The Crucible

Hysteria, one theme in the play "The Crucible", causes a lot of trouble. These people in this story break into complete hysteria. People become acused of such absurd crimes such as witchcraft and murder by their neighbors and friends whom they have been friends with most all their lives. I do have to say that i believe a lot of the people in the play use the hysteria to carry out grudges they have against people. Such as Thomas Putnam gaining revenge by accusing Rebecca for the deaths of Ann's babies.

Abigail is one character who i was a little interested in. Even though i would consider her the "bad guy" she was not very complex. I believe she was just jealous because she did not have a lot of power in her community. She lied her way through a lot and forced people to keep quiet. Like in the first scene when Betty kind of awakes and starts shouting out all the things that happened in the woods. She is manipulative and mean. Especially because she eventually sends innocent people to their deaths.

"A man may think God sleeps, but God sees everything, I know it now. I beg you, sir, i beg you - see her what what she is. My wife, my dear good wife, took this girl soon after, sir, and put her out on the highroad. And being what she is, a lump of vanity, sir -. Excellency, forgive me, forgive me. She thinks to dance with me on my wife's grave! And well she might, for I thought of her soflty. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore's vengance, and you must see it; I set myself entirely in your hands. I know you must see it now." This quote is one of my favorites in the play. It shows that Proctor instead wants what is right rather than what would bennefit his reputation. Although he does it for good reasons, being honest about his affair with Abiagail does not work in his favor. Proctor then is accused of witchcraft and is considered a liar.

The Crucible shows many things to us. How hysteria can ruin lives but help others out, how being honest isn't always going to work out in your favor, and being manipulative is something people just do. I did not have a favorite character, and even though i learned about the salem witch trials in class last year i did not mind reading this book. It was a learning experience, you could say, because it shows how crazy things can get out of hand. I would recomend this book to somebody interested in this sort of stuff and im glad i read it.

The Scarlet Letter

"But there was a more real life for Hester Prynne, here, in New England, than in that unknown region where Pearl had found a home. Here had been her sin; her sorrow; and here was yet to be her penitence. She had returned, therefore, and resumed,-of her own free will, for not the sternest magistrate of that iron period would have imposed it,-resumed the symbol of which we have related so dark a tale. Never afterwards did it quit her bosom. But, in the lapse of the toilsome, thoughtful, and self-devoted years that made up Hester's life, the scarlet letter ceased to be a stigma which attracted the world's scorn and bitterness, and became a type of something to be sorrowed over, and looked upon with awe, and yet with reverence, too."

The quote above is by far my favorite part of the whole book. If you really look to the meaning it shows that Hester wasn't ashamed of her past. It was part of her life and she wasn't just going to forget about it because it wasn't exactly a "good" thing. The scarlet letter was the symbol that Hester fought her battle and it was important. Maybe some people thought having a scarlet letter was terrible or shameful, but to Hester it was self empowerment.

Hester Prynne was a strong woman. She used her scarlet letter to show her daughter, Pearl, that wrong doing is not good but also that you can be stronger than what other people try to cut you down to. How she used her needlework, even though nobody truley apreciated it, to help people out.

The book "The Scarlet Letter", shows the hardships that come with crime. It kept me interested because of the part where it went into a lot of detail, like in Chapter 6. "Certainly, there was no physical defect. By its perfect shape, its vigor, and its natural dexterity in the use of all its untried limbs, the infant was worthy to have been brought forth in Eden; worthy to have been left there, to be the plaything of the angels, after the world's first parents were driven out." Pearl is described so deeply throughout the chapter.

The Great Gatsby

Of all the books i have read this summer, The Great Gatsby is my favorite by far. This book kept my attention and i didnt get distracted while reading it. Some of the vocabulary was a little difficult to understand but that made the book better.

This book was exciting to read because of all the twists and turns the characters go through. The relationships, the affairs, and the love make it exciting. The part that struck me was when Tom was angry because he found out that Gatsby loved Daisy. He was very upset but at the same time he was doing the same thing, having an affair with Myrtle.

I did not really connect or relate with any of the characters in the book, but Jay Gatsby was kind of interesting. The lavish parties he would throw to get Daisy's attention, and how throughout the story Nick found out about Gatsby's life before he was wealthy made his character sort of fun to read about. It was fun because it was someone who focused his life in the direction to rise to the social class he thought he needed to be in to win the one he loved. Gatsby worked so hard to be with the one he loved only to be killed.

This is definatley a book i would recommend to someone to read. I really enjoyed reading it. The time period the book was set in and the places contributed greatly to how interesting the book was.

When i first picked up the book, The Grapes of Wrath, it seemed long and boring. I didn't have the least bit of interest in it, but as i started to read further and further i didn't mind it so much. I do have to say it was a very sad book, but it definately opened my eyes. I personally like the character of Tom Joad. The way he moves on from the tradgedies in life and always makes do with what he has shows how much of a family oriented person he is.

This book demonstrates very well how tough things really were. All the deaths in Jim's family and the deaths of the people he befriended, the scarce amount of jobs there were in California, and how the natives of California didn't particularly like the newcomers and gave them nicknames such as "Okies" gave me a clear description of what life was really like. One thing in the book that i thought was extremely sad was when the migrant told Pa that his own children starved to death because he couldnt afford food because of the lack of jobs.

Many parts of this book made me feel compassion for the Joad family and others, but one part in particular kind of grossed me out. On the last page, when Rose of Sharon had to breast feed the man to save him from starvation, i was a little grossed out. Especially when she "looked up and smiled mysteriously", that didnt make reading that part any more enjoyable. It was a smart move and probably helped the man along but i hope i dont have to read that part ever again.

All in all i would have to say it was a good book. I would recommend it to someone who could sit down and just enjoy the book. I am not one of those people though. I made it through it and im glad i did.