Monday, November 8, 2010
Prison/Cemetary
The founders of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness they might originally project, have invariably recognized it among their earliest practical necessities to allot a portion of the virgin soil as a cemetery and a prison. What comment does it make about human nature? Is Hawthorne presenting a pessimistic or a realistic view of human nature? Defend or contend that a prison is one of the first necessities in a new settlement
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The founders have shown an act of safety through first building a prison to keep the criminals inside without interfering with settlement. Hawthorne presents a realistic view of human nature. I somewhat agree with building a prison first before actually starting settlement. Where would the criminals be without a jail? People would have to watch them every second and by building a prison the people of the colony will have safety and security.
ReplyDeleteThis comment is saying that human nature is good but because we live in a world that is very easily influenced, we need to have a place for those who have been influenced in an unholy manner. That it is essential. I believe that the prison is a something that every new colony needs because I believe that it shows a sense of them taking responsibility for the safety of their lives and the safety of the lives to come.
ReplyDeleteThis comment is saying that human nature has good and bad characteristics in it, and that when people were that influenced by what happens in the community they need a place to keep the sinner, or the towns people may hurt them. I believe Hawthorne is presenting a realistic view of human nature only because he is telling you what everyone is thinking and talking about when they first see the scarlet letter. A prison would be one of the first necessities in a new settlement because with out a prison there wouldn't be a place to send the people who have committed a crime or a act of wrong doing.
ReplyDeleteThis comment is saying that human nature is intending to be both good and bad. When they first build a prison on new soil, they are thinking of protecting all of the lives in their settlement from harmful people. Hawthorne is trying to get across the point that this is an essential part of the settlement, so that its settlers can do good.
ReplyDeleteThis comment says that people are bad in nature because the first thing they would need is a place in which to keep bad people. I think Hawthorne is presenting a realistic view because there are criminals in the world, and you don't have to purposefully think negatively in order to visualize people as criminals. I think a prison is an essential first building because it is a reminder to people not to do bad things because they will be punished for them.
ReplyDeleteThis comment is saying that there are two things that people are always going to do; sin and die. So they believe that these two traits need a place to rest. He has a pessimistic view of human nature because he is assuming that alot of people are going to sin and that people are not going to live a long time. I do not think that a prison is the most important thing to build first, I think that houses and other buildings are more beneficial.
ReplyDeleteThis comment is saying that all of nature is not just good; there is also bad and they need a place to keep the bad people. I think he is presenting a realistic view of human nature because not everyone is good and there are criminals. I don't think it is the most important thing to build first because places that people live in and work in are more imporant.
ReplyDeleteThis comment is saying that there is good and bad nature in people. I think he is presenting a realistic view of human nature because he is showing how people think and view everything around them. Not everyone is perfect and he is also showing how there are flaws in everyone. I don't think a prison is the first necessity in a new world because they should focus more on building homes and churches, not a place to store criminals.
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ReplyDeleteThe quote is a highly pessimistic view of human nature. The comment its making is such that humans do wrong and make mistakes. The cemetary represents death, the jailhouse represents justice. I do believe that making these the first two settlments in the new world was a good idea because of what they symblolize.
ReplyDeleteThis comment is saying that allotting a portion of land to a prison and the other to a cemetery is that even though we live in a good world with virtues, people still make mistakes. Human nature with making mistakes and learning from them. In this situation, the prison is representing punishment. If the people make a mistake, then they are sent to prison to think about what they did. Then the cemetery represents death because if a huge crime is committed then they were hung. I think that Hawthorne is presenting a realistic view of human nature. I do believe that building a prison should be the first necessity in this time period because it shows to the people that the town is serious about punishment. If it wasn't there then the town would probably be chaotic.
ReplyDeleteThe quote is saying that even though the society wants to promote happiness and good, there is still sadness and bad in the world. This shows that humans have natural sin. If they do not have bad i them it is not natural and they are going against human nature. This is realistic but it is not realistic to have to build a prison and cemetary before a church especially if the Puritains have a high belief in God. A prison is a neccesity for a new society however, because where else would they keep the insane?
