Hester Prynne can be seen in many ways as the first great modern heroine in American literature. Do you agree

Yes, I agree that Hester Prynne can be taken as the first great modern heroine in American literature.

Explanation:

Nathaniel Hawthorne's main protagonist Hester Prynne in "The Scarlet Letter" is an adulteress convicted and imprisoned, shamed, and ridiculed by the Puritan society she's in. But despite all the inhibitions around her conviction, she did not falter but rather maintained her resolve and stayed true to her own self.

In order to go into the issue of "great modern heroine", let's first go to what makes one a heroine. A heroine is basically a woman who is independent, not swayed by other's opinions and beliefs, and courageous, the main character in a story, and above all, an achiever in her own terms.

Now, regarding Prynne, we know she is independent, brave, and manages to keep her identity amidst the furor of her sin. She did not give in to the taunts and insults, but make sure that she is who she is. Even when she was taken into the marketplace, she did not fear being seen, but she stepped out to be seen by everyone, courageously maintaining her character. She refused to reveal the father of her daughter, Pearl, despite many pressures, was perfect in working as a seamstress, and takes care of Pearl on her own. Living in a Puritan society, it will be unbearably difficult to be a woman and that too as a convicted adulteress. But she did not let that deter her. She maintained her resolve, kept to herself, and even make a living for herself in a society that puts women as the weaker sex. Most of all, she is the main protagonist of the story, with all things revolving around her character.

Thus, we can safely say that it is agreeable to say that Hester Prynne can be seen as the ultimate, first great modern heroine in American literature.  

the answer:

in the first part of the story running is all that matters to squeaky. running gives her confidence and defines who she is. at the beginning of the story she says that other kids call her mercury because she runs very fast. in the text she refers to herself as "miss quicksilver".

the line that provides the best evidence that squeaky has self-confidence is

" and i continue with my breathing exercise, strolling down broadway toward the ice cream man on 145th with not a care in the world cause i am miss quicksilver herself".

1. read the following excerpt from franklin d. roosevelt's "fireside chat 19":

on the other side of the picture, we must learn also to know that guerilla warfare against the germans in, let us say serbia or norway, us; that a successful russian offensive against the germans us; and that british successes on land or sea in any part of the world strengthen our hands.

remember always that germany and italy, regardless of any formal declaration of war, consider themselves at war with the united states at this moment just as much as they consider themselves at war with britain or russia. and germany puts all the other republics of the americas into the same category of enemies. the people of our sister republics of this hemisphere can be honored by that fact.  

the true goal we seek is far above and beyond the ugly field of battle. when we resort to force, as now we must, we are determined that this force shall be directed toward ultimate good as well as against immediate evil. we americans are not destroyers — we are builders.

analyze the effectiveness of this excerpt. how does it function within the speech as a whole? how does the structure of the excerpt to convey the speech's purpose and key points? support your argument with evidence from the speech. (10 points)