Brainstorm a list of female protagonists from movies or other works of literature. What are the qualities they most commonly possess? Does Hester Prynne possess these traits? What comment does that make upon the expectations society has of women?
Susan B. Anthony, Joan of Arc, Elizabeth Stanton. Sure hester is strong willed, and defiant, but i dont think she has a drive for women's rights at all. Hester contemplated the issue, but didnt push it like these women.
For me, I see Hester as being relatable to Cinderella.
Cinderella is the ignored sister. She gets looked down upon and is forced to wear rags.
Hester Prynne feels exiled in society because she is looked down upon for her commitment of the adulturous sin. She is forced to wear a scarlet letter.
Cinderella has a dance with a good man who loses contact with her afterwards.
Hester Prynne has a child with a man that she no longer sees.
Hester's partner in crime had not been revealed.
In reverse, the Prince tries to seek out the indentity of Cinderella.
Annie, Juno, Sandy from Grease, Tracy Turnblad from Hairspray, Kira from Lois Lowry's book Gathering Blue, Bella from Twilight.
The trait that all of these lead character's have, at least at the beginning of each story, is innocence. When I think of each one I think charm, wittiness, innocence, determination, hard working, and stubborness, respectively. I think that, to an extent, Hester possesed all of the traits listed above.
It shows that society is expectant to see these traits in women everywhere.
Sara Fitzgerald from My Sister's Keeper Pocahontas Melinda from Speak
Honestly I do not see her as stubborn or innocent at all. She is strong, high willed women. Someone you can look up too. She makes a mess, but instead of walking away, she cleans it up. She faces it.
If Hester can stand there and be publicly humiliated without showing the slightest emotion on her face, especially with her baby in her arms, I think she can go through anything. It takes a lot of guts to stand there and not break down. I wouldn't be able to do it. And she didn't run from her problem, she faced it.
I think people started to hate her because she didn't run. People expect women to be weak and petty. But then they started to respect her and be proud of her. Women can be independent just as well as a man. People back then didn't think to much of that.
Carlee Lieser 6th hr.
ps- I like how only girls have answered to this so far. woohoo! go girl power.
Angelina Jolie in "Wanted" Buffy the vampire slayer L. Woods in Legally Blonde 2
Angelina Jolie can curve bullets and she kills people to save the world..
Buffy kills vampires
L. Woods trys to make testing cosmetics on animals illegal. Also she wears pink
Hester does not posses any of these traits, unless there is THE SCARLET LETTER 2 where Hester kills people and vampires and also wears pink..
Note To Self - Start writing the Scarlet Letter 2
Anyways..
It seems like now, woman are more violent in movies.. It also seems like people should expect a lot from woman now, I mean, from what I can see, woman can do a lot..
Bella from Twilight. Hermonie from Harry Potter. Rachel Mcadams from The Notebook.
All these girls have such powerful characters in their movies. One thing that they all have in common is charm. These girls know how to get what they want from a man =)
Hester is pretty good at it herself too. It may have taken her awhile but she got Dimmesdale wrapped around her finger, and he never noticed what she was doing.
Never underestimate a woman, you have know idea on what we can do.
Ripley from Alien, Sarah Conner from Terminator, Clarice Starling from Silence of the Lambs, Ann Darrow from King Kong
They're mostly characters who were reasonably independent who then end up in a situation that they weren't expecting and for the most part have to fight to survive. Hester is slightly like that, but wearing a patch isn't exactly as bad as being chased by aliens, cyborgs, giant gorillas, and serial killers.
I don't really think it's much of an social commentary. There are many stories where men do the same thing. The only difference is the females seem to be slightly more reluctant, and yet always are the ones who don't die. In other words, women could pretty much take over the world whenever they wanted to.
Female protagonists are generally very strong mentally and emotionally. They are determined to make the best happen and that is what Hester is like also. A very strong female in the movies is Nala from The Lion King. She possesses the same mental strength as Hester and is also determined to overcome all the bad situations she is in.
Angelina Jolie in "Wanted" Buffy the vampire slayer and Ell Woods in Legally Blonde 2.
All of these women show their determination to follow through with their dreams and beliefs. I believe she does to an extent, because she is strong willed but is so humiliated its hard to be completely true to your beliefs. THis shows that women have indeed come an extremely long way since the olden days haha. But they also have more strength now then they did bck then
People who stick out in my mind are Tracy Turbland from Hairspray, Elle Woods from Legally Blond, Alex Owens from Flashdance, Angelina Jolie from Wanted...These characters all wanted something and they put there whole heart in it and fought for it. They all had the innocent trait on their side but they came through when they stood up for what the wanted. They were heros to themselves, society, their peers or the world. They are all strong, intelligent, respected and determined women who fight for what they believe in even if the odds are against them. I think that Hester shows these traits and that she is strong for herself and Pearl.
