Rating: 
Summary: One of the greats!
Review: While I was less than impressed with The Scarlet Letter when I read it in high school I LOVED it this time around. Hawthorne's rich use of language adds to what is already an intensely compelling story. Hester Prynne is a standout among a throng of submissive Puritan women and one of the most interesting heroines in literature. She steadfastly stands up for herself and her child's well-being amidst a storm of controversy surrounding her actions. Symbolically and literally, this is a beautiful novel that explores the inner workings of the human heart and various facets of forgiveness, guilt, passion, pride, self-worth, and the standards by which we judge those around us.
Rating:
Summary: Significant As Ever.
Review: The majority of reviews for Hawthorne's classic, THE SCARLET LETTER, here at Amazon.com have been negative. Many of the people writing the reviews appear not to have read much classic literature. To give them credit, I don't know why this novel is forced upon young minds and influential minds. This book is not meant for the close-minded. Having lived a life as shallow as most Americans do today, it would be hard to appreciate the genius of Hawthorne's masterpiece.THE SCARLET LETTER remains as significant today as it did when it was first published. The book, though full of symbolism, is much more than a simple morality tale. It is a tale of passion and lust, truth and lies, life and death, revenge and betrayal. The story illustrates the disasters of living an unhonest and sinfilled life. It serves as a historical text in to an age that has past away and it gave us one of the first truly feminist characters in American literature. The story remains prevalent because it speaks on so many different levels, illuminating a little of each person as they read. Therefore, do not be discouraged by the large vocabulary and do not let one's inexperience in life and literatrue dissuade you from reading one of the great pieces of American literature. As a footnote, the WSP Enriched Classic edition of the novel includes a wonderful introduction, pictures, critical excerpts, notes of Hawthorne's, and a few other extras that make this a superb copy to own.
Rating: 
Summary: A Classic
Review: Hester Prynne is being punished for a crime that she commited. But it is just not an everday punishment in this Puritan Community. She has to wear a Scarlet Letter... signalling her punishment for the rest of her life. The Scarlet Letter is an "A" which symbolizes adultery. The story is about how Hester and her daughter Pearl live in the town and how the town alienates them. Hawthorne creates a wonderful story with an amazing plot. You should not pass up the experience to miss this classic piece of literature.
Rating: 
Summary: Report Card Grade "C"
Review: I never liked The Scarlet Letter, although I have read it many times. I never liked "The Custom House." The chapter never ends! It just goes on and on. I fell asleep many times while Hawthorne described his job duties. The thing that sticks in my mind after all these readings and re-readings is the fact that Hawthorne finds the manuscript wrapped up on a shelf. Hawthorne finds "The Scarlet Letter." Other authors have found the manuscripts of the book they have their name on. The author of the Arabian Nights finds the manuscript of the "Arabian Nights." The blind Argentine poet Jorge Borges finds many manuscripts hidden in the library which he writes about. There must be other books where the author claims he found the manuscript on a dusty shelf. Frankly, I like the "Arabian Night." I like Borges. I just wish that Hawthorne had left the manuscript of "The Scarlet Letter" on the shelf where he found it. I know how you feel if you are reading it for the first time. It doesn't taste any better as you get older.
Rating:
Summary: Here is a different twist on the terms scarlet letter
Review: Consider it 2001 and not 1800's. What would the scarlet letter "A" stand for today? We all know the answer is AIDS. Hawthorne certainly could not have envisioned such an outragous situation as we have visited upon us today. What a small PRICE Hester had to pay when compared to the dilemma of the current day situation. The message to Hester was to not be promiscuous and the message in 2001 is the same, or if you are, be sure that a condom is used lest you get the scarlet letter which is AIDS. Beverly C. Sanders 10/02,
Rating:
Summary: Clumsy prose and crude symbolism mar the novel's beauty
Review: I can't remember being so conflicted about a novel in a long time. On one hand, I admire the brilliant analysis of Puritanical guilt that pervades the lives of Hester Prynne and the Reverend Dimmesdale. On the other, Hawthorne's writing often left me more irritated than I have been in a long time. "The Scarlet Letter" seems to me both a masterpiece and a crude dime novel at the same time. I don't question that Hawthorne's exposure of the moral dilemnas and guilt man faces is indeed well done. Every page is filled with the agony of the main characters. At the novel's best, "The Scarlet Letter" is spellbinding, simultaneously repulsing the reader and luring him/her onward. However, the novel suffers from several problems, not least the clumsiness of Hawthorne's prose. His sentences are needlessly complicated and repetitive. Unlike a Henry James, for instance, whose sentences are densely constructed, Hawthorne could have easily sliced the length down with no loss of meaning. The writing here is weak. Even more irritating is the lack of subtlety in the novel's symbolism. The symbols Hawthorne creates could be fascinating. However, when they're spelled out in blatant, crude detail, they lose their power. Hawthorne fails to show us his symbolic meaning, instead settling on telling us instead. So ... the novel is a worthwhile read, but it's a far cry short of what it could have been.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting book, but still...