ReplyDeleteCourtneyC4
ReplyDeleteThis quote was stating that even though people are capable of being good and holy, some are unholy or make bad choices in their life. This is the reason for the prison and cemetery being some of the first things built. Its showing the community that with actions there are consequences. This is a realistic point of view because even though we hope that nobody ends up in prison or the cemetery, some will deserve it. I think a prison is a good thing to have at a beginning of society because it shows that you must be responsible for your actions.
I believe this comment is stating that the author finds it unorthodox that a new settlement would alot their frist pieces of land to a cemetary and a prison. It's as if they know somehow that they will be needing both of those things first, which is an awful thing to think about because it is probably accurate. This comment is showing that the founders of this settlement feel as if there will be a large number of sinners who will need to be stored in the prison and a lot of people executed and buried in the cemetary. However unorthodox it sounds, it's fairly realistic in this time period.
ReplyDeleteThe building of the cemetery and prison in the community shows their concern for sinful things that may happen in their Puritan community. They know that they will have people that don't live their life in a holy manner. I think Hawthorne is presenting a realistic view on human nature because in a new society the people will be concerned about unjust things happening. I think a prison is one of the important necessities because you would need a place to put all of the sinners to keep justice in your new community.
ReplyDeleteThe comment is saying that no human being is perfect and we are all capable of making mistakes. A prison is just an area in where people who have made mistakes and major sins in their lives are kept. He is showing a realistic view because he understands that there is sin in the world. He knows that those who give in to their mistakes have to be punished; even to the point of severity of death. I think that a prison should not be one of the first necessities in a new settlement because it would show the lack of trust in it's citizens and show that the town is preparing itself for the punishment and passing of judgment onto it's citizens.
ReplyDeleteThis comment is saying that nature can easily be influenced in a bad way by others and the creation of a prison was necessary for this reason. The prison was assembled for the people of the settlement that commited crimes so that they could recieve a punishment. Its one of the things in this society that help them keep order and peace amongst themselves.
ReplyDeleteTo have built a prison as a first landmark and a cemetery as a second, is a ver pessimistic point of view on humans and life in genral. Since the puritains believed in predestination,they were destined to sin, destined to break the law. Hawthorne uses the first chapter to depict the negative aspects of puritain life. And i strongly agree with him on this one, a prison isn't the first thing you build when your trying to establish a new community. The prison and the cemetery pretty much spells out that the leaders of the law are going to persecute whoever they assume is doing wrong as soon as they can. It depicts the "man" picking on the little guy. So, indeed, Hawthorne's comment is pessimistic.
ReplyDeleteAnn H period one
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ReplyDeleteThis shows that human nature is naturally sinful and bad. Because the first buildings built were a prison and a cemetery, it shows that puritan life was strict. Law and punishment went hand in hand. This shows a pessimistic view. I believe in a puritan society, a church is needed first and foremost.
ReplyDeleteDavid L1
This comment provides a realistic view of human nature by showing that even the people who are the most devoted to being good examples to society can be negatively influenced by other members of their social group. This negative impact, then, leads to a detrimental choice in judgment and decision-making. In my belief, a prison is an absolute necessity in a new settlement. Although the Puritans left England due to their desire for freedom of religion, they had established laws among their society. The prison reinforced the Puritans’ code of conduct by showing people that action was ready to be taken the moment that one of the citizens broke the laws. By knowing the laws and the punishments for contravening against these laws, the Puritans were encouraged to maintain order in the new community that they were creating.
