The Scarlet Letter
Early in my life I read Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. Seeing it as an assignment, however, I could not fully understand how to make judgment on its subject matter, nor could I appreciate the novel. Then, required only to decide whether I like it, my answer was simple: "It was all right." However, I have since learned to think more deeply about parts not only of novels I read but also of the world in which I live. To borrow a term from literary critic Wayne Booth, I have recently "revisited" The Scarlet Letter and have learned that my passive attitude toward the novel has matured beyond like versus dislike. Not only can I decide whether I accept the novel, but I can also establish my reasons with concrete evidence. My "revisit" to Hawthorne's novel was not only a test to see how my thought pattern has changed, but it has also taught me that a novel involves much more than reading. Learning from Booth that an implied author has a responsibility to his readers casts a new light on literature. He must not only put words onto paper but must also create a pattern of desire. Because that pattern functions differently for individual readers and authors must negotiate those many differences, literature becomes even more beautif
Since I read between the lines and below the surface of just words written on the pages, my "revisit" to The Scarlet Letter was a truly positive experience that goes beyond like versus dislike. Thanks to Wayne Booth and ethical criticism, I now have an understanding that novels can speak, through careful manipulation and consideration, to their readers through the voice of the implied author and can present readers with personal gifts, or efferent transactions. Besides its being a pleasing and entertaining piece of literature, the novel, because of its talented implied author, creates a chance for its reader to reflect on his or her own tendencies, beliefs, and judgments and therefore, helps to make the reader a better person morally. For those who have not read The Scarlet Letter and are afraid of having their negative tendencies pointed out, I will the Bible was not changed, however, because of reading The Scarlet Letter. While I came away with an awareness of my own judgmental habits, I felt and still feel that adultery is wrong despite the circumstances. Therefore, while he did not change my moral beliefs, Hawthorne was successful in pointing out my tendencies as a Christian to judge the sinner because of his or her Perhaps Hawthorne, through his implied author and by speaking to his implied readership, is making his own statements about Christian behaviors in these and other passages. Because Hawthorne wrote this novel in 1850, I feel it safe to assume that his implied readers were descended from Puritans and were, therefore, judgmental. While Hawthorne may not have written The Scarlet Letter with Christians exclusively in mind, I do feel that, by carefully and subtly calling certain things to our attention, he has specific goals in mind in reaching the Christian audience. Although I am not a Puritan and do not fully understand their beliefs, I have had some personal experiences within the Baptist church that deal with "racy" issues such as these. For example, several people in my own church have committed sins equivalent to Hester's According to biblical instruction and Southern Baptist tradition, one who commits a sin such as adultery should first seek forgiveness from God and then go before the church for public forgiveness. Knowing that person has asked for and has probably received forgiveness from God, we (the congregation) automatically feel it our duty to forgive and to accept him or her as well. However, do we not still attach that sin to the individual? Do we not still sit in the "judgment seat" and wonder how that individual could commit such a sin? In the novel, like Pearl, who loves her mother despite her one fault, we love the transgressor who comes back into the fold, forgiven. Also like Pearl, who cannot let go of the imbedded connection between the symbol and the sinner, we as Christians cannot let go of the association between the sinner and his sin. During my most recent reading of The Scarlet Letter, I did not want to put the book down until I had read the final page. Though I already knew the ending, I wanted to become more intimate with the characters, especially Hester Prynne, and see how they reacted to their situations. After turning the last page and closing the book, I remained satisfied because Hester is not labeled an adulteress after she returns to Salem and since Arthur Dimmesdale admits his guilt before he dies. Ten minutes later, however, I became appalled and ashamed at my own satisfied reaction. Had my Sunday school teacher not just taught a lesson on adultery an its consequences? Had I not learned all my life in sermons that one of the Ten Commandments addresses adultery directly? How could this man, Hawthorne, come into my living room and ask me to feel sorry for a woman who cheats on her husband, with a minister no less? That is the beauty of literature. Hawthorne's implied author, through careful manipulation of the characters' words and actions, subtly calls attention
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 4948
Approximate Pages = 20 (250 words per page double spaced)
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