Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is considered to be one of the greatest examples of true American literature. Its excellency of topic, characterization, and description has made it a permanent part of our history. Set in Salem, Massachusetts in the 1600s, it describes the life of Hester Prynne, a Puritan woman whose existence is marred by sin. The real genius of the book is found in its description. Hawthorne makes allusion, symbolism, and romanticism work toward one effect, making the reader feel as if she was there, watching it all happen, living through Hester's struggle. The story opens as a woman, Hester Prynne, is leaving a jail and heading toward a large scaffold in the middle of Salem town, where she, along with her newborn child, Pearl, is put on display as an example to all the people, to discourage them from committing such a sin as adultery. The sentence is given by a number of priests who feel compassion for her because her husband had been thought dead for so many years. She is ordered to wear a scarlet letter, "A" for adultery, on her breast for the duration of her stay in Salem. She is perversely unwilling to leave the place of her shame and outcast when she could easily have sailed away to E
Hester and Pearl chance to meet Arthur at the scaffold late at night. It remains in one's mind long after one turns the page. One of the best aspects of this book is its lack of superfluous events. Feelings such that are unexpected for the modern day reader who expects to sympathize rather than empathize with the characters because of their differences of situation. Its clarity of thought and expression has captivated readers for over a century and probably will continue to do so for many years more. These similarities can be explained by one simple thought, that people never change. We all carry a mark of wrongdoing, be it visible like Hester's "A" or a convict's tatoo, or be it internal, like Arthur's guilt or a schoolgirl's paranoia when she's snuck out of her house. These marks are less severe now, however, because of the impersonal attitude of many of the people around modern day readers. ngland or to anywhere else on earth and been rid of her "mark of Cain. Written by one of the most skillful authors of all time, it is a great example of how a reader can be dragged into the action and live with the characters. ------------------------------------------------------------------------**Bibliography**THE BOOK of course!. A teenage Baptist reader in Danbury, Connecticut in 1996 expects to have little in common with a Puritan woman living in Salem, Massachusetts in the seventeenth century, however she finds marked similarities between their situations. Hawthorne goes on to tell, in short, the story of the rest of Hester's life, tough most of it appears to be based on rumor. He beckons them toward him and then he asks her to assist him up to the scaffold. Hester was reminded of her sin every day, all of the time, by the blaze of crimson upon her chest, just as the reader is reminded of it every time she hears the title of the book.
Common topics in this essay:
Salem Massachusetts,
Hester Pearl,
Roger Chillingworth,
Hester Prynne,
Dimmesdale Disguised,
Europe Pearl,
Nathaniel Hawthorne,
Arthur Roger,
Prynne Puritan,
Scarlet Letter,
scarlet letter,
hester pearl,
roger chillingworth,
american literature,
story woman,
arthur scaffold,
puritan woman,
modern day,
salem massachusetts,
hester prynne,
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Acceptance Essays
