Rae+N.+Scarlet+Letter

=****// The //// Scarlet //// Letter //  ****= By Nathaniel Hawthorne

**Short Biography of Nathaniel Hawthorne....** Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts on July 4, 1804. His father, Nathaniel Hawthorne, was a sea captain and died when his son was only four years old. Hawthorne's mother fell into somewhat of a depression and remained isolated until she died. Hawthorne went to college at Bowdoin College from 1821 - 1824. An interesting fact: Hawthorne was friends with Franklin Pierce, the 14th President of the United States of America. From 1825 - 1836, Hawthorne wrote periodicals and magazine articles. During this time, Hawthorne attempted to publish a book, called //S////even Tales of My Native Land//, but it was rejected by publishers. As a result, Hawthorne burned his manuscript. He then went on for a second try, and successfully got his book published, named //Fanshawe//. However, the book was not very popular, so Hawthorne burned the unsold copies of the book. Hawthorne wrote more articles and books, and whatnot. Finally, he published //The Scarlet Letter// in 1850. It was a success. The plot, an intricate [and shocking] affair intrigued people and the book became a phenomena. Since then, Hawthorne published many other pieces. He died on May 19, 1864 in Plymouth, New Hampshire while out on a hike with his friend (the 14th President) Franklin Pierce. His works were later published, most of which came from his notebooks. For more information on Nathaniel Hawthorne and to view more of his work, please visit the following website: Nathaniel Hawthorne Biography To better understand //The Scarlet Letter //, listed below is a list and short description of the main characters.
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 * **Hester Prynne **: the one who committed adultery and the mother of Pearl. Her character is strong-willed, and yet she has the passion to make the reader feel for her. She is most definitely strong-willed, because she is ready to serve a lifetime of relentless shame to keep the secrets she is trusted with, including who Pearl's real father is and who her husband is posing as. She silently bears her shame, and says not a word of complaint.
 * **Pearl **: the daughter of Hester Prynne and an outcast child. She is a very odd child; the town even whispers about her being the daughter of the Devil himself. She is very perceptive and catches on to things that a normal child her age would not think twice about. She is written as a very mischievous, and sometimes takes up the hobby of irritating her mother by constantly having to bring the scarlet letter on Hester's chest to light.
 * **Roger Chillingworth **: he is Hester's true husband, however his real name is never written in the book. He makes Hester swear to not reveal his identity. He is the antagonist of //The Scarlet Lette// //r// . He decides to stay in Boston and find out who Pearl's father is, and he resolves to make every day a living Hell for him.
 * **R ****<span style="color: #871d79; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">everend Arthur Dimmesdale **<span style="color: #871d79; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">: obviously, Dimmesdale is the Reverend of Boston at the time. He is highly respected in society and gives the most moving sermons. However, interestingly enough, he holds a dark secret that affects the lives of several people. His guilt overwhelms him and he acquires a heart problem, later dying of it.
 * **<span style="color: #871d79; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Governor Bellingham **<span style="color: #871d79; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">: he is a rich man in power in the Boston government and is one of the most hypocritical characters. He is one of the men who condemn and scold and interrogate Hester, when his own sister who lives with him, is a witch. Connecting the fact that the Governor's sister was a witch with the era in history and Hester's situation, it's amazingly frustrating, having to read about the utter unfairness in that little triangle. Witches were feared above all in that time, and for Hester to commit adultery seems like a hill, compared to the Governor's sister, which is the equal of a mountain in that situation.
 * **<span style="color: #871d79; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Mistress Hibbins **<span style="color: #871d79; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">: she is the Governor's witch sister. She lives with the Governor and practices witchcraft right under the Puritans' noses. It's amazing, how hypocritical this part is. Yet Mistress Hibbins gets away with her "sin" of witchcraft and Hester is punished for eternity for her sin of adultery when her husband was supposedly dead; lost at sea. I think the most frustrating part about Mistress Hibbins, is that the people even suspect her and know her to do witchcraft and yet she is not confronted/persecuted!
 * <span style="color: #871d79; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Narrator** : finally, the narrator is the one who unfolds this whole story. He is never named, but in the beginning of the book, the narrator writes about how he had been working in a customhouse, when he lost his job. Incidentally, he found some old papers about a story similar to that of what //<span style="color: #871d79; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The Scarlet Letter //<span style="color: #871d79; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">is written about. It is obvious that the narrator is uncomfortable with the events of the past, nearly 200 years previous. He even gets a little angry at the way society treated the woman (whom Hester Prynne represents). He does not think that the Puritan way of life was right. He says that he wrote the book in order to bring to light a better understanding of America's past, even if it is a little murky.

