"The perfect book"
Since its first publishing in March of 1850, The Scarlet Letter has never been out of print.
Even today, Hawthorne’s romance is one of the best-selling books on the market. Perhaps The Scarlet Letter is so popular, because its beauty lies in the symbols and characters.
Each generation can interpret it and see its subtle meanings and appreciate the genius lying behind what many critics call “the perfect book.”
Having read the whole story, who is or are your favourite characters?
Why?
diumenge, 25 de novembre del 2007
How do you think this story will end?
The best known of Hawthorne’s works, The Scarlet Letter presents a sad tale of love and betrayal set within the context of seventeenth-century Puritan New England. Hawthorne through his narrator looks back upon this world with a nineteenth-century sensibility that affects the development of the characters.
The Puritans were a group of religious reformers who arrived in Massachusetts in the 1630s under the leadership of John Winthrop (whose death is recounted in the novel). The religious sect was known for its intolerance of dissenting ideas and lifestyles.The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is an exceptional novel based on sin, forgiveness, and deception.
Hester, the main character, has committed the sin of adultery to an unknown man. She lives in Boston an
d is a puritan, which does not accept sin and lives by the strict, Puritan code. Hester’s sin is unveiled when she bears a child by the name of Pearl and has no husband at that time. Hester punishment is not death because her husband is gone, and temptation over ran her heart.
d is a puritan, which does not accept sin and lives by the strict, Puritan code. Hester’s sin is unveiled when she bears a child by the name of Pearl and has no husband at that time. Hester punishment is not death because her husband is gone, and temptation over ran her heart. 
The definition of scaffold is a platform used for the execution of a criminal. Ironically, this is a puritan village, which in turn should not need a scaffold because of faith and love.
How do you think this story will end????
dilluns, 5 de novembre del 2007
characters
Hester Prynne - Hester is the book’s protagonist and the wearer of the scarlet letter that gives the book its title. The letter, a patch of fabric in the shape of an “A,” signifies that Hester is an “adulterer.
Pearl - Hester’s illegitimate daughter Pearl is a young girl with a moody, mischievous spirit and an ability to perceive things that others do not.
Roger Chillingworth - “Roger Chillingworth” is actually Hester’s husband in disguise. He is much older than she is and had sent her to America while he settled his affairs in Europe.
Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale - Dimmesdale is a young man who achieved fame in England as a theologian and then emigrated to America.
Governor Bellingham - Governor Bellingham is a wealthy, elderly gentleman who spends much of his time consulting with the other town fathers. Despite his role as governor of a fledgling American society, he very much resembles a traditional English aristocrat.
Mistress Hibbins - Mistress Hibbins is a widow who lives with her brother, Governor Bellingham, in a luxurious mansion. She is commonly known to be a witch who ventures into the forest at night to ride with the “Black Man.” Her appearances at public occasions remind the reader of the hypocrisy and hidden evil in Puritan society.
Reverend Mr. John Wilson - Boston’s elder clergyman, Reverend Wilson is scholarly yet grandfatherly. He is a stereotypical Puritan father, a literary version of the stiff, starkly painted portraits of American patriarchs. Like Governor Bellingham, Wilson follows the community’s rules strictly.
Narrator - The unnamed narrator works as the surveyor of the Salem Custom House some two hundred years after the novel’s events take place. He discovers an old manuscript in the building’s attic that tells the story of Hester Prynne; when he loses his job, he decides to write a fictional treatment of the narrative
Pearl - Hester’s illegitimate daughter Pearl is a young girl with a moody, mischievous spirit and an ability to perceive things that others do not.
Roger Chillingworth - “Roger Chillingworth” is actually Hester’s husband in disguise. He is much older than she is and had sent her to America while he settled his affairs in Europe.
Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale - Dimmesdale is a young man who achieved fame in England as a theologian and then emigrated to America.
Governor Bellingham - Governor Bellingham is a wealthy, elderly gentleman who spends much of his time consulting with the other town fathers. Despite his role as governor of a fledgling American society, he very much resembles a traditional English aristocrat.
Mistress Hibbins - Mistress Hibbins is a widow who lives with her brother, Governor Bellingham, in a luxurious mansion. She is commonly known to be a witch who ventures into the forest at night to ride with the “Black Man.” Her appearances at public occasions remind the reader of the hypocrisy and hidden evil in Puritan society.
Reverend Mr. John Wilson - Boston’s elder clergyman, Reverend Wilson is scholarly yet grandfatherly. He is a stereotypical Puritan father, a literary version of the stiff, starkly painted portraits of American patriarchs. Like Governor Bellingham, Wilson follows the community’s rules strictly.
Narrator - The unnamed narrator works as the surveyor of the Salem Custom House some two hundred years after the novel’s events take place. He discovers an old manuscript in the building’s attic that tells the story of Hester Prynne; when he loses his job, he decides to write a fictional treatment of the narrative
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