http://thewritepractice.com/writing-an-essay/

THE KILL ZONE: Why do (should) authors allow the good to die?

We have come to the end of The Book Thief.  As a reader, once again, I am traumatized.  Yes, it's true.  I am traumatized along with the rest of you, only this will be my 8th time reading through this book, and the eighth time I have been plagued by this trauma.

I am pretty sure that makes me a literary masochist.

I am pleased to say that time has healed me to the point that I won't feel the need to carry the book around with me like a security blanket for the next month, so I can periodically go to the middle or beginning section of the book to resurrect Rudy, Hans and Rosa, but still, I will, along with the narrator of this book (Death) be forever "Haunted by humans."  That is just the reader in me.

The writer in me smiles through the tears.  I nod in agreement with Markus Zusak, and while this story breaks my heart into hundreds of pieces, I get it.  I understand.  I would have done the same thing.

Now, please don't throw orange peels at me through your screens.  You are, as always, free to disagree, but I must return to a quote by James Scott Bell, mystery/thriller writer, who said this:  "Every story is a resurrection story.  Every single one."

The question is, how does this resurrection come about?  How is the mystery of great truth revealed and internalized?  How is it that our characters who seem, at times, doomed, find salvation?  Often, sadly, the answer is through sacrifice.

Novels are about redemption.  So is, if we are honest with ourselves, the story of life.  We all are broken by the world.  But within us is something pretty amazing:  the tenacity of the human spirit.  It keeps us hoping...it gives us the faith that no matter what happens, no matter what the chaos of life throws at us, no matter how badly we might fail at handling these challenges, there will always be the chance of redemption.

As I am writing my second novel, I am having to make some hard choices about what to do with some of my beloved, messy, beautifully flawed characters.  What makes sense?  What rings true?  What needs to happen so that my reader can find that golden message that we must face the logical consequences of our choices and behaviors?  These logical consequences are tough.  They are cruel.  They are hard.  But through the tears and punctured hearts, (and often ONLY through them) we can discover that  there is ALWAYS (I repeat, ALWAYS) the hope and promise of restoration...of truth, of honor, of love, and of wisdom.

With the death of one, comes the renewed understanding and strengthening of another.
It is the angst that is writing.
It is the raw beauty and brutality of life.

It is what will continue to keep us...

haunted by humans.

Enjoy this article that explains the reasoning behind "killing the good characters."  Please read it with an open mind and understanding that it is relating to fiction writing.  Please comment and give me your thoughts.  What points did you find most true for YOU?

http://killzoneauthors.blogspot.com/2013/03/killing-off-good-characters.html

A FEW OF YOUR FAVORITE THINGS...

Right now, one of the big trends on facebook is the gratitude posts.  People will post something for which they are grateful each day and then number the days.  I love the idea.  I think that in this world with all of its choices, daily stresses, and, well, just everything on the news everyday, it is a good way to refocus, reset, and empower ourselves with all the many positive things and blessings we have in this country and community.

A relative of the gratitude post is the list of "My Favorite Things."  Making such a list of the things you hold most dear can provide a springboard for a gratitude list.  It is the perfect time at the beginning of the year to direct your mind to those things that are positive in your life--those things that make your heart happy.  In one of my favorite musicals, The Sound of Music, the Von Trapp family governess, Maria, even sings about her favorite things to help the eight children in her charge refocus their fears on a stormy night to think of things that make them smile...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IagRZBvLtw

So, here are the rules for this week's post:  Make a list of your 25 most favorite THINGS.  The key word is THINGS.  No people allowed on your list.  That removes the pressure you may feel to name every family member and friend.  People and things should never be categorized together.  People come first.  This list is much more light-hearted.

It was REALLY tougher than I thought to narrow it down to 25 for me (initially, I was afraid I would draw a blank!) but here is what came to mind first for me.  If you get stuck, go back and listen to Maria's song again, or review my list for inspiration, but really try to just take pen to paper and write what comes to your mind first.  It will probably be the most honest answer.  :)

Let's start the New Year off with a list of all the things we love...those things for which we are most grateful.

Your soul will thank you.

MRS. CARAWAY'S FAVORITE THINGS...(in no particular order)

1.   Cathedral bells

 2.   Classical/Romantic piano music
3.  Fire places and how it feels to sit next to them on a cold day or evening
4.  Christmas Eve
5.  Mont Saint Michel
6.  Big Ben in London, and the view of it from Westminster Abbey
7.  The walk along the Seine from Eiffel Tower to Notre Dame in the autumn.
8.  Hanalei Bay & Secrets Beach (Kauai)
9.  WW2 History
10.  Handwritten letters with wax seals
11.  Romeo and Juliet  (and Shakespearean language)
12.  Books, movies and plays that make me cry, for joy and sadness (I can watch Phantom of the Opera over and over and over again)
13. Things that sparkle (candlelight, glitter, crystals, diamonds, etc.)
14.  Standing on a stage after a late night dress rehearsal...and it's dark, and there's anticipation everywhere....
15. The color red

16.  Reading or writing inside on a cold rainy day
17.  Pumpkin Spice Lattes with coconut milk
18.  The sound of my children laughing
19.  Watching my plays and my favorite plays come to life on the stage with my favorite people in them.
20.  Lacy, vintage dresses and button up boots (the combo of it)
21.  Flowers--especially poppies
22.  My faith (which gives me hope--my favorite virtue next to love)
23.  Perfume (I LOVE trying it all on!)

24.  The way it feels outside just before the snow falls (the sacred quiet of it--like nature holding its breath)
25.  Heroes - the real kind