The Scarlett Letter: Do We All Live It?

The piece "The Scarlett Letter" really got me thinking, and while I had a draft written out in word after I read the novel, I was reading over it and decided to trash it.  I had written the normal blah blah blah this happened and this happened and I think this and you should think that.  I realized that in my draft there was no self-reflection.  So, recycle bin here you go!

"The Scarlett Letter"; it is just a story about old people living archaically right?  Well, not so much.  Although I did not necessarily see magic stars or symbols appearing every where like a crazy person, nor did I have Pearl (who I oddly led akin to the girl from the movie "Grudge") following me around, but I realized that certain aspects of the story could overlay my life. 

Do I do things that I am not proud of and keep in the dark? Duh, we all do, we're human.
Do I have constant nagging reminders of those things?  See the first question.
Lastly, do we all have a Lion King-esque full circle (of life) wrap up to our problems??

THERE'S THE BOOMTOWN QUESTION!!!

This story wrapped itself up.  In life we do not get a wrap up.  We're stuck with the cards that we're dealt, or that we deal ourselves...or if you're a cheater that you slide out of your sleeve.  That in mind, I lead to the point of all of these ramblings.

We need to be cognizant to what we do throughout life.  We may not get our tidy little bow wrap up.  So, if we do not get a woohoo at the end of our life, should we not do the very best we can to make sure we end up happy in our own view.  Essentially what I got out of this story and into my own life (and hopefully someone out there that reads this rant) is that while they hid and were ashamed in the story, we do not need to do that...BUT, we need to be ready to live with whatever we do, and whoever we do it with, we only get one shot at this, and above all...don't watch the movie that kills people (The Grudge).

The Raven: Does it Apply to Us?

It's strange to think that a man that married his cousin, was ostracized from his father, and essentially went completely mad would be considered one of the greatest literary minds of the 1800s.  Edgar Allan Poe's piece "The Raven" on the surface seems to be a ghastly take on a man that is mourning over the loss of his love but what happens if we decided to take a deeper look into this piece and apply it to our own lives.

We need to realize that the raven in the story was not necessarily the bringer of bad news or a bad omen, but rather we can view the raven as our own conscience.  In essence the raven never does anything malicious or beneficial, rather the man comes to all of his own conclusions through the questions that he answers.  Was Poe trying to illustrate this to his reader, or was this piece supposed to be about the blanch starkness and the impending reality of death?  I think the raven's neutrality lays light on the idea that no matter what happens, we are indeed the masters of what happens, and we are able to change.  In the piece, it seems that the man does not want to change, perhaps because he feels that it could be an injustice to his lost lover.  The raven could be seen as both a physical entity in our own lives (such as those that give us advice) and/or metaphysical (such as our conscience).  Either way you look at it, The Raven speaks to the reader in one way or another, but it should not be waved aside without taking the chance to apply it to your own life.