Anne Hutchinson, as the Foundress

¶ … Anne Hutchinson, as the foundress of a religious sect.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York, New York: Penguin Books, 2003. 144.

Anne Hutchinson was a famous Puritan woman condemned for preaching in ways that challenged the authorities of her society. She eventually began her own sect. However, Hester wages her conflicts with the leaders of her society through silence, to protect her child Pearl. Hester is more personally-focused in her opposition to the Puritan leaders than Hutchinson.

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it (8:16)."

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York, New York: Penguin Books, 2003.

The reference to the "pearl of great price" is an allusion to parable found in the Gospel of Matthew at 13:45-46. Hester has given up everything for one pearl, her child, but because of the child's worth, she believes her sacrifice is holy.

3. Billy Pilgrim: name of Kurt Vonnegut's hero in Slaughterhouse Five.

Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse Five. Dial Press, 1999, numerous references.

This reference is to the pilgrim of John Bunyan's, Pilgrim's Progress, who is an innocent passing through many temptations and is an allegorical figure for all of humanity, like Billy.

4. "He said that everything to know about life was in the Brother's Karamazov."

Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse Five. Dial Press, 1999, p.129.

Billy's friend Rosewater refers to this book by the Russian author Dostoevsky as a religious, philosophical novel about the past, which Rosewater says is now "not enough" to answer the questions of the present. Rosewater turns to science fiction for 'answers' about the meaning of modern life instead of religion and philosophy.

5. "…she got out her book and she learned me about Moses"

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Signet, 2002, p.10.

The Widow Douglas and Miss Watson try to 'civilize' Huck by teaching him the Bible. At first Huck is in a 'sweat' to know about Moses, and then is disappointed to learn Moses is dead. Ironically, the Widow and Miss Watson praise Moses as a moral example for Huck from the past, even though Moses was a slave who led his people to freedom. The Widow and Miss Watson see nothing wrong with slavery in modern society, while Huck actually takes actions to end slavery by leading Jim to freedom and treating Jim like a human being.

6. "To be or not to be, that is the bare bodkin."

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Signet, 2002, p. 143.

The Shakespearean 'actors' Jim and Huck befriend are really charlatans, despite their pretence of learning. They cannot even quote William Shakespeare's Hamlet in his "To be or not to be" soliloquy correctly.

7. "He says anyone who doesn't understand the theorems of Euclid is an idiot."

McCourt, Frank. Angela's Ashes. New York: Scribner, 1999, p.151.

The references to Euclid show the disparity between what is taught in Frank's school by an ambitious teacher and the poverty and ignorance of the rest of the boy's life. It also shows the narrow-mindedness of the principal, who is horrified that young boys are learning Euclid out of synch with the school's strict curriculum.

8. "The ship pulled away from the dock…'That's the Statue of Liberty.'"

McCourt, Frank. Angela's Ashes. New York: Scribner, 1999, p.45.

Unlike most immigrants, who see the Statue of Liberty as they come to America as a sign of hope that they are entering a new and better world, Frank's family sees the Statue of Liberty receding, as they are forced to return to the misery of Ireland.