From the beginning since hearing about Hester's sin, I've thought about Juno.
Both were ridiculed for their "sin," retaliated without overdoing it, loved the man that they had their children with, and kept the father a secret for the most part.
Society in Hester's time and in Juno's time are very different. Today, having a child and not being married to the man is more common and less people look down upon it as they did in Hester's time.
i have to say sandra bullock as Gracie Hart in Miss Congeniality, she was a hardworking cop that made a mistake and was treated poorly and was stuck with pushing papers, but inone of the biggest cases for them that year she pulled through and saved the day. Hester made some mistaked obviously, but she still works very hard for Pearl and others in the community and it very well could end as Hester saving the day as well.
Juno and Tracy Turnblad from Hairspray. The trait that all of these lead characters have is innocence (in the beginning). When I think of each one I think of them being witty, innocent, determinated, and stubborn. Hester seems to fill into all of these categories.
I agree with tracy's statement that Hester is a lot alike Cinderella, her step sisters are always making her do all the work, she can't go anwhere without being made fun of by her step sisters but unlike Cinderella, Hester isn't doing all the work. She does end up not being made fun of anymore because the prince falls in love with her just like Hester starts to become more with the people instead of a sinner. They really start to appreciate how strong she has been during all that time putting up with all the horrible a rude comments thrown her way. Billy Keene 3rd hour
Hester reminds me of Elizabeth Swan from the Pirates of the Caribbean and Lena Caligaris from the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. In the beginning all these women are portrayed as innocent ladies who do no wrong. But as their stories continue on that is not the case. Elizabeth goes from being a porper lady to becoming a brave pirate. She has an independent mind and does what she thinks is right. Then there's Lena. Lena starts off as this very conservative girl who doesn't wear jeans or anything revealing and blossoms into a gorgeous girl who isn't afraid off letting loose and having fun with her friends.
Well, in my opinion, protagonists all have the same general traits, regardless of gender. They are always strong-willed, courageous, and good-looking and often have strong morals, integrity, and pride.
I don't think that the traits of any female protagonist says anything more about what society expects from women than the traits of any male protagonist say about the expectations society has of men.
Hester reminds me a lot of Bella from Twilight, and Elle Woods from Legally Blonde and Legally Blonde 2. They start off as innocent girls, who mature and grow into strong women who stand up for what they believe in and themselves. Hester does the same when she is forced to wear the scarlet letter. Instead of hanging her head in shame, she tries to look at the good things, and be confident and show pride.
Hermione from Harry Potter, Susan B. Anthony, Cinderella: All these women are strong leaders. They emotionally are strong willed and make good decisions. They don't let anything get in their way, and when they don't succeed, they get up and try again. Hester proves that even though she has sinned, she keeps going on with her life. She is emotionally strong. Ali Stevenson - 1st hour
Rachel McAdams in the Time Traveler's Wife, Ann Hallaway in Ella Enchanted, and Bella from Twilight.
These women all have to be strong to get through tough situations, whether it be running from vampires, breaking a curse, or dealing with your husband not being around. They all managed a way to deal with everything no matter what it was.
Hester had to be strong to make it through her punishment and the shame of the scarlet letter.
Most people in society view women as emotional nut cases when really a lot of us are strong individuals and no one notices.
Princess Leia of star wars, Juliet , Susan b Anthony , Wonder Woman
They are all strong and courageous! The stereotypical woman is weak and is dominated by the man. But thanks to the power of literature, women can be shown as the dominate character just as Hester is in this work. Women are always put down to the bottom of the totem pole. But that just makes them work harder and become stronger to get to the top.
Lucy Penvensie, Bonnie Silver, Kale, Cammie Morgan, Winter.
ReplyDeleteStubborness adventureness, willingness to work, curosity
Maybe not curosity but she is defenitly stubborn.
They expected it but didn't necessarily like it. It doesn't matter much anymore if you are a girl or not.
Rachel Timmer 6th
Susan B. Anthony, Joan of Arc, Elizabeth Stanton.
ReplyDeleteSure hester is strong willed, and defiant, but i dont think she has a drive for women's rights at all. Hester contemplated the issue, but didnt push it like these women.
anna mason, 3rd hour
For me, I see Hester as being relatable to Cinderella.
