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Summary: The Scarlet Letter Review
Review: 200-300 wordd
I really liked this book because of Hester. She was a protagonist who refused to obey by socety's rules. She is a role model for women who wish to be free. Sure, she made a mistake. But, don't we all? Adultery is not right, but we learn from mistakes.
I really liked to read about the time period because it was so different from our own. It is hard to believe that Hawthorne was only a writer for his time period.
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Summary: Sex, Revenge, and Self-abuse. What more could one ask for?
Review: Although Nathaniel Hawthorne's romantic writing style can be distracting at times, the main story behind The Scarlet Letter is very original and unique. The story focused on the Purital pre-occupation with evil, and the transcendental philosophy of believing in one's self over authority. With many different symbols throughout the book, the entire novel is an allegory symbolizing the moral of being true to one's self. An excellent book for the conformist, because it shows the negative effects of conforming with the rest of society.
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Summary: Purely a Masterpiece.
Review: By reading the title of my reviw, most would probably not believe that I am an 11th grade student who was initially 'forced' to read "The Scarlet Letter" for an assignment. I knew of the book before I read it, and had been interested in it and its plot for some time before, as, for some reason, I'm utterly infatuated by the American Puritan period. I read "The Scarlet Letter" on the day I recieved it, and found it amazing, one of the best books I've read; very true to its title of "classic". They don't write books like this anymore; pity. The "copious style" of Hawthorne is not for everyone, but it certainly was for me; as, being an 'aspiring writer' myself, who loves to explore language, I found the style inspiring with incredibly beautiful discriptives. Some also find the book to be slowly paced, but, then again, what is the pace your teacher is making the class read it at? If they told you to sit down and read it as a normal book, it would pace itself much quicker. The plot is timeless, and a change for those involved with today's plot-driven and bland tales, the language is masterful, the characters thought-out and filled with emotion. I truly enjoyed this book. And, to whoever said the book wasn't 'romantic in any way', they're gravely mistaken, as "The Scarlet Letter" itself was indeed a book of the 'Romantic' period of American lit...
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Summary: Highly Underated By Ignorant High School Students
Review: Hawthorne was a complex writer that used big words --oh did he use them often-- to get his message across. He uses symbolism a whole lot. He can write 5 pages about one object or thing. If you're looking for something with fancy language this is THE book to read. If you're looking for a good story this is also a good book to read."The Scarlet Letter" is a literary masterpiece that takes place in the Puritan community of 1600's Boston. The title character Hester Prynne commits the ultimate sin of adultery and is punished. Her punishment is fact that she has to wear a big red letter "A" on her chest for the rest of her life. So that when anyone asks her, "Oh... what's that on your chest?" She will have to answer. "It is proof that I am a lower being and don't deserve the respect of God or anyone for that matter. Please, kill me where I stand!" This is a great book that deals with human emotions superbly. The language is beautiful and full of life. The only reason I give this book 4 stars is that some of the modern readers will find the big words a little confusing. This surely is not a high school book even though they read it in high school. You need to be a good reader to appreciate it fully. If you read one page and find it horrid and shrug it off when you have to read it for class, you will never enjoy this great book. Probably because you will never pick it up again and try to read it.
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Summary: One of my favorite books
Review: I read the Scarlet Letter last year for English and found it to be one of the most increadible stories I have ever read. Symbolism abounds in the forms of Pearl and Chillingsworth; even the scenery comes alive to tell this tale of love, atonement, and revenge.
Don't come into this book looking for action, there isn't any. Instead, there are intense mental conflicts between the characters, making for some exciting and powerful scenes. Hawthorne's uses a great deal of description, mostly to create symbols, but also just to allow you to imagine yourself in the time and place: puritan New England, so that you can empathise more with the brilliantly designed characters.
If you aren't familiar with the story of the Scarlet Letter, it describes the punnishment of Hester Prynne, a woman charged with adultry and punished by having a red letter 'A' sewed onto her main article of clothing. She is a marked woman, and therefore raises the daughter from her affair in a house seperate from the rest of her village. Her husband, who was supposedly following Hester to Massachusets from England, but took a long time getting there, arrives to witness her punishment, and decides that he is going to find the man who did this and make him suffer. From there, Hawthorne brings his characters together through scene after powerful scene, until the amazing ending.
The Scarlet Letter is a classic for a reason, and deals with many issues that we still wrestle with today. If you're a fan of symbolic books, don't mind books which lack action, and want a book which will make you think, I recomend the Scarlet Letter to you. If you want the action and not the symbolism, then you probably shouldn't be looking for classic books, especially not this one.
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Summary: Looooooooooooooooong.
Review: If you can read and readily understand old-english, you *may* be able to enjoy this novel.
I found it painfully long and didn't even care to finish it, which is unheard of for me!
