"But there is a
fatality, a feeling so irresistible and inevitable that it has the force of doom, which almost
invariably compels human beings to linger around and haunt, ghostlike, the spot where some great
and marked event has given the color to their lifetime; and still the more irresistibly, the
darker the tinge that saddens it." Chapter
5
Context: Chapter 5 provides
description of Hester's life after leaving prison and of her home on the outskirts of the
colony.
Many of my students, upon realizing Hester lives with the
very people who seem to hate her so much, immediately ask, "Why doesn't she just leave?" This
quote explains one possible reason. To help students understand I have them try to think of a
person or a place in their own lives that, though this place or relationship is emotionally
unhealthy for them, they cannot seem to stay away.
(Text-to-self.)
It seems like most everyone has something like this
in their life. It is as if it is human nature to be drawn toward things that hurt us just a
little bit. The explanation for why Hester chooses to remain in a town that so clearly shuns her
might lie in this common human condition. For Hester, it may have been partly to punish herself
because she feels guilty and partly to face her accusers with her held high. Many of us might
also agree that we do the same thing. (Text-to-world.)
Now, if you
can think of another character in any book you've read who deals with a challenge head on,
whether out of guilt or pride, you have made a text-to-text connection in this
quote.
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