Rating: 
Summary: Classic...Yet Not a Favorite
Review: I first heard of the classic novel "The Scarlet Letter" when I was in fifth grade. My mom told me a brief description of the story, and her thoughts on the book made me want to read it. I finally got the chance to read it this year, and I was greatly disappointed. The novel failed to hold my interest at any point in the story. I could only read so many pages at one time as I found my thoughts wandering away from the story of Hester Prynne, her young daughter Pearl, and the affair that she had with one of the ministers in Boston. The vocabulary was quite advanced and often hard to comprehend. The lengthy descriptions of Hester's agony over this great sin she has committed were quite repetitive. When Nathaniel Hawthorne adds the complicated vocabulary to the descriptions of Hester that go on page after page, it creates frustration and a sense of hopelessness for the reader. Most of the time, I knew what Hester was thinking or what she was going to say before she thought it or said it. Even through all of the tedious descriptions, it was hard for me to identify with Hester Prynne since I have never been in her type of situation before. The only aspect of the novel that I really understood was the Puritan way of life. Hawthorne's description of the way that the Puritans lived was quite accurate. The Puritans were a very religious society based on high morals and respect. Once one did something to shame those morals, they were ultimately shunned from society. This aspect of Puritan society was one of the only points that was well illustrated by Hawthorne. Overall, the book was lifeless. I would recommend this book only to someone who has a large amount of both patience and time.
Rating: 
Summary: Scarlet review
Review: This novel is a very intriguing story about an attractive young woman living in a Puritan society, where she is put in compromising situations and must maneuver herself out of them. Hester Prynne (the captivating young puritan woman) has allowed herself to be put in one too many situations though, when she gets pregnant by a man other than her husband. This terrible sin caused the Puritan society to punish her for her sins against god and her husband. In doing so the community sentenced Hester to live the rest of her life wearing the letter "A" on the bosom of her dress. This entire scenario is described extremely well by Hawthorne, by using elaborate sentences with great descriptions, both of the people's opinions and of the scenery, to provide a very full and vivid picture in the mind of the reader. This story has great twists and surprises in it which draws the reader into the story, to where the reader feels as if they are actually in the society and watching how every one acts towards Hester and her daughter. Hawthorne uses advanced vocabulary to describe the settings, people, and the people's opinions. The descriptive sentences and complex vocabulary of this novel make it very attractive to any reader wishing to expand their vocabulary and even part of their history, by learning a little about how the Puritan society's belief system worked and how the society viewed people and their actions. Now granted all the information in this novel is not all factual however the reader gets a real feel of strict and moral the Puritans were during that time. This novel by far with its advanced vocabulary and wonderfully descriptive sentences is one of the best novels I have ever read.
Rating: 
Summary: Ugh
Review: Forcing students to read novels such as this could be considered one of the primary obstacles to promoting reading as an independently pursued hobby. The story, I'll admit, was a good idea. However, the moody overromanticized method of telling it stifled what was a good idea. Hawthorne was a victim of the style of the times--not a victim of bad writing. In short, a great book to have read, but a miserable book to read.
Rating:
Summary: The Scarlet Letter, A Challenge and an Adventure
Review: The Scarlet Letter was quite an adventure through a troubled outcast's mind. The characterization, descriptions, and the story its self made this book one of the best I have read. If it were not for the very advanced vocabulary and the lengthy descriptions, I might have considered this book the best I have read. Hawthorne really allowed the reader to understand every thought of an outcast in a Puritan town. The book takes the reader through interactions with very cruel, sympathetic, and forgiving people. Each encounter brought with it one surprise after another. The book not only examined society and its changing views, but it also gave a rather historically correct account of Puritan life. Before taking this book on, I recommend doing a bit of research on the eccentric Puritan culture. Hawthorne's descriptions of Hester Prynne's thoughts and feelings gave the reader a personal relationship with her. He drops little pieces of information about Hester that make the respect the reader may have for her grow. As the book progressed, Hester's character began to bloom right in front of the reader's eyes. These factors allowed the true cleverness and boldness of Hawthorne's story to shine through. There were only a few aspects that got in the way of true enjoyment of the book. The vocabulary was a bit hard to comprehend when paired up with Hawthorne's inclination to extend his descriptions of a situation for pages. Overall, the book held my attention well and made me think about society in a different way. I would recommend this book to anyone who was willing to take some time interpreting extremely advanced vocabulary in lengthy descriptions.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: I, as a 10th grade student, had to read The Scarlet Letter for school. at first, what came to mind was "this is going to be the most boring, hard to read book ever, as most school books are." I started reading it and my nightmares were coming true. i didn't understand half of what Hawthorne was trying to say. this really put me down but once we started discussing the chapters that we had read, i realized what it was about and how good it actually is. Once i knew more about the story, reading became much easier. (some parts, though were just plain tedious.) the imagry that was used was amazing and the plot was excelent. i would have given more stars but some of it was just too complicated and i couldn't follow it.