ReplyDeleteJennifer B Period 7
I think that a prison would be a necessity for a new colony because you can't just have criminals running around your town. However I do not think that it should be the very first thing they build. This comment shows how the puritans claimed that they were doing God's will but at the same time they were imprisoning innocent people. TylerW7
ReplyDeleteIn order to make their perfect Utopia they figure they should initially start by working from the bottom up, starting with the criminals in town who are influenced by the wrong views. I think it was a good idea to start with a prison so that criminals can't spread their ideas to innocent people throughout the town thus starting corruption within the settlement. I think this comment provides a realistic view of human nature because even the most dedicated and religious people of the Puritans still make mistakes and their actions are too critical and not well thought out. They will eventually be overcome by the negative flow of thoughts and lead to nothing but fighting and the destruction of their so called Utopia
ReplyDeleteThe passage is suggesting that all men are sinful. Hawthorne is realistic in wahat he says about human nature because there are some bad people out there you cannot ignore it. Prison is one of first necessities in a new settlement because in order to start a strong government you need to show that you can enforce the laws of the settlement.
ReplyDeleteI think that it wasn't necessary for them to build a prison first, I think it should have been secondary to housing. Also it's not like they needed it right away they could have held the criminals in someones house until it was fully built. But since it was built first it kinda shows paranoia, this to me is saying we have to get everyone who has sin in to the prison, then accusations start.
ReplyDeleteThis comment is saying that nature can be good and bad. Putting prison on fresh soil isn’t a great idea, but they could be prolonging the idea to maybe think ahead in so long that by putting a prison here it will keep out all the bad. To have a prison as the first part of a new settlement is great, you always want to keep out the bad, to enforce more, and it will be a good way to start off a new place.
ReplyDeleteI believe it shows how unforigiving human nature is, if someone makes fun of you, your going to have a grudge against them. In the age of the Puritans they believe that men are sinners at birth, so naturally they needed a place to keep their convicts and if guilty and exicuted they needed a cemetary. I believe a church, not a jail or a place to bury the exicuted, should have been the first to be built.
ReplyDeleteI belive that building a prison was telling the citizens that they still need to follow the rules and if they don't they will be put in prison or killed. I think Hawthorne is presenting a Realistic view because he tells the reader what everybody is feeling. I belive that building a prison was a good idea, but it also forshadows and up coming event.
ReplyDeleteIt says that no matter what Human Nature will cause people to 'sin' which is why they need a jail. and they will still die which is why they need the cemetary. Harwthorne is presenting a realistic view of human nature, because of the way humans are things don't always go perfectly. Prison is one of the first necessities in a new settlement because people can do harm if after causeing some violence they aren't put away to a place where they can't harm other or themselves. Also it allows a system of justice to take order in the settlement.
ReplyDeleteIt shows that the beliefs during this time period of Puritanism are saying that God and man is born evil. Hawthorne is presenting a realistic view of human nature because everybody is bound to committ to a sin or come close to committing a sin sometime in his or her life so he shows a prison as the first thing in the Puritan society. The prison shows the strict laws of the Puritan government and enforce them right from the beginning of the book.
ReplyDeleteHawthorne is stating that there are only two things you can predict from human nature; the ending of life and also that people are not perfect and will break laws and commit crimes that include harming others sometimes. I feel that Hawthorne is stating a negative but realistic idea of human nature. He's being realistic but only stating the negative behaivors of humans, creating a pessimistic point of view. I defend that a prison should be one of the first things built because i feel it insures peoples safety and symbolizes a sense of dicsipline for those who cannot follow common laws.
ReplyDeleteIn life, there are good people and there are bad people. Apperantly during this time there must have been a lot of bad people, if they built a prison and made a cemetary for one of their first nessecities. But to me thats ok,they must have built them first for a reason. They probably wanted to get rid of all the bad people that were a problem to the society
ReplyDeleteThis comments on the hypocrisy of the puritans. They come to a new world to create a Utopia and the first thing they think is necassary is a prison and graveyard. This is a pessimisstic point of view of human nature. The puritans believed that people would do evil things as soon as the Utopian society was created. A better thing to build first would be a church. A church is the building that houses their religion. By building a prison first the puritans are saying that they would rather call out others' sins than to go to a church and beg forgiveness for their own.
