The Scarlet Letter2

A detailed Summary of The Scarlet Letter2

The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is considered to be one of the greatest examples of true

American literature. Its excellency of topic, characterization, and description has made it a permanent part

of our history. Set in Salem, Massachusetts in the 1600s, it describes the life of Hester Prynne, a Puritan

woman whose existence is marred by sin. The real genius of the book is found in its description. Hawthorne

makes allusion, symbolism, and romanticism work toward one effect, making the reader feel as if she was

there, watching it all happen, living through Hester's struggle.

The story opens as a woman, Hester Prynne, is leaving a jail and heading toward a large scaffold in the

middle of Salem town, where she, along with her newborn child, Pearl, is put on display as an example to all

the people, to discourage them from committing such a sin as adultery. The sentence is given by a number

of priests who feel compassion for her because her husband had been thought dead for so many years.

She is ordered to wear a scarlet letter, "A" for adultery, on her breast for the duration of her stay in Salem.

She is perversely unwilling to leave the place of her shame and outcast when she could easily have sail

because of the impersonal attitude of many of the people around modern day readers. It may be hard for

blows. Its clarity of thought and expression has captivated readers for over a century and probably will

valuable asset of all. Hester was reminded of her sin every day, all of the time, by the blaze of crimson upon

congregation. After the speech, as the people are walking away from the meeting house in a parade, Arthur

on for public approval and the one he wears while he is alone are so completely different that they nearly

until she dies. She is laid to rest in death where she had been kept for the first seven years of Pearl's life,

Chillingworth and begins slowly to dismantle the sanity of her lover, the Reverend Mr. Arthur Dimmesdale.

one can get away from, but it also isn't something which cannot be handled in some way.

away to England or to anywhere else on earth and been rid of her "mark of Cain." At the scaffold, she sees

Approximate Word count = 1370
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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