Emily: Blogging Worries

From: hmhkids.tumblr.com

Final Reflection

Text: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Lens: Feminist

Upon hearing that we were going to be blogging about books, I worried. My main worry was that I am a binge reader. There is no way that I would be able to write one blog post at the beginning, one in the middle and one at the end. Thankfully, I didn’t have to do that. Actually, this was my favorite project for AP English Literature. The blogging platform allowed me to exhibit my strengths and worked with my busy schedule as I could blog anytime I wanted to.

My second worry was about critical lenses. I had a difficult time incorporating a lens into my previous project, but this time I chose a more personal lens, feminism, which gave me a larger pool of knowledge to draw from. While I read the book I was able to pull out significant pieces of evidence about feminism, I marked specific places that I used later for my close reading articles. However, looking through the feminist lens, I missed the underlying religious view of the Puritans in The Scarlet Letter and the historical context of Lolita (however, I wouldn’t have focused on it anyways, since it’s not my main interest).

From: EmilaleyHalemily

I also reacted to the the blogging platform. While I still do not like Blogger, there is no homepage and each individual person cannot have a single blog, I have come to terms with it. Also, Haley and I decided to make our own blog, on Weebly (which we like much better), where we put what we really think about The Scarlet Letter and Lolita (and other book related items). View our website here: http://emilaleyhalemily.weebly.com/

I have enjoyed writing these blog posts and have realized that the smaller pieces of blogging fits better into my system than large projects. I have a deeper understanding of other books as well, as I've compared books to The Scarlet Letter and Lolita.

Here are my summaries for the two books. 

Scarlet Letter:

From: Rinkworks.com

After Hester Prynne has a child, without her seeing her husband for years, she is convicted of adultery and forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” for the rest of her life. Outcasted from the rest of society, Hester and her daughter, Pearl keep to themselves. When Hester sees that Chillingworth is slowly making Dimmesdale feel more guilty, Hester intervenes, pleading with Chillingworth to stop. After Chillingworth refuses, wanting his revenge, Hester asks Dimmesdale to run away with her. Dimmesdale commits suicide, linked to Hester by Pearl. Chillingworth dies soon after.

Lolita:

From: wordpress.com

Following a failed marriage with Valeria, Humbert Humbert attempts to visit a friend, but is instead forced to stay with Mrs. Haze. Upon looking on Mrs. Haze’s daughter, Dolores, whom he calls Lolita, he immediately falls for her. Humbert is given an ultimatum from Mrs. Haze -- marry her or get out. Humbert rather stay close to Lolita than leave and chooses to marry Mrs. Haze, who dies soon after in a car crash. Humbert takes Lolita on a road trip, where Humbert sexually abuses Lolita (or in another understanding, Lolita becomes a lover). Lolita eventually finds a way to run away with Clare Quilty, then marries another and dies during childbirth.

I hope you enjoyed reading my blog posts as much as I've enjoyed writing them! ~Emily