ReplyDeleteCinderella is the ignored sister. She gets looked down upon and is forced to wear rags.
Hester Prynne feels exiled in society because she is looked down upon for her commitment of the adulturous sin. She is forced to wear a scarlet letter.
Cinderella has a dance with a good man who loses contact with her afterwards.
Hester Prynne has a child with a man that she no longer sees.
Hester's partner in crime had not been revealed.
In reverse, the Prince tries to seek out the indentity of Cinderella.
Tracy Pfeffer
3rd Hour
Annie, Juno, Sandy from Grease, Tracy Turnblad from Hairspray, Kira from Lois Lowry's book Gathering Blue, Bella from Twilight.
ReplyDeleteThe trait that all of these lead character's have, at least at the beginning of each story, is innocence. When I think of each one I think charm, wittiness, innocence, determination, hard working, and stubborness, respectively. I think that, to an extent, Hester possesed all of the traits listed above.
It shows that society is expectant to see these traits in women everywhere.
Angela Wilcox 3rd
Sara Fitzgerald from My Sister's Keeper Pocahontas
ReplyDeleteMelinda from Speak
Honestly I do not see her as stubborn or innocent at all. She is strong, high willed women. Someone you can look up too. She makes a mess, but instead of walking away, she cleans it up. She faces it.
If Hester can stand there and be publicly humiliated without showing the slightest emotion on her face, especially with her baby in her arms, I think she can go through anything. It takes a lot of guts to stand there and not break down. I wouldn't be able to do it. And she didn't run from her problem, she faced it.
I think people started to hate her because she didn't run. People expect women to be weak and petty. But then they started to respect her and be proud of her. Women can be independent just as well as a man. People back then didn't think to much of that.
Carlee Lieser
6th hr.
ps- I like how only girls have answered to this so far. woohoo! go girl power.
Angelina Jolie in "Wanted"
ReplyDeleteBuffy the vampire slayer
L. Woods in Legally Blonde 2
Angelina Jolie can curve bullets and she kills people to save the world..
Buffy kills vampires
L. Woods trys to make testing cosmetics on animals illegal. Also she wears pink
Hester does not posses any of these traits, unless there is THE SCARLET LETTER 2 where Hester kills people and vampires and also wears pink..
Note To Self - Start writing the Scarlet Letter 2
Anyways..
It seems like now, woman are more violent in movies.. It also seems like people should expect a lot from woman now, I mean, from what I can see, woman can do a lot..
Richie Keith
3rd hour
xD
Bella from Twilight. Hermonie from Harry Potter. Rachel Mcadams from The Notebook.
ReplyDeleteAll these girls have such powerful characters in their movies. One thing that they all have in common is charm. These girls know how to get what they want from a man =)
Hester is pretty good at it herself too. It may have taken her awhile but she got Dimmesdale wrapped around her finger, and he never noticed what she was doing.
Never underestimate a woman, you have know idea on what we can do.
Ripley from Alien, Sarah Conner from Terminator, Clarice Starling from Silence of the Lambs, Ann Darrow from King Kong
ReplyDeleteThey're mostly characters who were reasonably independent who then end up in a situation that they weren't expecting and for the most part have to fight to survive. Hester is slightly like that, but wearing a patch isn't exactly as bad as being chased by aliens, cyborgs, giant gorillas, and serial killers.
I don't really think it's much of an social commentary. There are many stories where men do the same thing. The only difference is the females seem to be slightly more reluctant, and yet always are the ones who don't die. In other words, women could pretty much take over the world whenever they wanted to.
Female protagonists are generally very strong mentally and emotionally. They are determined to make the best happen and that is what Hester is like also. A very strong female in the movies is Nala from The Lion King. She possesses the same mental strength as Hester and is also determined to overcome all the bad situations she is in.
ReplyDeleteBryer Lehr
3rd Hour
i love the lion king
Angelina Jolie in "Wanted" Buffy the vampire slayer and Ell Woods in Legally Blonde 2.
ReplyDeleteAll of these women show their determination to follow through with their dreams and beliefs. I believe she does to an extent, because she is strong willed but is so humiliated its hard to be completely true to your beliefs. THis shows that women have indeed come an extremely long way since the olden days haha. But they also have more strength now then they did bck then
People who stick out in my mind are Tracy Turbland from Hairspray, Elle Woods from Legally Blond, Alex Owens from Flashdance, Angelina Jolie from Wanted...These characters all wanted something and they put there whole heart in it and fought for it. They all had the innocent trait on their side but they came through when they stood up for what the wanted. They were heros to themselves, society, their peers or the world. They are all strong, intelligent, respected and determined women who fight for what they believe in even if the odds are against them. I think that Hester shows these traits and that she is strong for herself and Pearl.
