The Scarlet Letter takes place during the Puritan Age. This setting is far removed from our time. Consider the following questions. Compose a description of what you think living during the Puritan Age would have been like. Remember, many of the things that you take for granted were not available or even conceived during the era. Also, and maybe most importantly, consider how living in the Puritan Age would affect your inner self. Use the following questions as guides to a fully formed and descriptive response.
Please prepare your work on a word document and then copy it to the blog. Your response must be free of grammatical errors and 250 words (include word count).
1. What would it be like to live during the Puritan age?
2. How would you entertain yourself?
3. What hardship would you face?
4. What would you not have to rely on?
5. What would your attitude be like?
6. Would you be the same person you are today? Why or why not?
In today’s world everyone, including myself, are so dependent on our phones, computers, and even our cars. If I were living in the Puritan Age I would have to get used to not having those things. They were not even around them so I probably would not miss them that much. I believe many people would be more social with each other. We would have dinner together or go for walks, instead of texting one another. I am also pretty sure they did not have volleyball back then or if they did it was not to the potential it is now. I would say in order to entertain myself I would pick up a hobby that would be useful around the house. Maybe I was try sewing or knitting.
ReplyDeleteI am someone that is outgoing and says what is on my mind; I think that would be one of my hardships. I do not like to be like everyone else, I like to do my own think. People during this time period would frown against that. I also think that I would get bored. With nothing really around me, no new adventures to go on, keeping me busy would be hard too. If I was living in this period I would not have my phone to rely on to call someone. I would not have my computer to look up a recipe really fast for dinner. I also would not have a car to get me someone fast. I do not necessarily see that as a bad thing though. It might give me the opportunity to be a little more dependent on myself and not other people or electronics.
It would take me awhile to adjust to this life style, but after a couple months of getting the hang of things I think I would have a pretty excellent attitude. I would probably get frustrated like many people do, but once I worked out all my problems, I would see how wonderful a life like that could be. I do not think I would be the same person I am today. I rely on a lot of different things and they did not have those in that time period. Maybe I would learn to respect people more even if I did not like them. Over all I would like to try it out and live in the Puritan Age, but then I would want to come back to my life.
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Today I entertain myself with friends, my phone, and my sports. During the puritan age I know that they didn’t have cell phones so I wouldn’t have to rely on that as I much as I do now, I wonder if they had sports if they did I don’t think they would be as serious as they are today, My favorite sport is soccer in the soccer world they have what is called the world cup which is a championship game for that sport. Also puritan people didn’t hang out with friends; they had them but where more like acquaintances and have get together like meetings. I would have to find something that preoccupies my time like working on crops or some sort of household purpose like cooking.
ReplyDeleteMy attitude would be much stricter I feel as though people would criticize towards the things you do. Like in the scarlet letter if you do something wrong you are treated like an outcast and no one wants that. I wouldn’t be the same person I am today, I am much more laid back and don’t care what people think of me, I am what I say unique and my own person. I like being different it adds edge to my personality. But you have to take a step back and realize that in a way no matter what age you were brought up in we are all the same.
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To live in the Puritan age would be difficult for me because I depend a lot on technology. Back then technology was not even thought of. We would have to depend on other people and most importantly ourselves. We would not have the houses that we have today and the advantages we have to be able to do almost anything we want because in the Puritan age there were strict rules that had to be followed. You most likely stayed in your town because there was not an absolute way to travel from town to town accept walking, or using a carriage, and like in “The Scarlet Letter” by ship. I usually entertain myself by going out and spending time with my family. In the Puritan age they did not have cars to get to places in a short time. They also did not have places where friends could hangout, so I would have to find something else to do. I would most likely spend more time with my family and take up a hobby like knitting or cooking.
ReplyDeleteI am a shy girl, but once you get to know me I am very outgoing. My hardship would probably be not being able to express myself. With the strict rules and the customs of the town I would have to act according to how everyone else acts and that would be horrible for me. I like expressing myself as a happy person, but I would be judged and out casted so I would keep my feelings inside of me. I would not have to rely on technology to help me with homework or just casual things that I use technology for now. For that I would use the knowledge I have and the knowledge of other people I know.
My attitude would be more mellow and relaxed with people. I wouldn’t have to worry about deadlines and going different places because everything would be near me. I would be calmer and less anxious. I do not really think I would be the same person because of the different time settings and restrictions. I would be a lot quieter and spend time doing housework. I would still value what I have and appreciate who I am and who is in my life.
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I feel like if I was living in that time it would be so hard. In this time I hang out with my friends and depend on my phone and computer so much. I would not have a phone or my computer. On the other hand if I was living in that time I would not know what it was like to drive a car or use a phone or computer so I don’t think it would be that big of a deal if I did not have these things.
