AP Language and Composition
The Scarlet Letter: Dialectical Journal Model
Text / Response"Woman, transgress not beyond the limits of Heaven's mercy!" cried the Reverend Mr. Wilson, more harshly than before. "That little babe hath been gifted with a voice, to second and confirm the counsel which thou hast heard. Speak out the name! That, and thy repentance, may avail to take the scarlet letter off thy breast."
"Never!" replied Hester Prynne, looking, not at Mr. Wilson, but into the deep and troubled eyes of the younger clergyman. "It is too deeply branded. Ye cannot take it off. And would that I might endure his agony, as well as mine!" / In the beginning of this passage, I find Hester Prynne’s words to describe her relationship to the scarlet letterinteresting: “It is too deeply branded. Ye cannot take it off.” There are a few denotations of the word brand that seem especially relevant here. For example, we have brand name clothes, food, cars, etc., that indicate to the consumer that a particular product is created or distributed by a certain company or group. In this instance, brand names supposedly indicate the quality of a product and distinguish the product from generic ones; therefore, a brand name is almost a guarantee to the consumer that he or she will be pleased with the purchase.
In our culture, people have an affinity for brand name items: we love our iPhone, Under Armour, Ford (or Chevrolet), Heinz ketchup, or Crest. We do not like to sacrifice these brand names, which are often pricier, for their generic counterparts, for cheaper prices equates to cheaper products in our minds; and often, the product begins to represent the brand, and the brand the product. When I want ketchup, I want Heinz ketchup, not because it is the only ketchup that exists, but because I grew up eating that particular brand, can distinguish its flavor, and prefer it to other brands; therefore, to me, Heinz is synonymous with ketchup. The brand has become the product and the product the brand.
Hester Prynne has been branded with “Adultery.” In essence, Hester Prynne represents the “product” of adultery—she is the quintessential embodiment of the adultery brand. With her seductive, immodest beauty, haughty attitude, and illegitimate child, Hester Prynne is a lesson against immorality in physical form. She represents both the intrigue of “Adultery” and its damning consequences.
Yet this denotation does not seem to capture the significance of the word deeply. Another type of branding occurs when a distinguishing mark is placed on an object to signify the owner or creator of the object. Such a denotation is related to the previous one I have discussed, since most brand names have a unique trademark on their products. For hundreds of years, people have branded their products through harsher means, such as using a heated branding iron to burn a mark into the flesh of livestock or even slaves, which produces a permanent scar—a perpetual sign for all that the animal or person is the property of particular person.
Similarly, Hester Prynne has been permanently designated as an adulterer.