In the richly textured novel A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, author Michael Dorris splendidly weaves a narrative in which the meaningful stories of three generations of women are told. Each story is incomplete without the other, and the reader is not fully able to understand the beginning narratives until they reach the narrative of the grandmother, Aunt Ida. As Aunt Ida explains, "She doesn't realize that I am the story." (page 297) Upon closer examination of Aunt Ida it becomes very obvious that she is not unlike many other characters of American literature. Most notably, Aunt Ida can be successfully compared to that of Hester Prynne from Nathaniel Hawthorne's A Scarlet Letter. It is only when readers compare and contrast different characters from seemingly diverse books that they are able to firmly grasp the character's true personality, assessing their ultimate success or failure. Thus in order to decide the ultimate success or failure of Aunt Ida and Hester Prynne, it is crucial to closely examine each character, comparing and contrasting woman's struggles in life.
Aunt and Ida and Hester Prynne essentially share the same shame, humiliation, and resentment stemming from one profound event in their life. This one event shapes and molds their characters, explaining their characteristics and the ways they act. With the event also come struggles that they must face everyday. In the case of Aunt Ida, she had the misfortune of coming in contact with her Aunt Clara. Aunt Clara, who had come to take care of her sick sister, instead resorted to an affair with her brother-in-law, Lecon, who is Ida's father. To avoid public humiliation, Clara and Lecon devise the plan to pretend as if the baby were Ida"s, though she is only fifteen. Clara explains that everyone already knows she has a crush on Willard Pretty Dog, and no one would think anything of it. Clara then decides to give the baby girl, named Christine, up for adoption.
Ida B. Wells is one of the most important African American of all times. Her struggles to put a stop to lynching were very significant. Her strategies for combating lynching were to use reverse psychology on the white newspaper reporters and the white community. In doing so, she often quoted the whi...
Hester, with her brilliant scarlet A draped over her, was like a large ruby lying in a pile of charcoal. ... Pearl was quite possibly Hester's greatest work of art. ... Hester's initial sin with Arthur Dimmesdale was her artistic genesis, bearing the beginnings of Hester as a character of pure passion and inspiration. ... Both share a similar point of origin, both are the result of Hester's sin, and both display Hester's extraordinary creative capability. ... Pearl saw that Hester's abandonment of one of her defining pieces of art meant that she was next to go. ...
(Outline) Ida B. Wells: A Crusader for America Introduction- Ida was an active crusader against lynching and a champion of social and political justice for African Americans. She was not a famous crusader for the cause but she did more than many know. I. Background A. Birth date and family ...
Hester Prynne In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the protagonist, Hester Prynne, as a symbol of courage, responsibility, and unconditional love. ... The first trait that Hester Prynne represents is responsibility. ... The next trait that Hester exhibits in this tale is courage. ... Another trait that Hester symbolizes is that of unconditional love. ... Hester's inability to wait for her husband leads her to find fulfillment elsewhere. ...
Ida Lupino's body of work explores a realistic scope of human emotion both in the lives of men and women. ... Feminist critics can easily have ignored Ida Lupino's films because while controversial, they are not conducive to feminist modes of representation. Ida Lupino first came into Hollywood at age fifteen as an actress but did not have much success outside of acting in "B- pictures. ... Ida Lupino does not make a point of scrutinizing his death nor even giving the audience the satisfaction of knowing his ultimate fate because it is not as important as showing the benevolence...
Hester Prynne Hester Prynne, the main character in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, is a fair young woman who has an affair with her pastor while her husband is away. ... Hester has an intense maternal love for Pearl that is especially particular in their case... Losing almost everything in life, Hester sought happiness only in the presence of her child. ... Hence, Hester is a person with many different characteristics to be admired for. ... Because she cannot undo the past, Hester seeks to refine the future. ...
Fellow African-Americans and Friends We are gathered here on this earth as one. A crucial element in today's society is in the struggle of African-Americans for equal treatment under the law. In fact, a well-known fighter for the rights of all human beings is Ms. Ida B. Wells-Barnet...
Character Analysis: Hester Prynne The novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne was an objective description of the life of Hester Prynne, who is an adulteress. ... Throughout the novel Hester's strength is put to the test. ... answered Hester Prynne, laying her finger on the red token. ... Many people believe that Hester is a flawed heroine. ... Hawthorne does not really go inside of Hester's mind so we never really know what Hester felt internally. ...
During this time, Hester refuses publicly name Pearl's father. ... Throughout the novel Hester's strength is put to the test. ... answered Hester Prynne, laying her finger on the red token. ... Many people believe that Hester is a flawed heroine. ... Hawthorne does not really go inside of Hester's mind so we never really know what Hester felt internally. ...