ReplyDeleteSince there is not going to be any of this, and I don’t think they played volleyball back then I am would have to find thing to do like probably like helping my parents a lot more around the house, cooking, playing dolls in the field with Danielle. I would have to have more hobbies then hanging out with friends and volleyball and things that involve electricity.
I would face not being able to do as many things that I do know and the ways I accomplish them. People might look at me differently because everything in that time had to be done the same and everyone did the same thing. Today if my mom asked me for a number to a store or a recipe to make something I just look on my computer. I would not be able to do this. Also if she need something last minute and the store I can get in the car and go get it, I would not have a car or anything so I would have a lot more responsibilities to get things done.
I think my attitude would be the same as it is now, but I feel like sometimes I would get mad not having a way to get things like getting on the computer and finding something so easily, I would get use to it though. I do not think I would be the same person in some ways but in other ways I would still be the same person. For example everyone does the same things but I do not do the same things that other people do so I would be the same person in some ways.
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I honestly do not think that I would fit into the Puritan age. Back then African Americans were still bound by slavery. I would hate to live in the Puritan society because I would not be treated the same, and I would not be given the same privileges as everyone else. I would entertain myself probably by creating games with some of the other teenagers in town. I would probably even make a sport since America was a young country back then. I think that the only three hardships I would face would be racism, being a teenager, and speaking out. Racism because I am African American. Being a teenager would be pretty hard too because back then teenagers were thought of as the same as little kids in my opinion, and I think that people treat kids like they are not smart at all. I would speak out on a lot of things that I did not think were right like people being killed for committing adultery. What people do is their business; it is not our jurisdiction to say whether or not people should die because God will deal with them. I would not be able to rely on videogames to clear my head; I would have to find another outlet to kill time on. I probably would have an attitude of humbleness because without technology, I would not be able to look things up on the computer or switch on a light when it is too dark. I would have to use the elements that I am given. I would not be the same person that I am today because who I am is defined by the time period that I have been placed in, and I believe that I would have a different mindset about everything.
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ReplyDeleteLiving in the Puritan Age would defiantly be difficult. It seems as though everyone was on edge. If you did something wrong or maybe did something that everyone else did not agree with it was like you were shunned and taken out of town. I would not want something like that to happen to me just because of a small mistake.
ReplyDeleteI would entertain myself by singing and dancing. You do not need anything else for that. All you need is yourself. I love to sing and I love to dance, even though I may not be the best at it. I might also entertain other people with it too and make other people happy.
The hardship I would face would have to be keeping my mouth shut. If someone was on trial for something that I personally think is not right I would want to speak up about it. Of course if I did that though I would be the next one on trial. I am always trying to find new ways to pick up new things to do but during this time I think I would get sick of the same stuff. Sewing and drawing and all that homey stuff would make me aggravated after a while.
I would not have a cell phone to rely on to get a quick question really fast or a computer to look up new things. I would not necessarily need these things because I do not rely on them much right now, but it would certainly be difficult without them available.
My attitude would change as life went on. At first, I would be aggravated with constantly doing the same routine. Today, if we get bored with what we are doing we can just go to another activity or go do something else. I would not have many choices to pick from if I was in the Puritan Age. I would be stuck sewing or doing something boring.
I do not think that I would be the same person I am today. I think I would be pickier and more mean. To be totally honest, I think I would be a girl that would get shunned. I would get sick and tired of having to put up with problems that should not affect the entire town and it would be very hard to keep my mouth shut about it. I would most defiantly want to come back to the life I am living now.
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If we lived in the Puritan age it would be completely different. Now our lives are centered around technology and hanging out with friends. In the Puritan age there is no phones, computers, or I don’t know how I would entertain myself. In the summer I'm on the swim team and that takes up most of my day. Without that the days would seem like they are so long and you would have to constantly be working. I don’t think it would be any fun everything would be taken so seriously. Some hardships I would face would be having to stay home and work instead of getting a job. I hate staying in the house all the time I would probably get annoyed a lot easier. It would be a lot hard to find transportation to get anywhere. You would probably have to walk and it would take a lot long to do things. People are so reliant on the computer and phones to communicate. A lot of the people would be lost without technology. I feel like my attitude would be a lot more negative because I would be bored. I would behave a lot more because if I did something wrong I would be looked down upon for a long time. I would definitely not be the same person I am today because everything would be so different. Now I hang out with friends and use technology so much it would be hard to be the same person.
