...and Phoebe and Pearl both start with the letter P.

And it is from this idle observation that I have discovered my topic for my lit class essay. (Well, pending approval from Dr. Skelton.) I've done some preliminary research, just so that I could be sure it was actually writable, but I truly believe it is. And it will be a masterpiece. And, in lieu of me having anything going on in my life, I shall share my thoughts with you on this. Any criticism is welcomed, as it's been about a year since I've had to worry about doing an analysis on this level.

WORKING THESIS:
The House of Seven Gables' Hepzibah and Phoebe serve as both mirror and foil to the mother-daughter pair presented in The Scarlett Letter's Hester and Pearl.

POINTS/WORKING OUTLINE:

I. Hepzibah
     A. Attitude in adversity (pessimism and defeat)
     B. removed from society around her/isolated
     C. Still need a C
II. Phoebe
     A. represents light
     B. salvation of Pyncheon family
     C. characterized as simple
III. Hester
     A. Attitude in adversity (perseverance and change)
     B. mentally isolated from society, but physically is within it
     C. still need a C
IV. Pearl
     A. represents sin
     B. redemption for Hester and whats-his-name Minister
     C. precocious
V. Similarities
     A. sufferance of guilt/blame
     B. Older-younger
     C. Not acquainted when guilt established
VI. Differences
     A. Surrogate v. true mother-daughter
     B. Placement of guilt (generational/ancestral v. self)
     C. need a c


It's still kind of weak because I need to refresh myself more fully on The Scarlet Letter, and I've done a minimal amount of research on it. Most of it's off the top of my head. My only real concern though is getting it in within the page limits. I have no problem meeting minimum requirements, but I'm quite wordy and have a tendency to go over (I once turned in an 18-page essay when the requirement was 10-12 pages). I'm really looking forward to researching this more and finally writing it. I hate Hawthorne, but for some reason I really like the idea of doing more research on this. I don't think there is very much written connecting these four characters, so it'll be fun to be able to form my own connections and draw my own conclusions.