The Scarlet Letter (Classic Collection)

Rating:
Summary: Not one of my favorites. . .
Review: Well, I didn't like this book too much at all. All of the other reviews that I have read say that it's great, it's a classic, a timeless tale! And maybe it is. For me, I found it really hard to get into. There's not much dialogue, or action. The only exciting part comes at the end, with the Reverend Dimmesdale & his confession. Maybe I'll enjoy it when I'm older. I'm only 13 right now, and I don't think I could stand reading it again. My friends know me as a generally fast reader, but this book took me 8 weeks, maybe more, to finish! I found it very boring. I've been reading several books at once, and after a couple pages, I found it too much to keep reading, so I picked up another book that I had previously thought boring, and it seemed like non-stop action! And a lot easier to read, too, than the wording of Nathaniel Hawthorne. However, I will admit that The Scarlet Letter DOES convey a message of guilt, revenge, cowardice & bravery, and the terrible wrong that is sin. For that, I give it 3 stars. I would rate it higher, but, like I said, I found it extremely boring and tiresome. I recommend this book to people who love to read, who don't get too frustrated with tough language, and who have a LOT of time on their hands!:) I'm sure I'll try to read it again someday, but as of now, I need a break from Hawthorne's beautiful, intricate, meaningful, yet difficult words.

Rating:
Summary: Had to read for English class, I was pleasantly surprised!
Review: Warning: Some minor parts of the plot revealed

The first thing you will notice when you start reading this book is the words used. This book will certainly drain your mind, and force you to look up many words they used in Nathaniel Hawthorne's time, but are not used today. The work pays off though with a good story.

It tells the tale of what happens after an adulterous affair between a young women (Hester Prynne) and a preacher (Dimmesdale) in Boston's Puritan society. Chillingsworth (Hester's husband), a scholar from England, comes into the story when Hester is being punished in front of the town. He makes it his mission to find who did this with his wife.

The story turns out to show what guilt and revenge can do to people. Chillingsworth and Dimmesdale are both affected by their obsession. Both men allow their obsession to put both pysical and mental pain on them. The effects can be seen in their actions and how they deteriate.

This is a story you will long remember. Do yourself a favor though, have a dictionary close by. I warn you: Do not expect an easy read.

Rating:
Summary: Take It From A High School Student
Review: Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" is a novel still being deciphered by the greatest of scholars to this day. This is a testament to its originality and complexity. But do not be intimidated by this. This novel tells a story which everyone should be able to comprehend if time is given. Hawthorne clouds this novel with so many minor details and facts, but in between all of this lies a plot and message that is worth the read. If you are reading this for high school, I recommend you buy the cliff notes also, but ONLY TO READ ALONG WITH THE NOVEL FOR A BETTER UNDERSTANDING!!! This is an extremely hard book to read without guidance, so if your looking at this novel for recreational purpose, it is best that you are someone who loves to read and analyze whenever possible. I give this novel a 3.5

Rating:
Summary: An intense human drama that transcends literature itself
Review: The Scarlet Letter is truly one of literature's greatest triumphs, its characters and themes reverberating in our collective consciousness more than 150 years after its initial publication. Few novels inspire as much contemplation and feeling on the part of the reader. Hester Prynne, American fiction's first and foremost female heroine continues to haunt this world, inspiring a never-ending stream of scholarly debate. Even in our less puritanical age, some doubtless see her as a villainously great temptress, but to me she is a remarkably brave hero indeed. Her sin is known to all, and she never runs away from it, bearing the scarlet letter on her bosom bravely for all to see; she realizes the true measure of that sin, fretting constantly over the effects it will have on young Pearl, remaining steadfast in her beliefs while at the same time envisioning a new society where women and men can exist on more equal terms, free of the stultifyingly harsh punishments meted out on even the most repentant of souls by Puritanism. She shows her noble spirit by refusing to name her partner in sin and goes so far as to allow the ruthless Roger Chillingworth to torment the man she loves deeply enough to protect him for all time. Little Pearl is somewhat of an enigma, truly manifesting traits of both the imp and the little angel; her questions about the letter her mother wears and the minister who continually holds his hand against his heart reflect an insight that amazes this reader. Chillingworth is a thoroughly black-hearted man; I can certainly understand the blow he sustained as a result of Hester's sin, but his actions and thirst for prolonged revenge on the so-called perpetrator of the wrong he suffered can only be described as roguish and unpalatable.

Of course, the most complex character in the novel (and literature as a whole) is the good minister Arthur Dimmsdale. One is compelled to both like him and despise him. He is basically a good man and an unquestionably fine soldier in the army of the Lord, winning many souls to God with his impassioned sermons. He is more aware than anyone else of his sinful nature, and he punishes himself quite brutally in private in a useless attempt to make up for the public ignominy he lacks the moral courage to call upon himself with a public profession of his deed. Dimmsdale is a coward and a hypocrite. At one critical moment in the latter pages of the novel, he blames Hester for his state of misery, and it is that comment in particular that makes this tragic character a man I can only commiserate with to a limited degree. Even at the penultimate moment of the novel, as he finally bears the mark of his shame and guilt for all his parishioners to see, the very men and women who have viewed him as a saintly man of God rather than the brigand he knows himself to be, he does not openly confess-his words and deeds do make plain the secret of his heart, but it is his lack of a thoroughly bold confession that causes some of his most devoted followers, so Hawthorne tells us, to blindly judge his final act as an illustrative parable on the danger of sin threatening each member of his congregation rather than an admission of guilt and self-condemnation.