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To live in the Puritan age would be a complete turn around from the way we all live today. As sad as it is to say, we live in a society that not only condones, but also promotes sin on both a personal and social level. If we were all living in a Puritanical society, but with the attitudes we have today, we would be quickly jailed. Sin was not considered pretty, or tolerable the way it is today. Drunkenness, sloth, gluttony, all of the things we see every day, were severely frowned upon. To entertain myself, the saying "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" applies. Due to my age, I would either be working, or attending some form of public execution.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest hardship living in a Puritan era would be attempting to understand everyone speaking in Old English tongue. In all honesty, I can understand Shakespeare quite well, only because I have read a great number of his plays. Being thrown into a time period where that was the normal way to speak, would be quite difficult. I guess I wouldn't have to depend on any technology, which could be both a blessing and a curse. There would be no cars, no cell phones, no computers, and worst of all, no video games.
Honestly, just walking around, I would be a little nervous and uneasy. I would be so afraid that just out of nowhere someone would accuse me of being a witch, or dancing in the woods or something like that. That time was essentially ruled by fear, where as today, if you sin, oh well. God deals with it.
I would be a totally different person living in that time period. I would be quieter, more religious, and probably more respectful. I do not even think I would have many friends because I would be too afraid to say anything to anyone. My morals would more then likely shape me more so into the person I would want to become, and my sins would be far less than they are today.
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I think that living in the puritan era would be awesome. Life would be much simpler, you could make a name for yourself based on your trade, not on schooling. No cell phones, TV, electricity or x-box for hundreds of years might scare some but in my opinion it would be a breath of fresh air. Naturally, I would miss those things, but I can only imagine the possibilities that could happen for me. Imagine the adventures you could have, exploring a wild world that is untouched by outside settlers. Imagine meeting Native Americans and seeing the beauty of the forest’s before we destroyed them. As for entertainment, adventure is all I need. Hardships are of no concern to me either, I am able to hunt and fish and survive on nothing for a long time and being in a place that gives you all you need is perfect. The resources would be endless. I wouldn’t even have to rely on anyone, but company is always welcomed. I can also only imagine myself being happier in the puritan era. Without the pressures of this modern world, like drugs and peer pressure or school and college, how could it be any less than paradise? But I wouldn’t be the same Ryan Hamm you all know and love. I would be kinder and more serious. My life would be simple and I would be simple as well. In my opinion I think I would be a better person, but to others, they may not like the change they see.
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During the Puritan age, it would be like strict and hard working. Everyone would have strict rules and make everyone work on the farms or help build stuff. I would enterntain myself by playing with the other kids and finding creative ways to build things and I would fish a lot. Some hardship I would face would be the lack of flavorful foods and going to church all day. I would not have to rely on would be the advanced technology and I would have to do everything, including food, by myself with my own hands. My attitude would be like calm and relaxed. I wouldn’t get myself worked up over much because there isnt anything to get worked up about. I would listen and be a good kid. There is nothing in that time period worth getting in trouble or anything. I feel like I would be the same as I am today kind of. I am lazy now because of the technology and if I never had it I feel that I would be more active and willing to do anything that wasn’t boring. I would love to go back and expierence all this instead of just writing about it. Word count: 258
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion living in a puritan age would be a challenging experience for me. There are no cell phones, computers, televisions, movies or I pods to past the time away. The only thing to do is play out side, I hate playing going outside so there would be nothing for me to do. Just like Danielle said we would probably have to interact with people more forcing us to be more social. I feel like families would be closer together and there would be less drama. School would be a lot more interesting because I am pretty sure the children got in trouble for disrupting the class or being disrespectful towards teachers, so I would learn a lot more. In addition, everyone would be closer to God because it was all about pleasing him back then. Because of these transitions I would say playing my flute and drawing would be my number one priority and would keep me occupied. Maybe becoming a fashion designer like Hester would also entertain me. The hardest thing for me would most likely be being more social and apart of the society. I have a hard time having conversations with people I do not know or I am not comfortable around. I would also get tired of having to do what everyone wants me to do and is telling me to do. I strongly dislike taking orders so that would be another problem I would face. I feel like I would not be able to speak up if I disagreed with something that was happening. On the bright side I would not have to rely on the computer or television to get me information because I could just hear it from the rest of the town. I think I would have a good attitude. After a while I would get use to the life style and not having a bunch of distractions like phones computers and things of that nature would allow me to just think, reflect and clear my head. I would be a calmer person. I would be a completely different person. When you are surrounded with different cultures, people and life styles no matter if you want to or not you being to adjust to the new lifestyles that you are surrounded with. I think that a puritan age would be a better fit for me even though I would rather not live in one.
