Scarlet Letter Critique
Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is one of the most well remembered romantic novels in history. Although written in 1850, its influence and literary greatness still force themselves onto English teachers' syllabuses every year. A strong question brought forth by this action is: "How and why does this novel manage to survive the change in society and taste over the years?" The answer to this is quite simple. It is Hawthorne's ability to project his main themes throughout the story. The themes have been able to somehow fit into every different society, even up to our time. The major themes seem to be: first, a law vs. nature idea, one that poses the laws of society against the nature of human beings. The next major theme fits into the first. It is an individual vs. society idea; Hester and her lover, Dimmesdale, become fugitives of the law of Puritan society. The next is the effect of sin, whether good or bad, on the novel's major characters. The final major theme is the public vs. private self. It shows that people are much, much different in the public than they are privately. These themes, as the reader acknowledges, are apparent just as much in today's society as they were in the 17th-century society that Hawthorne wri
These themes, along with Hawthorne's ability to write beautifully, have kept readers drawn to The Scarlet Letter. Each major theme is displayed just the same in today's society as it was in the societies of old. When readers are able to compare themselves to the characters of a novel, they enjoy the novel even more. Though not everyone can commit adultery with a minister, we can all see the effects that love, rules, sin, and privacy can have on us all. A story today written with the same boundaries could be just as popular as any other bestseller if written with the literary genius of a Hawthorne or other great author. The Scarlet Letter has stood the test of time and the changing of society. Its influence will be felt for many years, because it seems that many years from now The Scarlet Letter will have just as much of a strong place in classrooms and bookshelves as it ever did. tes of. This similarity between the societies of the last 300 years has kept The Scarlet Letter, and the love for the pure romance novel, alive. The first major theme, the law vs. nature theme, runs very deep throughout The Scarlet Letter. Although today's society is very tolerant to the wrongdoing of its citizens, Puritan society was very strict. Its laws covered every aspect of life. Human nature was constantly bubbling because of the stranglehold that Puritan law put on its liberties. Its is only obvious that the reader would be drawn to the idea of two people rebelling from these ideas, and looking not at the law for authority, but to their love and the freedom of their human nature. Hester and Dimmesdale are two such rebels, and their love asks the reader to weigh the justice of society's laws against th
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Approximate Word count = 1154
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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