It upsets me to see readers who do not appreciate this novel as one of the earliest and best American classics, a novel that contributed greatly to the establishment of a literary culture in the young country. The language is of a more florid style than today's readers are used to, but this novel is in no way boring. Hawthorne paints some of the most vivid scenes of human drama I have ever witnessed; he writes in such a way that you are there in colonial Boston watching the story play out before your very eyes, struggling to come to terms with your own feelings in regard to such complex and sometimes inscrutable characters. The climactic chapter is truly and deeply moving, more than capable of bringing tears to the eyes of the sensitive soul. The Scarlet Letter is just a brilliant, gripping, thoroughly human novel that I wish everyone could appreciate as much as I do.

Rating:
Summary: A True Classic
Review: I really enjoyed reading the Scarlet Letter for the second time since highschool this year. Though it was heavily laced with symbolism, the fact that Hester Prynne showed strength and dignity throughout in a situation that is still relevant today makes this one of my favorite books. I did not like Dimmesdale at all. He was almost weaker than you would think humanly possible, but I suppose that was Hawthorne trying to make a point. I thought it was overall a book that everyone should read due to its messages about standing up for what you believe in, self love, strength, determination and confidence. Hester is a rolemodel for all women because even though she had a man with no backbone, she made the decision to stand by him and not give him away and she never compromised herself. She even regained the respect of her fellow townspeople by turning the A she wore from a negative to a positive when she became an entreprenuer, which was unheard of in those days. She was the sole source of income and support for her daughter Pearl. Rev. Dimmesdale by the way should remain an examole of what not to do for a man in his situation. Although a little corny at times, it should stay on the list of books to be read by students of all ages. There is much to gain from it on many levels.

Rating:
Summary: The Scarlet Letter, not too shaby
Review: Two months ago I had never even heard of Nathaniel Hawthorne or his famous novel, The Scarlet letter. I feel that the novel was very helpful to me. After studying the time period in which the Puritans lived in both my History and English class I feel that I got a good sense of what life was like for the Puritans. This book was certainly not the best book I have ever read. The book was great for a book that you have to read in highschool. i thought the plot moved along quickly in this story. I feel that nothing really ever happens in alot of those books that we are forced to read. This novel is diffrent. If your about to fall asleep something will happen in this book that wakes you up. There are elements to this book that constantly keep you thinking and wondering who did what? or who is who? or what!?
Besides just being a decent novle, this novel is fun to analyze.
I had alot of fun pulling this book apart with my english class.
I realized that something as simple as a rose bush can mean so much for the meaning of the story and the lesson it teaches. This book taught me alot about sin and what sin is all about. I I learned that sin can have some positive affects. Many positive things happened in this book through a child that was a product of sin.
This book was a pretty good read. I wouldnt go read it again, but I'm glad I read it mainly becasue it taught me alot. For a book that you are forced to read in school I give it 10 stars but it is definatley not one of the best books I have ever read. I think you will enjoy it for a book you read in school.
Happy reading!

Rating:
Summary: Thematically capturing!
Review: Nathaniel Hawthorne does an excellent job at depicting a huge 'American' characteristic; the public punishment for private transgression. Clinton was scrutinized for his private, adulterous act in the oval room, but it was Hawthorne that wrote about this public punishment through the character, Hester Prynne. Written in the nineteenth century, about the Puritans in the seventeenth century, in Boston, Massachussetts, Hawthorne sets up the cruel punishment that Hester sufferred for her adultery. Having to wear a bright, red letter 'A' on her breast at all times, being forced to move to the outskirts of town, and being treated as a whore, Hester suffered for the love that she found in the pastor, Dimmesdale. Their love did not comply with the Puritan communal laws, nor by the laws of God, in turn resulting in the scrutinization of Hester and her daughter, Pearl. Discretion and true love are not rewarded in this story, although the love was more lively, brighter, and real, in comparison to the bland, monotonous marraiges of the Puritans. If one is in the mood for long, elaborated, descriptions of plot detail, in lue of the timeless themes, then this is the novel for you.

Rating:
Summary: The Scarlet Letter
Review: The book was really good if you like to read of old times and how the "ways" were back then. The whole Puritan way of thinking is just different and kind of intriguing. I recommend to people who like to read slower books with some different words that might be difficult.

Rating:
Summary: My thought on "The scarlet letter"
Review: This was a very good book. It started out about a Women names Hester Prynne who committed adultery. Her community and all who judged her made her wear the letter "A" on her chest to signify what she has done. Hester had been having an affair with her priest, Aurther Dimmesdale. Se was made to stand on a scaffold in the middle of town. Although it was supposed to be an embarrassing thing to have to do, she did not act ashamed at all. Pearl has a daughter named Pearl whom her husband finds out later that it is not his child but it is Aurthor Dimmesdale's. At the begining of this book it got a little confusing but once it started to pick up the pace it all fell into place. This book was set in Salem, Massachusetts, also where Howthorne was born and grew up with his puritan traditions.

Rating:
Summary: Scarlet Letter
Review: For American Literature we were assigned to read this book. When I first started reading it, I really had trouble because of the wording. But then I really got into it. Besides the wording, this book is great. There are so many things you can learn from this book. It will have you asking questions about the society back then, and even about our society today. If you ever get a chance to read this book, I would strongly suggest it.