Dr. Adam Johns
ENGCMP 0200- Seminar in Composition
3 September 2008
A Little Bell
Miss Hepzibah Pyncheon’s little shop houses a small yet significant item. This talisman is none other than the modest bell located at the entrance to her shop. “This little bell- to speak in plainer terms- being fastened over the shop door, was so contrived as to vibrate by means of a steel spring, and thus convey notice to the inner regions of the house when any customer should cross the threshold” (Hawthorne 28). This passage, with focus on the bell, represents the reoccurring theme of change in Hawthorne’s novel The House of the Seven Gables. Although the bell in Hepzibah’s shop is small in size, it symbolizes something much greater.
Just as the bell is mentioned several times throughout the first five chapters of Hawthorne’s work, bells are also mentioned a great deal throughout history. Two of the more famous bells are Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell and the World Peace Bell in Newport, Kentucky. Both of these bells, though quite a deal larger than the bell in Miss Pyncheon’s shop, hold the same representation of change. The Liberty Bell symbolizes the independence within the United States and is an icon of liberty and justice. This independence was a great change within the states and led to even further changes in the future. The World Peace Bell in Kentucky swung for the first time on January 1, 2000 at midnight marking the new millennium. A new year, especially the new millennium, whether speaking about a resolution or a goal, brings the idea of change into perspective.
Referring back to the quote originally stated about the small bell, the passage, in general, represents the role played by this idea of change. In addition to the historical significances of a bell, the bell located over the top of Miss Hepzibah Pyncheon’s shop door is similarly noteworthy. This bell, consistent with the idea of change, rings when her customers walk through the door. Looking at the business aspect of this process, a customer coming into her store leads to a sale, which leads to a profit and in time, may change her financial status and lifestyle. As it is stated in the novel, Miss Pyncheon, despite her ancestor’s wealth, is struggling to make ends meet. So in turn, every customer that walks through her shop door and jingles the bell above represents potential change for Hepzibah.
Hawthorne’s conceptualization of change can be related to something I’ve recently experienced. In October of 2006, I was hired as a sales associate for American Eagle. The store I started at was located in the Sears wing of Park City Shopping Center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The tiny store was shoved in the corner at the end of the strip mall; but not for long. The store’s location was to be moved into the Boscov’s wing of the mall in time for the holiday season. After hours of hard work, the move was complete. The new American Eagle store put the old one to shame. It was larger, had a better location, and housed more cloths than the retired store could have.
Unfortunately, American Eagle was not equipped with a darling little bell above its door like Miss Pyncheon’s shop, but the concept of change is still present in the opening of this new store. The new American Eagle brought the company a large gain in profit. Because of its preferable location and larger array of clothing choices, people could not help but to walk in and at least check out the new store for themselves. As stated in relation to Miss Pyncheon’s shop, a customer entering the store leads to a sale, which leads to a profit and in time, could change the financial status of, in this case, the American Eagle corporation.
Hawthorne’s idea of change in The House of the Seven Gables is indeed rational. Considering the numerous times a bell was mentioned in the first five chapters, it is without a doubt significant. The bell symbolizes change for Miss Hepzibah Pyncheon, which is realistic. The bell rings when a customer comes into her store and in the end she gains economically and experiences a change in her financial status. This is logical and proves that this idea of change that Hawthorne has created in the novel is very reasonable.
In concurrence with Hawthorne’s rationality of change in his novel, we experience change in this way as well, especially when considering our era of rapid technological development. There is no doubt that the abundance of new technology coming into the world causes for a change in the way we live. Computers, cell phones, and global positioning systems are among the many technological advances that have changed our lives forever. And, when comparing the change related to technological development to Miss Hepzibah Pyncheon situation, the central idea stays consistent. Technological development, in turn, leads to an increase, or change, in profit for the creator. It is no surprise that today’s new technology has had an effect on businesses all over the world. Change has taken place globally as a result of consumer demand for technological advancements.
In conclusion, the little bell above the door of Miss Hepzibah Pyncheon’s shop, similar to famous bells today, symbolizes change. The bell rings when a customer comes into the store, the customer makes a purchase, which increases profit, and eventually leads to a change in financial status. Hawthorne’s rational idea of change can be applied to life experiences, as well as to today’s era of rapid technological development.
1 comment:
First off - the fact that nobody commented on yours means that you can revise once in response to *my* comments, if you wish. I apologize for not noticing earlier that nobody had commented on yours.
Now, to the body of the paper. I'll concede that the little bell can be understood, very reasonably, as representing change. I'm less convinced, despite a couple historical examples, that bells represent change in general - you might have theorized on this a little bit...
More importantly, your first several paragraphs, while they deal ably with change as a *theme*, don't say much about the *concept* of change - that is, what change means to Hawthorne, as represented by your passage. In a way you're dodging the question.
You even refer to Hawthorne's "conceptualizion of change," but it seems to me that you're really talking about a *symbol* of change.
Your discussion of American Eagle seemed like a stretch to me - but I see how it *could* work. It seems that you're really dealing with economic change, or with capitalism-as-change, or something like that - if your focus was clarified a little, I could easily buy into the whole American Eagle thing. Now, it just feels discordant.
At the end, finally, you explicitly bring up the word "symbolizes." That reveals a great deal: as a discussion of what the bell symbolizes, this works pretty well (the awkward discussion of American Eagle notwithstanding) - but as a response to the particular assignment, it falls a little short. If you revise, the first thing to do is look at the assignment again and rethink this piece as a response to it.
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