ReplyDeleteFrom the beginning since hearing about Hester's sin, I've thought about Juno.
ReplyDeleteBoth were ridiculed for their "sin," retaliated without overdoing it, loved the man that they had their children with, and kept the father a secret for the most part.
Society in Hester's time and in Juno's time are very different. Today, having a child and not being married to the man is more common and less people look down upon it as they did in Hester's time.
Nice Ritchie, although your ideas are a little far-fetched, I agree wholly.
ReplyDelete---Kyle Turner---
6th Hour
i have to say sandra bullock as Gracie Hart in Miss Congeniality, she was a hardworking cop that made a mistake and was treated poorly and was stuck with pushing papers, but inone of the biggest cases for them that year she pulled through and saved the day. Hester made some mistaked obviously, but she still works very hard for Pearl and others in the community and it very well could end as Hester saving the day as well.
ReplyDeletemichelle cameron-1
Juno and Tracy Turnblad from Hairspray. The trait that all of these lead characters have is innocence (in the beginning). When I think of each one I think of them being witty, innocent, determinated, and stubborn. Hester seems to fill into all of these categories.
ReplyDeleteKendra Brenbarger
6th Hour.
(:
I agree with tracy's statement that Hester is a lot alike Cinderella, her step sisters are always making her do all the work, she can't go anwhere without being made fun of by her step sisters but unlike Cinderella, Hester isn't doing all the work. She does end up not being made fun of anymore because the prince falls in love with her just like Hester starts to become more with the people instead of a sinner. They really start to appreciate how strong she has been during all that time putting up with all the horrible a rude comments thrown her way.
ReplyDeleteBilly Keene 3rd hour
Hester reminds me of Elizabeth Swan from the Pirates of the Caribbean and Lena Caligaris from the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. In the beginning all these women are portrayed as innocent ladies who do no wrong. But as their stories continue on that is not the case. Elizabeth goes from being a porper lady to becoming a brave pirate. She has an independent mind and does what she thinks is right. Then there's Lena. Lena starts off as this very conservative girl who doesn't wear jeans or anything revealing and blossoms into a gorgeous girl who isn't afraid off letting loose and having fun with her friends.
ReplyDeleteWell, in my opinion, protagonists all have the same general traits, regardless of gender. They are always strong-willed, courageous, and good-looking and often have strong morals, integrity, and pride.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the traits of any female protagonist says anything more about what society expects from women than the traits of any male protagonist say about the expectations society has of men.
Jacob Nicholson
ReplyDelete3rd Hr
Hester reminds me a lot of Bella from Twilight, and Elle Woods from Legally Blonde and Legally Blonde 2. They start off as innocent girls, who mature and grow into strong women who stand up for what they believe in and themselves. Hester does the same when she is forced to wear the scarlet letter. Instead of hanging her head in shame, she tries to look at the good things, and be confident and show pride.
ReplyDeleteSaralyn Simpson
3rd Hour
Hermione from Harry Potter, Susan B. Anthony, Cinderella:
ReplyDeleteAll these women are strong leaders. They emotionally are strong willed and make good decisions. They don't let anything get in their way, and when they don't succeed, they get up and try again. Hester proves that even though she has sinned, she keeps going on with her life. She is emotionally strong.
Ali Stevenson - 1st hour
Rachel McAdams in the Time Traveler's Wife, Ann Hallaway in Ella Enchanted, and Bella from Twilight.
ReplyDeleteThese women all have to be strong to get through tough situations, whether it be running from vampires, breaking a curse, or dealing with your husband not being around. They all managed a way to deal with everything no matter what it was.
Hester had to be strong to make it through her punishment and the shame of the scarlet letter.
Most people in society view women as emotional nut cases when really a lot of us are strong individuals and no one notices.
Ashley Boaz 3rd
I agree a ton with saralyn on the Elle Woods one. I was going to say that!
ReplyDeletePrincess Leia of star wars, Juliet , Susan b Anthony , Wonder Woman
ReplyDeleteThey are all strong and courageous! The stereotypical woman is weak and is dominated by the man. But thanks to the power of literature, women can be shown as the dominate character just as Hester is in this work. Women are always put down to the bottom of the totem pole. But that just makes them work harder and become stronger to get to the top.
Eddie Weber 6th hour