2008:02/02 The White Old Maid by Nathaniel Hawthorne

[Koach_Bot]

We discussed (or tried to) The White Old Maid by Nathaniel Hawthorne. To say that we were confused and spent a lot of time trying to clarify things would be an understatement. Concluding that Hawthorne intended to confuse us - we still managed to pull our own plot assumptions out of the tale and have some fun laughs along the way.

 

We had a first visit from KennyCamaro, and explained that this was a tough story to cut his teeth on. Hope to see him back next week ! Missing was Logos - who had recommended this story. I know I was hoping she would arrive and make it all suddenly clear.

 

The rankings were:

Entertainment Value: 3, 4.5, 3, 3, 2.75 = Avg 3.25

Artistic Value: 3, 4, 4, 3, 3.5 = Avg 3.5

Chat: 4, 1.5, 4, 4, 5 = Avg 3.7

 

The log is attached. Read it to see why these comments were made:

 

<Smiley> we don't prune as quickly now

<Koach> i hope hawthorne is watching this conversation, he must be rolling in his grave

Stormy approximates while Fredia postulates

<Smiley> i think that perhaps ppl at the beginning of the 19th century were less likely to discuss sex frankly, so we have to make all sorts of sordid assumptions

 

 

Hope to see you next Saturday !

grip

 

We rank our stories on 3 methods.

Entertainment Value:

5--One of the most engrossing stories I have ever read

4--Very entertaining, I would recommend it to my friends

3--A good read, I might recommend it to people whom I know share my interests or tastes

2--I would not recommend this story to others

1--A really bad read, I am sorry I wasted my time with it

 

Artistic Value (Social/Emotional content)

5 -A work of art, pulitzer prize material.

4 - A significant contribution to literature

3 -Well written

2-Pretty Forgettable

1-Garbage

 

Chat discussion itself:

5--One of the most enjoyable times I have ever spent in chat. This is what chat is for !

4--A really enjoyable chat, as good as warm chocolate chip cookies with milk.

3--A nice chat, time well spent.

2--Better than a sharp stick in the eye, but not by much

1--I may never chat again as a result of this experience.