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Summary: "The Scarlet Letter"
Review: Like many reviewers here, I was "forced" to read this book for my English Composition class. However, unlike many reviewers here, I have a much different view of the story. As some people have said before, Hawthorne's book takes a good deal of concentration, effort, and strength to understand. Not only to understand, but to finish. The story can drag sometimes, it is true, and Hawthorne's style of writing occasionally leaves something to be desired (I don't think I've ever seen that many commas, 15 letter words, or page long paragraphs before), but we simply must look past these minor issues. Overall, the plot is highly creative and intense, despite the writing.\ Ok, ok, I agree that the first chapter, "The Custom-House", was pretty bad. In fact, it was so bad and boring that I drifted off to sleep several times while reading it! The first chapter has little relevancy with the story, so, unless you have to, I would suggest skipping that part of the text. The rest is exceptionally good, and the quality of the plot cannot be overlooked. My advice is to just lay off the first chapter; that way you'll be able to enjoy the rest of the book without difficulty. The story itself deals with sin and adultery, a subject that isn't very popular right now. Hawthorne does an excellent job of telling us about this, but he leaves the reader with many questions floating around in his mind at the conclusion. At the end of the story you're not 100% sure if Hawthorne was condemning the Puritan society, or if he was commending it. He leaves that for the reader to figure out, which is a thing authors seldom do. That's a major reason I believe this work is so unique and timeless. The story involves a women named Hester Prynne, living in the New World in the late 17th century. She has committed adultery with someone unknown, and, since the Puritan society considered the Bible to be their ultimate source of law, the punishment was quite severe for such an act. Hester is forced to wear a scarlet "A" (for adultery) on her attire at all times, as a sign to everyone that she has sinned deeply. And so she must carry out the rest of her life this way. That's the major gist of the plot, although there's much more. I won't give it anyway, though, you'll have to read the book to find out. Let's face it: at some time or another we all are going to probably have to read this book, voluntarily or involuntarily. Shouldn't we try to make the best of it? Read it for its enjoyment, anything else would be missing the point.
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Summary: Wonderful Story About Early American Puritans.
Review: Nathanial Hawthorne is a wonderful writer, if gloomy. I have read quite a few of his books because of how much I enjoyed this one. This is his masterpiece, although some of his other books are worth a read as well. This book is chilling because of his mastery of language and characterization. He explores sin, alienation and spiritual regeneration as he tells the tale of a Puritan woman (Hester Prynne) who has an adulterous affair with a minister. We see the ripple effect that this illicit affair has on Hester and her lover, as well as Hester's husband, and most disastrously, her daughter Pearl. We see the effect that being ostracized has on Hester herself. This is visibly pictured by the scarlet A that she is forced to wear, but the effect that this has on her psyche and the way that she finds to cope with this estrangement show how strong a human being can be if pushed to it. This is a great book, and I recommend it highly.
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Summary: 'tis what on thou breast Dimmesdale?
Review: Nathaniel Hawthorne's mid-19th century novel reflects the strict Puritan Enviornment two-hundred years prior to the release of the book. What can be a tedious read at times is ultimately a redeeming piece of literature exposing the hypocrisy of the "godly" Puritan Communities. Much of the novel gives us inductive information forcing the reader to either ignore or figure out much of the background of the story for themselves. Regardless, Hester Prynne, the Protagonist, is portrayed as a strong women who has a extra-marital affair with an unknown man of the Boston Community. While raising her eerie bastard child, "Pearl", Hester refuses to compromise or openly break down for her crime. There are numerous plot twists, including a perverted love-triangle, that gives this novel it's romantic characteristics. Although there was probably hundreds of novels written during this time period that are stylistically superior to Hawthorne's masterpiece. This work has remained a mainstay as required reading because of its radical notions that women are equal and sometimes stronger than men emotionally, and deserve respect for the works they perform for society. It's a dark novel with many redeeming qualities, if you can get over the lofty-archaic English this should be an interesting read.
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Summary: Scarlet Letter Review
Review: One of the American classics, THE SCARLET LETTER tells of a woman named Hester Prynne in late 17th century who committed the then-unforgivable sin of adultery. She had been living in Boston for two years and had been found guilty of bearing a child (Pearl) by an unknown father. As punishment for her sin, Hester was forced to wear a scarlet A (adultery) on the bodice of her dress and to stand on a public scaffold before Boston's townspeople. The opening chapter "Custom House" seemed irrelevant to the rest of the novel the first time I read the book. It was not until a couple of years later I found it not true when I re-read the novel. I do have to admit that Hawthrone's writing style can drag at times, the once-seemed boring opening chapter significantly set the mood for the rest of the novel. "Custom House" does not seem to be an integral part of the story; yet the passage in which Hawthrone tells of having discovered, in the Salem Custom House, the faded scarlet A and the parchment foolscap sheets containing the facts which he says he used as the basis for this novel. The two landmarks mentioned at the beginning: prison and cemetry, point to the central themes of punishment and death, which will be combined in the climax of the novel. Prison might symbolize how Hester Prynne, who wore that scarlet A on the bodice, was forever locked in by her sin. This entire tale is filled with symbolisms. The prison is described as "the black flower of the civilized society". The tombstone at the end of the book implies that crime and punishment may well bring about the death of such civilized life. The most popular and conspicuous symbol that is well sustained throughtout the book is the scalet A that is worn by Hester Prynne. Initially it is a red cloth letter which is a literal symbol of the sin of adultery. But the author makes the symbol A much more richly symbolic throughout the rest of the tale. The scaffold is not only a symbol of the stern Puritan code, but also a symbol for the open acknowledgment of personal sin. Night and day are symbols for concealment and openness. The sun symbolizes happiness and freedom of guilt. The list goes on and on.... Arthur Dimmensdale, Roger Chillingworth, Hester Prynne, and Pearl themselves, are symbols as well. They reflect certain view of sins and effects on humans and society. The book might take strength and effort to read; but it's not quite a bad read.
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