ReplyDeleteAdam V 4
By building a prison first, the puritans are shown as very negative people. I don't think it was necessary to build a prison first. This sets a pessimistic tone. It doesn't make sense why the puritans, who were very religious people, would build a prison first rather than a church.
ReplyDeleteHawthorne is definitely stating in the passage that the Puritans had a pessimistic view of human nature. I agree with him too, because when you establish a community, the first thing you would think to build wouldn't be a prison or a cemetery.
ReplyDeleteThis comment was pointing out that they dont believe man is good. He is saying that there could be but most likely wouldnt be any good in people. The building of a prison is a symbol that te government assumes that people can only do bad things.
ReplyDeleteWhen Hawthorne shows the first two things built in the new settlement are a prison and a cemetery, I believe he his trying to portray the puritans as hypocrites. They are supposed to be building this settlement for religious freedom, and if this is really what they want they should have built a church first. Hawthorne is presenting a pessimistic view of human nature, he is saying they are already assuming that their people will do wrong this is why they need the jail and cemetery they do not see the good in their people only the wrong they will do.
ReplyDeleteThis comment is stating the hypocrisy of the Puritans. Hawthorne is being realistic about is view on human nature because not everyone is a good person and some commit crimes. A prison should be one of the first necessities in a new settlement because it is a way of taking responsibility for their own safety. If there wasn't a prison there would be no where to send criminals after they have commited a crime.
ReplyDeleteHawthorne shows the way of protection in human nature even in their own Utopian society. He showed a realistic point of view on how man needs the presence of security first before anything else because he believes that no man is good so the safety of him and his family is needed the most. So with the creation of the prison it makes of a happier and safer environment making the Utopian society in which they intended. But he is also showing the hypocrisy of the Puritan beliefs due to them building a prison before the church.
ReplyDeleteRichieG7
ReplyDeleteThe quote says that even though society alot of negatives, they want happiness and good. The people in the society are bad. If they do not have bad around them then society will be better. This is some what realistic but confusing for the puritans to build a prison before a church especially since they are fully focused on god. They would need a prison to maintain society though.
This comment is saying that even though the people of the colony hope to establish a perfect place, they know, from the beginning, that things will go wrong & that death & crime can't be stopped from happening all together. In making this comment, Hawthorne is being realistic about the views of human nature because he isn't making a negative comment so much as he is just stating the truth for every colony that is being built. I don't think a prison should be the first necessity in a newly founded colony but as time passes and more people become comfortable in their environment and are less afraid of doing wrong, then a prison should be built.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Hathorne is showing both a pessimistic & realistic view of human nature. As humans we are bond to make mistakes & the Puritans were very critical on being religiously "perfect". Building a prison & cemetery first just shows that they are prepared to punish any sins committed by either jail or hanging.
ReplyDeleteTyler Grai Shaw
Period Four
The constrution of a prison and cemetary is very foretelling in regard to human nature. Hawthorne presents a pessimistic yet realistic view of human nature when he portrays it as natural for men to commit crimes. A prison is a primary necessity in society to maintain order in a society filled with ill-willed criminals
ReplyDeleteWe can infer that humans are cautious and sinful by nature. Hawthorne is being realistic when stating this because he is just saying it as it is; the puritans chose to build these buildings first even though they were looking for religious freedom. I understand that the puritans were just acting cautiously when they first built a prison, but if their goal was really to find religious freedom, a prison was not the way to go. The cemetery is understandable because humans are destined to die in the end, but they should have chosen their first building better.
ReplyDeleteI believe that this quote shows how natural human nature can be negative. The very first things the people built for the community were a prison and a cemetary. This is negative because they are assuming people are going to commit crimes and do bad things. I think it would be more important to build something like a church for the colony first so it can help start off as a positive place, then build the prison. That will give them somewhere to put all the bad people that have commited crimes and dont belong in the good community.
ReplyDeleteThis quote shows how it is human nature to be negative. You can't help yourself but to be negative. In the book the first things they built were a cemetary and a prison. This shows negativity. It tells the reader that they believe the people of the city are going to do bad things which is why they built the prison.
