Question

Which audience and purpose would be most appropriate for the following sentence?

These issues will engage us for years to come and give us much to consider.

To convince an audience in a formal presentation

To convince an audience of your peers

To entertain an audience in a formal presentation

To entertain an audience of your peers

Answer 1

i think it might be b

Answer 2

@thomaster

Answer 3

@AravindG

Answer 4

@kelliegirl33

Answer 5

ill give medals and become fan!

Answer 6

I am not 100% sure..but I am gonna say : to convince an audience in a formal presentation

Answer 7

ok thanks can you help with others?

Answer 8

I cant stay on much longer..sorry....I will be back on later

Answer 9

ok ill type it now tho..

Answer 10

sure

Answer 11

The Problem with Dimmesdale

By Mary Elizabeth Clare

It is easy to judge Reverend Dimmesdale, the cowardly, self-abusing, and oh-so-guilty minister in The Scarlet Letter. He values his position in society more than just about everything there is to value in life: relationships, sanity, peaceful reflection. At times in the novel, he also seems to prize his guilt, bearing it as if it were as gilded as Hester's letter. Dimmesdale is presented as weak, self-absorbed, and guilty. When he climbs the scaffold, following Hester's footprints to make his very feeble attempt to confess, readers see the consequences of this conflict clearly. Dimmesdale's hidden shame becomes, because of his own lack of strength, the ultimate punishment. Because of this, and the stifling restrictions of Puritan society, perhaps Dimmesdale deserves some pity.

Hester lives out her punishment publically and painfully on the scaffold and in her daily life. While Dimmesdale does not suffer this public shame, he is shamed nonetheless. Surely Dimmesdale's self-inflicted punishment is far worse than Hester's scarlet letter. Beating himself with the scourge, and carving his own A in his flesh are manifestations of his sense of guilt. Without an outlet, or a chance to ask forgiveness from the people he's wronged, surely this guilty feeling is amplified. While Hester can't escape the outward display of her shame, she does have quiet moments in which to escape her penance. Dimmesdale, however, can never escape his own inner torment. In the scene in the market place, Dimmesdale, forced to publicly coerce Hester, says "Hester, though he were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so than to hide a guilty heart through life." While guilty of letting Hester bear the public burden, he is fully aware of the consequences of hiding—and even hints at his own ending.

In addition, unlike Hester, Dimmesdale has no source of human comfort. Hester had the public shame, but she also had Pearl. He had no one to confide in, and no one like Pearl to distract him from his own morbid thoughts. Dimmesdale's only companion is Chillingsworth, who only increases his torment. Dimmesdale's isolation is made clear in his interactions with Chillingsworth: "Trusting no man as his friend, he could not recognize his enemy when the latter actually appeared." Hester receives a constant stream of admonitions and moral guidance, but the guidance and nudgings Dimmesdale receives from Chillingsworth are far more sinister and evil. Dimmesdale has to remain constantly on guard. Dimmesdale himself explains this: "Happy are you, Hester, that wear the scarlet letter openly upon your bosom! Mine burns in secret! Thou little knowest what a relief it is, after the torment of a seven years' cheat, to look into an eye that recognises me for what I am!" The lack of meaningful human connection surely adds to Dimmesdale's unhappy burden.

Hester was branded by the letter she wore, but that branding freed her from the constant fear of being found out. Dimmesdale feels not only the shame of his secret but the dread of its discovery. Hawthorne writes, "all the dread of public exposure, that had so long been the anguish of his life, had returned upon him," as Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold and tries, in vain, to do his public confession and penance. This is the moment readers feel the most disdain for Dimmesdale. He lacks the courage that Hester must summon daily. He is pitiful, weak, and pathetic on the scaffold with his meager cries and self-loathing. We hate him as much as he hates himself. Yet, this moment also should give us pause in our condemnation. The consequences of confession for Dimmesdale are dire. Death was not unknown as a punishment for these kinds of transgressions. The fact that Dimmesdale held his tongue for seven years would not have increased the community's willingness to forgive him either. While he fails to receive the forgiveness he so desires, his stance on the scaffold is an act of extreme bravery.

Puritans believed their main purpose in life was to do God's work. They made it their business to make sure every member of the community stayed busy doing this important work. And those who had a misstep were not treated lightly. Public lashings and stockade time were frequent events in the public square. There were even fines for infrequent church attendance. For Hester and Dimmesdale, this culture was everything to them. Their very presence in the new world bespoke a commitment to these rules of behavior made before embarking from England. While it is easy to admire Hester's courage and commitment to both Pearl and Dimmesdale, her strength should not diminish Dimmesdale in our eyes. He is weak—but he does not pretend otherwise. He is guilty—but he honors that guilt daily and does not deny it. He is miserable—and he dies with only scant moments of reprieve from that misery. It is easy to hate Dimmesdale, but it is important to remember he does not exploit Hester, nor does he profit from his transgression. Indeed, he pays with his life.

Part A: Read this line from the text:

Dimmesdale, forced to publicly coerce Hester, says "Hester, though he were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so than to hide a guilty heart through life."

Answer 12

What is the author's main point in including this quotation from the novel?

Please fill in blank 1 using A, B, C, or D.

A. To create evidence of Dimmesdale's greatest crime against Hester.
B. To imply that Hester suffered needlessly for them both.
C. To reinforce the idea that the punishment for Hester is unjust.
D. To suggest Dimmesdale knows his fate is worse than Hester's.

Part B:
Select two additional lines that help develop the idea expressed in the answer to Part A and enter your selections in blanks 2 and 3 provided, making sure your answers are in alphabetical order.

E. While guilty of letting Hester bear the public burden, he is fully aware of the consequences
F. The guidance and nudgings Dimmesdale receives from Chillingsworth are far more sinister
G. He lacks the courage that Hester must summon daily.
H. He is pitiful, weak, and pathetic on the scaffold with his meager cries and self-loathing.
I. Death was not unknown as a punishment for these kinds of transgressions.
J. Nor does he profit from his transgression. Indeed, he pays with his life

Answer 13

i think for A it is, D. To suggest Dimmesdale knows his fate is worse than Hester's.

Answer 14

I agree with you on the first one...I think it is D.

Answer 15

for B...does J sound right to you ? I am not sure about the other one....

Answer 16

i put e and i...

Answer 17

but i really dont know

Answer 18

I was thinking about i......not sure about e.....this is hard

Answer 19

i know!!! haha on so the question asks...What the author's main point is in the quotation, they talk about Dimmesdale being forced to publicly speak to Hester saying that although she has to step on the pedistal and be shamed, it is better than hiding the secret of adultry in her her life. this is contradicting cuz its what Dimmesdale did and does! so...the first past should be..D, AND part b would there fore be something connected to the punishments right?

Answer 20

i think its i, idk

Answer 21

sounds right to me....I would probably go with i....I am sorry I am not much help, English is not my best subject, unless your talking about the grammar part

Answer 22

I am so sorry but I really have to go now.....I am running a little late. Good luck

Answer 23

thanks :)