Theme of “World in Hounding Me”

The poem's theme is not fall victim to conformity and remain free in your mind. This is because the world hounding you to conform to the meaningless vanities of the world. Once you can put those things behind truly can you then be free. It's kind of different in real life because in this poem it's either one or the other yet as a matter of fact you can possess both at the same time.
Kind of a corny example would be a fashion designer, this person would wear the "vanities" of life yet he/she would also possess great creative talent that dresses the world.
Another theme is also faith in God. Basically if you give those things up and open your mind you're pretty much in a mental clarity that is like reaching enlightment with God.

How Effective is the poem’s title?

The poem's title is quite effective. She's saying that al of us humans are hounded by the world - perhaps, these are sins, sins of greed or something, that we all fall victim to. The vanities of the world. This is because she states that we're all plagued by the vanities of the world in our shallow worlds, fill our brains with materialistic possessions while we can be filling our heads with knowledge and creativity and the arts.
It's very true. The world hounds everyone. Conformity hounds us. Our brains must conform to fit in - we, as humans, are social animals and do not wish to be outcasts.
The title conveys the poem very well and is a clear cut description of the poem.

Hounded by the World

To be hounded by the world is to be burdened with the necessities of social norms and conformity. We as humans seek to group together and therefore to fit in and not stand out we tend to conform. It is expected that we conform to these norms and humans do not wish to stand out. Society nags at us to conform. In high school, we conform in our little cliques and what not as well as the rules, and everything. These are the rules that we constantly conform to and basically adhere to. No one tells us we must - but society nags at us. And in order to remove this unpleasant stimulus in the broader picture we listen to these nags and give in. The world hounds at us constantly with these social expectations, these chains of conformity - and we give in constantly.

My Personal Disaster

Once upon a time, when I was in 8th Grade
It felt very boring, to expel something self-made
I always needed entertainment, such as toys
I loved Legos, just like all other boys

So I knew I had a big and long one coming
I brought a big creation to have a part fall in the plumbing
The black foot of my warrior, now in the bowl
My head was spinning, now out of control

I didn't know what to do, so I quickly finished
Until my courage waned, my luck diminished
Nothing would happen if I just sat there looking
Took my hand, got it ready, then went for the put-in

Reached down far, next to my poo
There sat the foot of my warrior, one of deux
The other one still attached, thank God
I should've used a mini fishing rod


My hand came out, drenched in toilet water
Went under the sink, of the clear blue color
Washed it clean, then went for the flush
Never have I been so relieved of this exciting rush

Guilt

Guilt is the heavy feeling of uneasiness on our chests when we consciously realize we did something wrong. It's relative to what we feel as is guilt, and has nothing to do with the way others feel. If we feel guilty, it's our own insight that determines what guilt is - as there is no baseline for what guilt actually is. A sociopath does not feel guilt because he or she lacks this baseline foundation, therefore does not feel guilt. Once we get rid of this guilt are we free of this feeling upon us. I feel guilty letting my mouth do the talking sometimes, as opposed to having it be filtered through my head first. When I sleep late, I feel guilty towards my own body and personal health because I am depriving myself of good sleep.

Puritans and Possessions

Puritans only view possessions as a temporary thing - they might develop a sentimental attachment, but that's not supposed to actually exist. God gave us these gifts, perhaps to go through live more easily, except when God takes them away, you do not question him for he is the Architect of all things. The only real and true possession you should care about is your internal love for God. This is the case because the poet listed the things and some of its memories, whilst in the end she had the tone as if she was trying to say "oh well" and say that as long as she still had God's love and love for God then all is well. We're not supposed to question God and his decisions, for losing our possession was God's decision.
That is the Puritan view of possessions. Sentimental value to something and caring so much about it is not supposed to happen and the only value of that object is your love for God, because he gave you those things.

Hesther's Punishment

I believe Hesther's punishment was fully justified. She broke the eternal link of marriage - and she deserved to be reprimanded. She was out of bounds and the wench deserved to be punished. Poison can only be cured with poison - and in this case, this quote holds true. In order for her to learn and rectify her negative behavior, she must be treated harshly. I believe in a very masculine approach to this situation - and retribution must be served. Albeit, some might argue that Dimmesdale also deserved some of the punishment as well - but in fact, she was offered a chance to reveal her partner-in-crime BY her partner-in-crime, yet she was defiant and didn't do it.
I took the other position in class and argued for it, but I did it just to be the devil's advocate.

Material Possessions

Material possessions are important to me. Very important. This is because the blood and sweat that I've shedded to earn the money to possess these things are considered sacrifices i've made, and losing these possessions would be indirectly sacrificing in vain. On the surface, it might seem shallow - but there's much more than that. If the item had no sentimental value to me and the value replaced, then, I wouldn't care much for the item. All I care about is the sentimental value - it helps me recollect the memories associated with that item, either positive or negative.
If my house was burned down, I wouldn't care much if it was insured - unless there was some sort of sentimental value to it. A house is replaceable, unless there was some sort of priceless object in it, but the fact is that memories cannot be replaced is what makes it valuable to me.
Material possessions to me serve as a medium to some sort of memory - and if by losing that possession would remove one path to recollect that memory, yes, it would mean a lot to me.

Puritans and Rationalists Today

People think about the world through rationalistic views, that's been carved by Puritanical views. Basically, we have rationalists thought - most of us anyway, and traces of Puritan ideas are left in its path. Work hard, and you can achieve anything. The American dream. I think because our country was founded on the ideas of freedom and from a capitalist standpoint, there was bound to be a work hard slogan in it. Puritans were lead to be hardworking was because that they'll do anything in their power to earn the favor of God even though it was already predetermined who'll go to heaven and who won't.
Or perhaps our views today are simply shaped by common sense of working hard will pay off. Rationalist ideas seems to be the most basic and logical, while Puritanical seems to be complicated and subjective.