Bottom line: everyone should read this book because it is a classic for a reason. (it really is a good book) but you might want to get a guide to it or maybe cliffnotes so it is esier to understand.
Rating:
Summary: boring....
Review: had to read it for class to pass a test the next day... anyways bored me to death but hte whole plot was interestin tho it had too many stupid details thas not very relative. so id tell u to go read cliffs tho its not wise if u have some strict teacher who gives cliff proof tests.
Rating:
Summary: Very dry reading, but bearable
Review: Scarlet Letter was rather dry and not very intresting at the beginning, but overall, the book was pretty bearable, if not interesting at times. Hester's daughter, for example, was quite intriguing with her "witchy- sinful?" characteristics and I felt really sorry for Hester. The ending was kinda predictable, but still, if you want to read it, check it out from the library.
Rating: 
Summary: The Scarlet Letter
Review: "The Scarlet Letter"
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Reviewer: Marion Lagana
The classic novel "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne was written in the 1800's about a small Puritan town in New England--the town is now known as Boston. This was awhile before America was free from England. In this is town everyone knows everyone and their beliefs are all the same. nothing out of the ordinary happens until one Puritan girl, who has just moved to Boston a couple years past and has been waiting for her husband to join her, has a child with another man. This baffles the community to say the very least.
The book goes on to tell about her pain; the pain of adultery and the pain of her other secrets that she has kept throughout the novel. The story brings you on a sad trip through one woman's pathetic and lonely life, from the loss of love and friends to being finally respected as a person and being "able." I put quotes around able because in the book, the letter A turns from showing shame and a sin, into showing a womean who is able to do something despite what she has done.
Although the book sometimes seems rather long, and there are things that you may feel are not neeed, or understand, you learn to enjoy it in the end, as well as understand it. It is a book that you will want to pick up and read again to understand it that much more. It's a touching book of forgiveness, hatred, love, and deceit.
Rating:
Summary: A timeless classic...
Review: I re-read *The Scarlet Letter* for an American Literature class I'm taking this semester, and I have to admit, it hasn't lost its charm since the first time I read it over ten years ago. Nathaniel Hawthorne had an amazing ability to bring truth into his fictional offerings, in his many short stories and particularly in *The Scarlet Letter*. I highly recommend this affordable edition of the novel, a quick read, complete with introduction and bibliography.The novel opens as Hester Prynne accepts punishment for an adulterous affair with an unknown secret lover. Her husband sent Hester over to Boston township a few years prior to the novel's beginnings, but until her sentencing, had not been heard from. Hester has been sentenced to the adornment of a letter 'A' on her attire, signifying the adulterous affair. The young Reverend Dimmesdale, a sympathetic observer, turns out to be more than a friend, when it is discovered that he was in fact, Hester's secret love. As Hester is forced to stand on the town's scaffolds with her young infant, Pearl, an unknown man enters the crowd, and Hester realizes that it is her husband, finally arrived in Boston. The man calls himself Roger Chillingworth and pretends to be a physician rather than admit connection to the sinful woman. As the novel progresses, Hester raises Pearl alone, a precocious child with an inquisitive nature. Banishment from the town fades as the years pass by, and though Hester still wears the letter 'A', the town eventually accepts her as an eccentric member of the community. However, Reverend Dimmesdale has held all his remorse of the sins internally, resulting in external illness and loss of character. Roger Chillingworth wreaks vengeance upon the Reverend, ingratiating himself into Dimmesdale's household and encouraging Dimmesdale's degradation. This short novel was a joy to read and to re-read. If you're in the mood for a little adultery, a little vengeance and a little redemption, this is the novel for you.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic Still Contemporary
Review: (...) I groaned when I heard that my AP English class would read The Scarlet Letter - it seemed so overused, out of date, and boring. Well, that's what I thought until I started reading. This is an amazing novel. The themes explored - sin, guilt, revenge, cowardice, bravery, compassion, intolerance - apply not to just Puritannical society, but also to today's. I questioned my own morality and integrity - what would I do if I was Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth, or a member of the Puritan community? Can a sinful act of passion be purged through repentance and self-sacrifice? Or is it forever damaging to accountability and integrity? This has become one of my favorite books - the ability to explore morality beyond surface characters is a stimulating experience.
|
