Illustration from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s ‘The Scarlet Letter’ (James R. Osgood and Company, 1878), courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org Have you ever met someone who seemed to accept everyone just as they are? Have you ever felt that way yourself? When I read the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, I found this acceptance in the main character, Hester Prynne. The Scarlet Letter is about a Puritan woman named Hester Prynne who commits adultery and is scorned and ousted by her society. The book follows Hester’s life and the community around her, which includes her “illegitimate” daughter Pearl; her legal husband, Roger Chillingworth; the father of Pearl, who happens to be the local Puritan minister, Arthur Dimmesdale; and the local Puritan community. Hawthorne paints the Puritan community to highlight how extremely judgmental it was. When the community finds out about Hester’s “crime”, they kick her out and scorn her and her daughter’s existence. However, Hester accepts her fate and continues to treat her community with respect. She accepts the scarlet “A” that her community required her to wear to signify her adultery, and turns it into something beautiful, both literally through her embroidery and figuratively through her acceptance of her past behavior. Hester exudes acceptance, both in her fate and the way that she treats the people around her–presenting a model that is especially relevant today when many tend toward othering–the separation of yourself from a certain group of people and calling them different. Acceptance is particularly significant in my life as a middle schooler because in middle school children tend to stop accepting people as much and start judging who they are and what they want to be. I realize that I become judgmental when I see people on their phones constantly. Because my family values being present in the moment and trying not to focus on phones and computers, when I see someone on their phone my instinct causes me to judge them. I have to resist this reaction because it creates distance between myself and other people and focuses on the negative. When I look past this difference, I can focus on getting to know them as an individual. Everyone knows that you should accept people who are different and just accept people in general. Hester’s acceptance goes beyond that. She puts aside her community’s judgement and approaches them with open arms and forgiveness. August Pullman in Wonder by R. J. Palacio, also expresses this bottomless kindness. Mr. Tushman, August’s principal, sums up this world view: “Always be a little kinder than necessary.” In middle school, perhaps we need to not only focus on accepting others who are different from us but also forgiving those who judge us. Are there ways that you are judged by your peers? Are there ways you convince yourself to accept others in the face of feeling judgmental? Are there times you have reached across perceived differences and have connected with someone you didn’t expect to? I’d love to hear from you–please leave a comment below.
New Year, New Books
There is a certain joy that comes from a pile of new books waiting to be read, especially going into the new year. Whether they are on the shelf at a library or bookstore or sitting on the shelf at home, a book holds a promise of adventures to come. We are not always only in the mood for one type of book. Reading feeds me in different ways. Sometimes, I want to snuggle up in front of a fire and immerse myself in a novel, while other times I read to learn about a topic (see my previous blog post about this!) It is interesting to look at my bookshelf and see how the books I read when I was younger lead to books that I read now: D’Aulaires Books of Greek Myths leading to the first female translation of The Odyssey, The Collections of Robert Frost leading to A Book of Luminous Things. Here’s what is on my New Year’s booklist: Egg and Spoon by Gregory Maguire There are some novels that I just want to curl up and read the moment I see it. Egg and Spoon, a book about mistaken identities, economic differences, and fairy tales, made me do this with gusto. My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg Since I saw Sonia Sotomayor speak at the Hill Center, I have been interested in the lives of the Supreme Court Justices–especially the female ones. My Own Words is a collection of Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s writings from childhood to present day. This RBG book looked like a perfect mixture of two things that interest me now, writing and the supreme court. Every Falling Star by Sungju Lee With all the news surrounding North Korea, Every Falling Star is the perfect way to get a glimpse of what it is like to live there. Sungju Lee writes about his life in North Korea, from his privileged childhood, into poverty, and finally his escape. Into English: Poems, Translations, Commentaries by Martha Collins and Kevin Prufer Have you ever wondered what the thought process is for people who are translating poems? How similar are they to the original text? How much the translated version is its own poem? I found myself wondering these things after I read The Book of Luminous Things and saw that almost every poem had “translated by…” written underneath. This collection gathers different translations of poems and a commentary on the translators’ decisions. The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson This is the first female translation of the Odyssey. After reading an article about her and her translation of the Odyssey, I couldn’t help picking it up from the library. I have always been interested in Greek myths starting with D’Aulaires Book of Greek Myths, and this is the perfect way to grow my interest. Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich My history teacher recommended this book for us to discuss together. It is a wonderful memoir that is about Barbara Ehrenreich’s experience living as a minimum wage worker for a year. And the less traditional “books”: New York Times Easiest Crossword Puzzles edited by Will Shortz My grandpa was a genius at crossword puzzles, leaving behind a big legacy to fill. New York Times Easiest Crossword Puzzles was (I have already completed a couple–I couldn’t hold back) the perfect place to start, with “150 very easy puzzles”. They are very cleverly arranged and the perfect level for a beginning crossword puzzler. Poetry Poetry is a beautiful magazine full of modern poetry. It comes out every month and provides a charming collection of poets writings that each have a different perspective on the world.
Traditions and Monkey Bread
As the day fades into the night on Christmas Eve, flour and laughter fills the kitchen. Hands reach over hands, kneading the soft dough, then rolling, rolling, rolling into balls for the next day. Raisins and sugar come next, and we nestle the balls, covered in the sugar, to rise for the night. The next morning we pop the bread into the oven and munch on it as we open presents, laughter filling the room yet again, this time accompanied by the warm smell of bread and the crinkle of wrapping paper. In this time of year, family traditions start to appear. Whether someone bakes a family recipe, goes on a certain trip, or just spends time with family, traditions show up left and right in the holiday season. Traditions are comforting. It is a consistent event that happens every year—something that will never change. For our family, making Monkey Bread has always been our Christmas tradition. My grandpa first started it when my mom was only old enough to toss flour around the kitchen. The tradition continued down through our family, all the way until I was helping my grandpa, and finally until my sister joined us. Of course our grandpa was watching over the whole production, running it all. The making of Monkey Bread has always been one of the highlights of the holidays for my family—something that makes us think in the middle of the summer, only five more months until we make Monkey Bread again! My grandpa has always been one of the main reasons I love the holiday season. His presence with us, hilariousness, and general love made the holiday season the best time of the year. Even after he died a couple of years ago, the holiday season has little slivers of him weaved into it. Tradition brings him back. When I cook Monkey Bread it feels like he is standing next to me, correcting my mistakes, gently teasing me, loving me through and through. My grandpa died only a couple of weeks before Christmas, and even though we were still going through the shock of his death, we hunkered down on Christmas Eve and made Monkey Bread. That day, it eased the pain that we had been going through. It showed us that it was okay, that life could go on, that his ideas and memories were still alive in us. Next time you experience a tradition, think back to what or who started it. Was it your great-great-great-great ancestors, your religion or culture, your close family, or you? What does this tradition mean to you? Why do you do it? Do you have a tradition that means something to you? If so, please leave a note about it in the comments. I would love to hear about your traditions. For me, tradition is sweet. It is a window back into good memories and into the lives of people I love. I can’t wait until it is time to make Monkey Bread again. Note from the editors: Here is a link to a Monkey Bread recipe from King Arthur Flour. This is a very good flour company and their recipes are trustworthy. However, you do not have to buy their flour to make this recipe. Any unbleached white flour will work as well. This bread is leavened with yeast. Instant yeast that is called for in the King Arthur recipe is kind of dried yeast that can be added directly to the flour. It doesn’t have to be mixed with water first. To be honest, most dried yeast these days will work if you just add it to the dough. However, if you buy a yeast that suggests first mixing it with water, then do that. Compensate for the water you add for the yeast by adding less liquid from the recipe.