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I would not like living in the Puritan age. Like Chris said African Americans would still be in slavery time. I would not know what freedom is and work every day for nothing but leftovers from master. The ways I would entertain myself would be talking to any of the other slaves on the plantation. At my age I would be considered an adult and be working all day for free. It would be a lot different than life today life no electricity no heat in the houses expect the fireplace. There would be no type of technology no sports and a lot of hate and confusion. Any type of sin or bad deed committed would be amplified and blow out of proportion.
ReplyDeleteThe hardest part of living back then would be excepting begin a second class citizen and not understanding why. Another thing would be not begin able to eat the kind of food we have in today’s world. Also it would be hard to listen to the classical music and nothing else. It would be hard to adjust to not begin able to get clean and begin dirty all the time. It would be hard to have to go to church all the time. I would have to rely on myself to be able to make it through this time period. My attitude would be angry and wanting to run away from where I was. I would not be the same person I am today I would be a lot more angry. I would tell the plantation owner how I felt.
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To live in the Puritan age would be a new adjustment from my everyday life. I would not have any of my electronics. It would hard to even think about living without a phone, TV, computers, and games. Also living in the Puritan age you would wear ugly clothes and they wouldn’t even know good taste for nice clothes. During that time everyone pretty much wore all of the same clothes, so you would look the same as everyone in town. Plus they didn’t always shower much back then; I would be able to withstand the smell of people. To entertain myself I would go swim in the lake. Talk to the girls in the town. Plays games during their time that they thought was amazed. Hardship that I would face would be if I do something wrong that people never witness before. They would judge me and talk about what I did throughout the town. I would not have the computer or phone to rely on. I wouldn’t be able to know what is happening around the world and I would really know anyone beside the people in the town. I would have a terrible attitude from the start, as each day pastes of the same life in the Puritan age, without cell phone or computer. Even if I like or not because this is the life I’m living now so I just have to put up a positive attitude toward life, just live like during the Puritan age and get use what goes around during this time. I would be a totally different person from this time. In this time we have it easy, most of us don’t have to work or do a thing and but just go to school. After the Puritan age I would be a harder worker and know how to take care the family when they need me.
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If I lived in the Puritan age, I would go crazy. I would be cut off from all my technology. I would be scared for my life because I would actually die of boredom. It would be impossible to entertain myself. I do not even think they had footballs or baseballs that you could play with. I would actually have no choice but to read, but that would only make my death of boredom come even faster. One of my hardships would be that I am different, and I have trouble going with other people's ideas. People would probably be scared that I am different. I would not have my music in the Puritan Age. Music is the only way I can escape reality. I just turn it on and block out my surroundings. I would probably be depressed at all times. I would be out of place, and never happy. I would be a totally different person. I would not have any of my things. It is sad, but I will admit that I depend on some of the objects in my possession.
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Living in the Puritan Age would be a huge change in my life. Everything that I own now is not in the Puritan Age. I would feel lost due to the face I would not know what is going on with the world. To entertain myself I would have to figure out how to get myself some sports equipment even if it was invented yet. I would try to gather people and get huge games of either basketball or football. The hardship I would face is probably not being able to travel in a car. A car is how I go everywhere. I cannot stand walking to places and I do not understand how people back in the old days did walk everywhere and people around the world still are. I would not have to rely on my parents as much because they would not have to by me things like a car, video games, and pay for things as much. My attitude toward life would be completely different then it is now. I would appreciate life more because I would realize what people actually had to do meaning work for and that technology just cannot do everything for us. I would be a better person in the Puritan Age than I am now. I think I would be a better person in the Puritan Age because it would force me to appreciate life more and try to live everyday to the fullest.
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I think that living back then would be extremely hard for me. I do not think I would be able to do it. I am big on athletics and they did not have that back in the Puritan Age. Not being able to play any type of sports would be horrible, almost as if I shouldn't even be there. I think to entertain myself I would have to go hunting. It would be suitable for me to go out and use a gun and I also think it would be fun. Also I think that with hunting a lot of disease would come from the dead animals. I always get colds now to and back then they did not have cold medicine so I think it would be even worse.
ReplyDeleteI think that my attitude would not change toward anything. Just because it is a different time and that I would have some different hobbies does not mean that my attitude would change at all. I believe that I would be somewhat of the same person that I am now when it comes to personality and my mindset about everything. I would still be a hard worker because I do not think that my family would be wealthy even back then, so I would still have to work for everything that I would have just as I do in my life today. On the plus side when you talk about family I would not have to worry about having my car or cell phone being taken away by my parents because there really was not technology. I do think that I would not be as lazy at times like I am because of technology. Overall I think that my life would be much different and much harder. I would really understand what it was like to earn your life and work hard for everything that I would have.
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