Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter Questions
1. Nathaniel Hawthorne, a dark American Romantic writer, was born on July 4th, 1804, in the town of Salem Massachusetts. Hawthorne wrote many works of literature, his first one was The Scarlet Letter. With this novel, came enough success for Hawthorne to completely devote himself to his writings. In 1851, he left Salem to draft and complete his second book, which he called The House of the Seven Gables. His other novels were, The Blithedale Romance and The Marble Faun. These novels however were labeled as disappointments to his fans. Nathaniel Hawthorne lived in the Puritan times, and wrote from his own experience. The Scarlet Letter possessed a setting of Puritan times and lands. Hawthorne traveled a lot and wrote most of his works away from home. He passed away on May 19th, 1864 after a long period of suffering from severe dementia. (http://www.gradesaver.com/author/hawthorne/)
2. The Scarlet Letter is organized into 24 chapters in which Hawthorne describes different scenes of the story. Each chapter is about 7-10 pages, giving him plenty of room to fully portray and explain the plot. Hawthorne uses different techniques such as foreshadowing and chronological order to help the reader suspect the plot while keeping them on track of the here and now. He wrote the story to cover a time frame of seven years in which his main character, Hester Prynne, is tortured by her own ignominy. In the beginning of this story, Hester is a hated, despised, avoided human being. As convicted as an adulterer, she’s practically the plague to her town. As we approach the end of the novel, however, the townspeople discover her innocence. The audience is completely clued in on the mysteries of the book, such as who the ex-husband of Hester was, and who the second parent of little Pearl was.
3. The point of view in this novel was third person omniscient. This point of view remains consistent throughout the entire story. Hawthorne achieves the result of creating a dark mood by allowing us to enter the minds and hearts of the main characters. His purpose is to sadden his audience. For example, when Hawthorne’s wife had first read the complete version of The Scarlet Letter, she busted into tears, and grew a headache, which satisfied Hawthorne greatly. (http://www.gradesaver.com/author/hawthorne/) As a dark romantic writer, Hawthorne focuses on the secret sin and dark moods in his stories.
4. The Scarlet Letter has three main characters: Hester Prynne, Pearl, and Mr. Dimmesdale. Little Pearl and Mr. Dimmesdale are static characters, meaning they change and develop throughout the whole story. Hester seems to be a flat character. Her character stays the same throughout the novel, nothing really changes. I don’t find Hester and Pearl to be very believable characters. Hester, quiet, contained, and misunderstood, was able to deal with dirty looks and isolation for the rest of her life once she got pregnant. She was able to resist contact with the clergyman that she loved. It all seems too unrealistic to me. Pearl, elfish, quirky, and mysterious, is such an odd child. A child not many people including myself come across. Mr. Dimmesdale, selfish, fearful, and sinful, is torn up for years by his guilt until he finally must confess his sin. Guilt is a very relatable and believable emotion to encounter.
5. The setting of The Scarlet Letter is in the middle of the 17th century, located in Boston, Massachusetts. The environment is described in a dark way in order to create and set a mood of mystery to keep the reader unaware of Hester’s back-story. The setting of this story is very relevant to the plot because its focused on sin and ignominy thus leaving the Puritans very essential to the conflict. If this story had taken place in today’s society, not one person would care. They may think in the back of their minds how wrong it was, but no real shame would be placed upon the adulterer.
6. The language that Nathaniel Hawthorne uses in his novel is very concise, formal, and strong. “A throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments, and gray, steeple-crowned hats, intermixed with women, some wearing hoods and others bareheaded, was assembled in front of a wooden edifice, the door of which was heavily timbered with oak, and studded with iron spiked,” wrote Hawthorne. This sentence is very concise, telling the reader exactly what the first scene of the story looks like. He uses much imagery, especially when concerning the scarlet A, of which forever remained upon Hester Prynne’s chest.
7. Hawthorne used imagery in many circumstances, but mostly when it applied to the scarlet letter. Its function it to exaggerate the red A even more so. The author doesn’t want the reader to forget its meaning and accompanying shame. To remind his audience, Hawthorne says things like, “On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold-thread, appeared the letter A,” to describe the feelings when the letter was gazed upon. He does this numerous times throughout the novel.
8. On page 221, Hawthorne’s character tells Pearl, “They say, child, thou art of the lineage of the Prince of Air!” This woman isn’t being serious. She knows Pearl’s father is an ordinary man; she is using figurative language. No one knows who her real father is, so the townspeople make up tales about Pearl’s heritage. Nathaniel Hawthorne also uses many metaphors, similes, and personification to talk about the accursed scarlet letter.
9. I’m sure many themes can be derived from this book. The most apparent one to me would be not to judge. Everyone assumed Hester Prynne was a whore because she had committed adultery. But if they had known she committed her sin from love, and with the clergyman, they might not have been as harsh on her. They also judged the minister. Their thoughts of their beloved preacher were of amazing grace, and they adored him. Little did they know, however, that he assisted in the greatest scandal of their time.
10. The significance of this title is very obvious. The Scarlet Letter clearly refers to the embroidered “A” on Hester Prynne’s clothing. I don’t think the meaning of the title changes; it remains the same from the beginning of the story to the end of the story. The message Hawthorne tries to convey to his audience is the significance of the scarlet letter. It adds so much shame to Hester Prynne, and not only does she have to live with her guilt, but her shame is constantly put on a showcase, never ceasing to humiliate her.
11. The most memorable passage in the novel is Mr. Dimmesdale’s confession. He shouts his torturing sin to the citizens of Boston as his death drawls ever nearer. This captures the essence of the story by reaching the climax of it all. Even though most of Hawthorne’s story is secret and sinful, this revolution is like a light in this dark book. It shows that Hawthorne doesn’t have to create this terrible, unsatisfying plot, he pleases his readers.
12. I myself am much of a reader, and most of the time I read for the enjoyment of myself. I didn’t necessarily think I was going to enjoy this book but I did to some extent. Although it was a frustrating novel to understand, I tried to look past that. The plot was quite intriguing so that kept me interested. Overall, I liked the book and enjoyed reading it.