Review: Ok, like a fair number of other people, I read this just recently as a highschooler. My highly qualified judgement: Its has beautifully worked prose, and an intriguing plot (I wont try and say whether its good or not), and is a great study of symbolism, but at that point its redeeming qualities stop. The real trick is that the work is fundamentally a tableau. I like my characters to develop, to possess hidden (TO ME) traits; that is to say, I care much more for a story that evolves. The problem is, The Scarlet Letter has and does none of these. The characters, from about the third chapter, are as revealed as they ever become. I sat through the entire book waiting for something to suprise me, for some prediction to prove false, BUT IT NEVER HAPPENED. Take the worst qualities of ancient Greek fiction -and even samples of Shakespeare (predestination, the end is basically known from the beginning)- and remove nearly all traces of excitement and drama. Those two happen to be what makes getting from the start to the finish of those pieces enjoyable. I don't know what makes people love this book so. It represents many extremes (high morality, deep religious piety, clear boundaries of good and evil) that, while different from much of current "cultured" literature, are no better for their excess than any modern, overly-muted, grey-area tales. The overdone symoblism begins to irritate a reader, particularly when they have recently been reading many of the generally acknowledged classics (as numerous highschoolers have). Interpreting is all well and fine, but for even the mildly observant reader, the meaning of EVERYTHING is carefully explained at one point or another. Where lies the educational value in that? I also happen to think that the current new audience, that of my generation, have a wholly different perspective on the story than the people who originally dubbed it a classic. In the story, I found my own interest and empathy to be in and with Pearl, the fairy-child. Her caprice is the only wisp of life, of vibrancy, that I could find. My personal world is niether as austere, melodramatic, or dull as the place this book wishes to send my mind, so I miss the passion that might have been there. All I read is the art of the words. Lastly: Nate's opinion of the Puritans as a whole is blatantly transparent to anyone who takes the time to notice. This day and age, I already have enough people, places, and things that I'm subconciously being taught to hate without reason. I can live my life without the bitter thought that my own country was based in the ideals of the harsh, drab, and narrow-minded weevils Hawthorne paints the Puritans to be. In summary: in The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne exquisitely delivers an utterly hamhanded tale. I dont need to be told the moral of a story at the end, thank you very much.
Rating:
Summary: Timeless
Review: Many claim that classic literature is a relic of the past that has no relevance to the present, however, Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter perfectly depicts how classic literature is classic because it is timeless and not simply timely. We do not live in the Boston, Massachusetts of the mid 1600's, when people were cruelly ruled by hypocritical Puritan law, nevertheless, persecution, "sin," truth, justice, mercy, revenge, isolation and perseverance reign as powerfully today as they did over 200 years ago.
In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne beautifully develops the story of Hester Prynne, a young woman who dares to violate the public appearance of Puritan propriety, by bearing a daughter out of wedlock. She is forced to wear the ignominious letter "A" upon her chest as a constant reminder and lesson to all, of the burden of sin. The reader follows Hester through seven years of suffering, persecution, and isolation, to find that she is far more sinned against than she has sinned. The truly provocative idea in this book, however, is that it is one of the first books in which the reader sympathizes with the supposed culprit, and only Hawthorne's masterful use of symbolism and allegory do honor to such an undertaking.
Rating: 
Summary: It was like a bad dream, but I couldn't wake up
Review: This book is like a bad soap. No action. No drama. Very predictable. It is about a woman who cheated on her husband with another man. The baby dad is the preacher. Why the couple couldn't have gotten a divorce is beyond me. And the writing is horrible. Maybe Webster would have fun with this book but not a high schooler being forced to read it. Reading this is like a punch in the testicles.. it HURT!!! This book is hell on earth. Don't read it. By the way, I had to give it one star.
Rating:
Summary: Deep human insight
Review: After reading many of Nathaniel Hawthorne's works, I am thoroughly amazed at his ability to write about deep and profound ideas such as hidden sin or "real" beauty. "The Scarlet Letter" definetely is a very good novel. I must admit it is very touching and tragic, but it is not adventurous as many teenagers want it today (I am a teenager). You must focus on the things said instead of the things done. With that in mind, I was profoundly moved by Mr. Dimmesdale's fears and worries, Mr. Chillingworth's cunning complexity, Hester Prynne's quiet silent attitude, and Pearl's devilish actions. Each character in the story was so amazing 3-dimensional. Yes, there are parts in the book that are more verbose than I would have liked, and that is why I rated it a 4. I just learned to ignore those parts that didn't really seem to pertain to the major ideas of the story, and instead focus on those words and feelings that Hawthorne so amazingly expressed. These ideas far outweigh the verboseness. And I actually must admit that I did not find it an extremely long book. If you focus on the reading, it doesn't take long at all (compared to many longer novels of the same class). My advice: Wait until the right time. I tried to read it three times before, and never really got very far. Finally, this summer, I was able to enjoy it immensely. If you are not looking forward to reading it now, then just wait a little longer.
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