//<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-style: normal; text-align: left;">**<span style="color: #118d11; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Synopsis: ** <span style="color: #118d11; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: left;">The Scarlet Letter <span style="color: #118d11; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-style: normal; text-align: left;">by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a wonderful and challenging book that is a masterpiece. To sum it up in a few quick sentences, <span style="color: #118d11; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The Scarlet Letter // <span style="color: #118d11; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-style: normal;">is basically about a woman who committed adultery and had a child from it. She was sentenced to wear a scarlet letter A (for adultery) for the rest of her life. "Ah, but let her cover the mark as she will, but the pang of it will always be in her heart," (Hawthorn, 43). The Puritans back in that era (about the 1600's) were very strict about keeping true to your spouse, so the bearing of the scarlet letter was for life and even death, as it would be engraved on your gravestone. Meanwhile, Hester's husband lives within the same town and poses as a doctor, and later tries to figure out who the Pearl's father is. In the end, he does indeed figure out who Pearl's real father is and is set to get revenge. Mysteriously, Dimmesdale falls deathly ill and begins to act a bit strange. Chillingworth comes to the "aid" of Dimmesdale, stating that he wants to "cure" him, and eventually Dimmesdale ends up keeling over dead on the town scaffold with Hester and Pearl at his side. Chillingworth dies as well, consumed by his revenge. A whirl of events occurs, including Hester and Pearl leaving the country, and then settling down to a surprising, yet peaceful ending. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: left;">**<span style="color: #ff8b00; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
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Critique : In my opinion, the book was fantastically written. I loved the twists it had in its plot; I especially love the ending. I found it so peaceful and such a serene closing end to the book. "So said Hester Prynne, and glanced her sad eyes downward at the scarlet letter. And, after many, many years, a new grave was delved, near an old and sunken one, in that burial-ground beside which King's Chapel has since been built. It was near that old and sunken grave, yet with a space between, as if the dust of the two sleepers had no right to mingle. Yet one tombstone served for both. All around, there were monuments carved with armorial bearings; and on this simple slab of slate--as the curious investigator may still discern, and perplex himself with the purport--there appeared the semblance of an engraved escutcheon. It bore a device, a herald's wording of which might serve for a motto and brief description of our now concluded legend; so sombre is it, and relieved only by one ever-glowing point of light gloomier than the shadow:-- ** //<span style="color: #ff8b00; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> ' On a field, sable, the letter A, gules.'" //

//<span style="color: #ff8b00; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-style: normal;">(Hawthorn, 264) <span style="color: #ff8b00; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-style: normal; text-align: left;"> One thing I did not like about the book was that it had such long paragraphs; it was sometimes hard to keep concentrated, because the paragraphs would go on and on. For example, one paragraph would go on for about one and a half pages. I think that it could have been broken up much better. There is also a lot of unnecessary detail in some places, and some boring parts. I know that the beginning was kind of hard to get through, because I kept thinking, "Okay...when is this going to end...?" So it stretched on a bit making me lose interest. //

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<span style="color: #150bb1; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center;">was placed on the Outstanding Books list, and is an excellent book, because it explores the American History of our early colonization, through a new perspective. It gives a bit of a history lesson, telling us a little about the Puritan way of life. It makes people think about right and wrong. ======

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<span style="color: #150bb1; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center;">//The Scarlet Letter// illustrates the idea that, if you know what you are doing is wrong, you have to be prepared to take the consequences without a word of protest, as Hester Prynne demonstrates with her silent humiliation in having to bear the scarlet letter on her chest. She knew she did wrong, and she is serving her consequence without complaint. It also sheds light on the human conscience, how much guilt a person can live with until the truth finally comes out. The book demonstrates all of this in an intriguing plot-line that keeps the reader going. I would recommend //The Scarlet Letter// to anyone who likes a challenge in their read and a fascinating plot-line. Someone who likes a little history and mystery in their book, along with some thrills and even chills at some points. However, even though it was a great book, it still had a few boring spots in it. So someone with some patience in their reading would enjoy this book, I think. ======

//<span style="color: #c23838; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> **Literary Information** .... - <span style="color: #c23838; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-style: normal; line-height: normal;">__Genre__ : Romantic; historical fiction; symbolic - __Style__ : Narrative; complex language/common era (1800's mixed with 1600's) language; very "wordy" - //<span style="color: #c23838; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The Scarlet Letter //<span style="color: #c23838; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-style: normal; line-height: normal;">is written in a variety of tones; in the beginning, for example, it is somewhat bitter, yet it depends on what is going on at the moment in the novel. -People who enjoyed <span style="color: #c23838; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: normal;">The Scarlet Letter <span style="color: #c23838; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-style: normal; line-height: normal;">, also enjoyed: <span style="color: #c23838; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: normal;">The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Phantom of the Opera, Gone With the Wind <span style="color: #c23838; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-style: normal; line-height: normal;">, and many more! (A link to more books is posted below.) // //<span style="color: #850775; font-family: 'Hoefler Text',Georgia,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: normal;">

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center;">** Links... **

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left;">To read //The Scarlet Letter online, please visit: <span style="display: inline; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal; text-align: left;">The Scarlet Letter Online //<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> For more information on the Puritan lifestyle, please visit: <span style="display: inline; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Puritan Life in the 1600's  <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; text-align: left;"> For more books that readers of //The Scarlet Letter recommend, please visit: <span style="display: inline; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Barnes & Noble Customer Reviews & Recommendations

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<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 20px;">** Sources ** <span style="color: #850775; font-family: 'Hoefler Text',Georgia,sans-serif;">

**<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 32px;">" <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Nathaniel Hawthorne." ** //**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Www.kirjasto.sci.fi //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">. Web. 21 Jan. 2010. < [|http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/hawthorn.htm]>. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The Scarlet Letter (Signet Classics) //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">. New York: Chamberlain Bros., 2005. Print. //**