ReplyDeleteThis comment states that human nature is not always good, and that's why they felt the need to build the places to hold the sinners. Hawthorne's view of human nature is very realistic, because no person is perfect, and in a society, old or new, there is always going to be those law breaking citizens. I believe that putting a prison as one of the first buildings is necessary because a town needs to provide security to it's people, but I think it's pretty ironic that these Puritan people would think to put a cemetary in instead of a church as one of their first buildings.
ReplyDeleteThe comment is saying that human nature can be a negative influence, the prison being a guard against such a thing. Though, Hawthorne is presenting a rather pessimistic view on human nature. Many things could be built in place of a cemetery and prison, whether the structures be practical or used in administrative needs. Hawthorne uses this occurrence to demonstrate the hypocritical nature of the Puritans. As I have stated, a prison isn't the first necessity in a new settlement. When you have the opportunity to construct housing, store houses for food, and more, I believe that you should focus your energy on those instead of allotting land to a prison or cemetery.
ReplyDeleteThe comment that a prison and a cemetary in a "utopian" society is that it is human nature to die and human nature to do wrong to other people. This is a realistic view because he is showing the fact that people will always need to be protected from certain other people. Building a prison first is necesary because just the fact that there is a way of punish people who do wrong makes people less likely to do wrong.
ReplyDeleteThis quote is stating that the people just want hapiness, but it still has bad characteristics. Hawthorne is presenting a realistic view. The building of a prison in a new settlement is a necessity, because the peoples security should always come first before anything.
ReplyDeleteHawthorn is being realistic because it is only human to die and to commit sins and crime. He is showing that even a "pure" society like the puritans find it a necessity to construct a prison on part of their land. A prison is one of the necessities of a new settlement because not everyone can escape committing a crime or sin against society, and Hawthorn makes sure to point that out.
ReplyDeleteI think that this quote relates to the fact that all people of a society have the equal chance to do good as well as bad, and I think that Hawthorne is presenting a pessimistic view of human nature because the foundation of a new society starts with, but is not limited to, prisons and jails. He points out the idea that there are bad people and there has to be prisons to account for the safety of the citizens as well as the actual criminal himself. In building a prison, the strength of a community is shown.
ReplyDeletethis comment says that basically human nature (Puritans at least) ways were kind of twisted. if the puritans started a town to practice religion under God, dont you think a church would be the first thing they built- not a cemetery and prison? i believe hawthorne is presenting a realistic view of human nature because we as humans are afraid of sin and crime. i believe that it is important that one of the first buildings in a new settlement is a prison, but not the first building. prisons are important to maintain order in a society.
ReplyDeleteThis comment says a lot about human nature in little words. It basically says that humans, generally speaking, are sort of hypocritical. If they're going around preaching about God and living in God, then shouldn't they be reflecting that in their actions? Building a prison before a church is just hypocritical because if they're so godly, wouldn't a church, naturally, come first? I think that Hawthorne is presenting a realistic view of human nature, because I personally think that human generally do act hypocritically. A prison is a necessity in any society, and I do think it should be one of the main, first things built, but if you're going around preaching God, then maybe think about building His house first, hm?
ReplyDeleteThe fact that one of the first things these puritans build is a prison say that they believe humans are naturally bad or at least have bad in them. The people who have moved here plan to build a utopia were everyone lives a model life and follows all of Gods supposed rules to the letter. Yet in this perfect world of there one of the first buildings is a prison. I believe the author shows both a pessimistic and realistic tone in this passage. In my opinion some people are bad and in this new place a prison would help establish law and order.
ReplyDeleteThis comment shows the irony in life. That this land, founded to become a place of some perfect environment or society, would even need to set up a jailing system at all. But I do believe Hawthorne is presenting a realistic view considering humans must die, and will never be perfect, thus needing a prison and cemetary.I do not think that a prison would be one of the first priorities for a new establishment, but it would eventually be needed. I think this becuase a prison would only be needed if laws were broken, and what laws are going to be broken in an unforged land? Even if a law had been broken, setting up a place to sleep for the citizens would be needed more then a prison. And if one was in desperate need of containment, a house could be transformed into secureing a being when necessary.
