Plot Synopsis Hester is a beautiful young women in the 1840s, and also a public disgrace. Formerly from Europe, she left to the New World without her husband, who stayed to finish up some business but planned to travel and meet her in the New World shortly after. When he didn't come at the time he was expected, Hester committed adultery and gave birth to her daughter Pearl. This practice was severely frowned upon and she was forced to wear an "A" on the bosom of all her clothes. Though many requested the name of the child's father, Hester kept it a secret for her husband arrived but asked Hester to not identify him as her husband. He vows to find who the father of Hester's beloved Pearl is. The story if full of suspense as Hester's life is torn apart by her love and her husband, but held together by her lovely gift; her daughter.
About Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts. His family later moved to Maine where he was educated at Bowdoin College. Two dozen stories of Hawthorne's were published in the Democratic Review, a magazine run by Hawthorne's friend. It is told that Hawthorne burnt Seven Tales of My Native Land, his first short story, because publishers turned it down. Hawthorne published his first novel Fanshawe, at the age of 24, in 1828. The Scarlet Letter is Hawthorne's best known work according to many. He published the book in 1950, and it is believed that Hawthorne's daughter Una was the inspiration for the young girl Pearl. For further information on Nathaniel Hawthorne, click here .
Literary Information
The Scarlet Letter is a 215 page book.
The style of this book is very formal and literary. Hawthorne uses a formal diction, with complex sentences and rich words.
The mood of this story is very morose. The characters are rarely expressed as cheerful for there is so many secrets that are complicating the lives of the main characters.
The Scarlet Letter is told from an Omniscient Third Person view. The narrator has the thoughts and feelings of everyone in the story, and knows all the secrets about the identities of Hester's love and husband.
The Scarlet Letter is in the genres of romance and historical fiction.
Nathaniel Hawthorne uses many different types of figurative language in the story. Perhaps the biggest figurative language is the metaphor of the rose. Towards the beginning of the story, the author describes a rose next to the prison, and goes on about how something so beautiful can come from something that may be frowned upon. This rose represents Pearl in Hester's life.
Literary Analysis (*Caution*: Contains spoilers) blah blah blah :) WORK ON THIS! Life would be full of stress if one mistake determined the road you traveled on for the rest of your life. The Scarlet Letter's plot and conflict demonstrate how difficult it would be if life indeed relied on every small decision that us as humans made. The plot impacts the lives of many because the sin completed by Hester and her lover cause Hester, her daughter, her lover, and her husband to all lead complicated lives that are full of misery. The conflict creates stress among the characters because the secrets of the identities of Hester's lover and husband are constantly attempted to be found out and manipulated. "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne reveals that one simple mistake can impact many lives forever.
Hester is perhaps the most obviously affected by this. Hester becomes isolated due to the scarlet letter upon her chest. After Pearl's birth and her showing of the scarlet letter, Hester moved to the outskirts of town in a secluded house (131). Here, Hester established her life with her beloved Pearl and made the best of the situation she placed herself in, due to that one sin. Hester is also affected by this through Pearl. Hawthorne used a metaphor in the name of Pearl and the representation of Pearl. A pearl is formed in nature when a "foreign substance , or something unwanted, is placed upon the oyster and the oyster coats it and makes the best of the substance. In the final stages, a pearl is very beautiful, brings you, and is special. Hester's daughter is truly the pearl of her life. "She named the infant "Pearl," as being of great price,-purchased with all she had,-her mother's only treasure (136)!" Hester's life began to revolve around Pearl, because that's all that Hester really had. Hester is clearly impacted by the mistake of adultery.
Hester's lover is also impacted by the choice to have sex with Hester. However, when Hester became publicly scolded, this man hid his identity. Due to this choice, Hester's lover is led down a life of guilt. He becomes so guilty, that he brands a scarlet letter into his chest (193). In the end, guilt gets the better of him and he admits his sin to the public. He dies on the scaffold, while holding the hands of Hester and Pearl (236). This proves yet another person's life affected by the choice of Hester and her lover.
Though Hester and her lover were both impacted by their choice, the list doesn't stop there. Hester's husband is also majorly affected through the sin. He wasn't even around at the time, but Hawthorne portrays him as a negative character. At the beginning of the book, Hester's husband asks Hester to not tell anyone that they are married (146). Hester indeed keeps his identity a secret, even though her husband pressures her into revealing the name of Pearl's father. Hester's husband vows that he will find the name (142), which again gives him a bad characterization in the reader's eye. Hester's husband is potentially one of the most impacted characters from the birth of Pearl.
"The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne reveals that one simple mistake can impact many lives forever. Through the simple decision of Hester and her lover to engage in intercourse, Pearl was brought into the world along with complications. Hester, her daughter, her husband and her lover are all impacted by this one careless decision. Nathaniel Hawthorne leaves all with the idea that mistakes can have a long term affect, that we just can't predict. =========
Criticism
The Scarlet Letter was rather difficult for me to read. It is a fairly quick read, depending on how long it takes for the reader to comprehend the older english. Some parts of the story, like when (ALERT: POTENTIAL SPOILER!) Hester's lover reveals what his guilt caused him to do, really interested me. However, overall the book somewhat bored me for I was too frustrated with the language to enjoy it. Had the book been written in modern time english, I feel like I would have enjoyed it more. I really liked reading Hester's feelings toward how wonderful Pearl was, because even though the child was a burden placed upon her, she was happy that Pearl is in her life. Hester models strength in women and is very independent, and I respect her as a character for that.
If you likedThe Scarlet Letter, consider checking out these books as well!
Orclick here for a short synopsis of the above books, plus more.
The Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel Hawthorne
The book was later into a movie in 1995:
Plot Synopsis
Hester is a beautiful young women in the 1840s, and also a public disgrace. Formerly from Europe, she left to the New World without her husband, who stayed to finish up some business but planned to travel and meet her in the New World shortly after. When he didn't come at the time he was expected, Hester committed adultery and gave birth to her daughter Pearl. This practice was severely frowned upon and she was forced to wear an "A" on the bosom of all her clothes. Though many requested the name of the child's father, Hester kept it a secret for her husband arrived but asked Hester to not identify him as her husband. He vows to find who the father of Hester's beloved Pearl is. The story if full of suspense as Hester's life is torn apart by her love and her husband, but held together by her lovely gift; her daughter.
About Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts. His family later moved to Maine where he was educated at Bowdoin College. Two dozen stories of Hawthorne's were published in the Democratic Review, a magazine run by Hawthorne's friend. It is told that Hawthorne burnt Seven Tales of My Native Land, his first short story, because publishers turned it down. Hawthorne published his first novel Fanshawe, at the age of 24, in 1828. The Scarlet Letter is Hawthorne's best known work according to many. He published the book in 1950, and it is believed that Hawthorne's daughter Una was the inspiration for the young girl Pearl. For further information on Nathaniel Hawthorne, click here .
Literary Information
The Scarlet Letter is a 215 page book.
The style of this book is very formal and literary. Hawthorne uses a formal diction, with complex sentences and rich words.
The mood of this story is very morose. The characters are rarely expressed as cheerful for there is so many secrets that are complicating the lives of the main characters.
The Scarlet Letter is told from an Omniscient Third Person view. The narrator has the thoughts and feelings of everyone in the story, and knows all the secrets about the identities of Hester's love and husband.
The Scarlet Letter is in the genres of romance and historical fiction.
Nathaniel Hawthorne uses many different types of figurative language in the story. Perhaps the biggest figurative language is the metaphor of the rose. Towards the beginning of the story, the author describes a rose next to the prison, and goes on about how something so beautiful can come from something that may be frowned upon. This rose represents Pearl in Hester's life.
Literary Analysis (*Caution*: Contains spoilers)
blah blah blah :) WORK ON THIS!
Life would be full of stress if one mistake determined the road you traveled on for the rest of your life. The Scarlet Letter's plot and conflict demonstrate how difficult it would be if life indeed relied on every small decision that us as humans made. The plot impacts the lives of many because the sin completed by Hester and her lover cause Hester, her daughter, her lover, and her husband to all lead complicated lives that are full of misery. The conflict creates stress among the characters because the secrets of the identities of Hester's lover and husband are constantly attempted to be found out and manipulated. "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne reveals that one simple mistake can impact many lives forever.
Hester is perhaps the most obviously affected by this. Hester becomes isolated due to the scarlet letter upon her chest. After Pearl's birth and her showing of the scarlet letter, Hester moved to the outskirts of town in a secluded house (131). Here, Hester established her life with her beloved Pearl and made the best of the situation she placed herself in, due to that one sin. Hester is also affected by this through Pearl. Hawthorne used a metaphor in the name of Pearl and the representation of Pearl. A pearl is formed in nature when a "foreign substance , or something unwanted, is placed upon the oyster and the oyster coats it and makes the best of the substance. In the final stages, a pearl is very beautiful, brings you, and is special. Hester's daughter is truly the pearl of her life. "She named the infant "Pearl," as being of great price,-purchased with all she had,-her mother's only treasure (136)!" Hester's life began to revolve around Pearl, because that's all that Hester really had. Hester is clearly impacted by the mistake of adultery.
Hester's lover is also impacted by the choice to have sex with Hester. However, when Hester became publicly scolded, this man hid his identity. Due to this choice, Hester's lover is led down a life of guilt. He becomes so guilty, that he brands a scarlet letter into his chest (193). In the end, guilt gets the better of him and he admits his sin to the public. He dies on the scaffold, while holding the hands of Hester and Pearl (236). This proves yet another person's life affected by the choice of Hester and her lover.
Though Hester and her lover were both impacted by their choice, the list doesn't stop there. Hester's husband is also majorly affected through the sin. He wasn't even around at the time, but Hawthorne portrays him as a negative character. At the beginning of the book, Hester's husband asks Hester to not tell anyone that they are married (146). Hester indeed keeps his identity a secret, even though her husband pressures her into revealing the name of Pearl's father. Hester's husband vows that he will find the name (142), which again gives him a bad characterization in the reader's eye. Hester's husband is potentially one of the most impacted characters from the birth of Pearl.
"The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne reveals that one simple mistake can impact many lives forever. Through the simple decision of Hester and her lover to engage in intercourse, Pearl was brought into the world along with complications. Hester, her daughter, her husband and her lover are all impacted by this one careless decision. Nathaniel Hawthorne leaves all with the idea that mistakes can have a long term affect, that we just can't predict. =========
Criticism
The Scarlet Letter was rather difficult for me to read. It is a fairly quick read, depending on how long it takes for the reader to comprehend the older english. Some parts of the story, like when (ALERT: POTENTIAL SPOILER!) Hester's lover reveals what his guilt caused him to do, really interested me. However, overall the book somewhat bored me for I was too frustrated with the language to enjoy it. Had the book been written in modern time english, I feel like I would have enjoyed it more. I really liked reading Hester's feelings toward how wonderful Pearl was, because even though the child was a burden placed upon her, she was happy that Pearl is in her life. Hester models strength in women and is very independent, and I respect her as a character for that.
If you liked The Scarlet Letter, consider checking out these books as well!
Or click here for a short synopsis of the above books, plus more.