ReplyDelete-AlexP1
it says that human nature is good but we live in a world that is very easily influenced, we need to have a place for those who have been influenced badly. This is a must. I believe that the prison is a something that every new town need because people need to know that if they do wrong then they will be punished and the people need to feel protected form those who choose to do wrong.
ReplyDeleteI believe that he is trying to state the realistic side of life, because honestly you need a prison before you need something other people would build first like a townhall or something. For all those people who must be dealt with first.
ReplyDeleteWith the form of nature, it is saying that they are going of the pre-destination and sin as a first thought of starting the settlement. By starting with what will happen first and then building from there. Which I agree with Michael. Hawthorne is supporting a realistic view because he is going off what will start first. So, with this I support his doing.
ReplyDeleteIt human nature to have a sense of security. The Puritans, however, took it to the extreme when they prioritized a prison over all of the things that they felt the need to build first in a new town. By this comment, Hawthorne is giving a pessimistic view of Puritan society. I believe that sense Puritans saw themselves as the 'purist' of all religions, that the logical thing to build first would be a church.
ReplyDeleteThis comment is just showing how hypocritical the puritans actually were.What they should have done was build a church but instead they built a prison and a graveyard. Those two things are definitely not the main necessities of the town, at least not at first. Hawthorne is showing a pessimistic side of human nature but how negative and controlling they are.
ReplyDeleteThis comment shows how man's first instinct is to think negatively about others. It shows the first thing they think of is the place to put people when they've done wrong, and when they aren't doing any good for the community anymore and need to be buried underground. I believe this is a very realistic view on human nature. I do agree that a cemetary and a prison should be some of the first things built in a community, however I think that a church should be along with that. It's very hypocritical to claim to be so involved with your religion, but your priority is a prison and a cemetary. The reason I agree that these should be first is because that way the people will know even though this place may be new, there's still no messing around!
ReplyDeleteI think this shows how Hawthorne portrays the Puritans. By building the prison and cemetery when they first arrived it really showed us their true values. One would only think that if the Puritans left the Old World for religious freedom the first thing that they would build here would be a church. Its only human nature to recognize that all people aren't good and to put safety as a first priority.
ReplyDeleteThis quote is about how humars are not always as good as they seem, and that's why the Puritans built a place to hold the sinners of their town. Hawthorne says that nobody is perfect, and somebody will always be doing something wrong. I think that by putting a cemetary and a prison in the town shows that they aren't going to be messing around.
ReplyDeleteThe quote is saying that people are going to do something bad when there is no law, no matter how great of a person you are. That is why they built a prison first. It is ironic that a prison and a cemetery are the first things they would build. You would think that they, being a religious based society, would build a church first. Hawthorne clearly portrays the Puritan values; legalism.
ReplyDeleteThe quote is stating that they have prisons for people who do bad things and will be punished, so be a good person and you can't be punished. Thats why the prison was built. The reason its weird is you would think they would put a church or something positive but instead they go straight to the negative.
ReplyDeleteThe comment is saying that human nature can be seen as good, but also bad. I think he portrays a realistic view of human nature, because not everyone is good in life, some people are bad, and make bad choices. I think the prison is necessary, because without it, it wouldnt discipline the criminals, and keep the colony safe.
ReplyDeleteThis quote is assuming that people are automatically going to commit crimes fast. Maybe if they built other things before that it would make the settlement have higher expectations. Also building a cemetary right next to the prison is pretty much saying that citizens will commit crimes so bad that theyre going to die in there.
ReplyDeleteThe comment is saying that the nature of the human race can be seen as good or bad. In my opinion, he does present a realistic belief that a prison is needed. I agree that a prison should be built in a colony to set the law straight and show people they are serious. But they shouldnt have that being one of the first things built.
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