The Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Historical Fiction
1800’s
The Author and His/Her Times
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on Independence day, 1804 and died on May 19, 1864.
Form, Structure, and Plot
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Point of View
The Scarlet Letter is written in third person omniscient and in the past tense. By incorporating third person omniscient, the narrator is able to tell the story from one viewpoint that shows he knows more about the characters than they know about themselves. Furthermore, the narrator occasionally assimilated his own opinions.
Character
In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne is the protagonist. . Arthur Dimmesdale. Roger Chillingworth. Governor Richard Bellingham. Pearl
Setting …show more content…
Like many symbolic figures, The Scarlet Letter has an immense amount of symbols. The historical fiction novel starts off with its first symbol, “the door of which was heavily timbered with oak, and studded with iron spikes”(Hawthorne 45). This representation of a door illustrates a prison door and possibly rasping justice. Moreover, in front of the prison door, there is a rose bush, “a wild rose bush… to offer their fragrance and fragile beauty” (Hawthorne 45), which symbolizes kindness as it condemned and pitied the criminal with the love of nature. Hawthorne also uses the rosebush to foreshadow the upcoming issues of punishment versus forgiveness. Another symbol found in The Scarlet Letter, is the red mark on Dimmesdale’s chest. “QUOTE”(167). EXPLANATION. The black man is also another symbol found in the novel. “QUOTE” (somewhere in ch …show more content…
I did not expect any lasting impact (since not many books I have read are interesting); however, after reading this novel I can say I will never keep secrets. The effect of secrecy in the novel caused disintegration within one’s head. One of the many strengths that the novel demonstrated was the consistent use of symbolism. Another strength was the short chapters which actually motivated me to read. A weakness that the novel had was the introduction that threw me off course. Hester Prynne had some guts to cheat on her husband! I understand it was because she was “in love” with the minister but it was a dirty act to commit. This novel was understandable after have watching “Easy A” which is a more 21 century version of “being a ‘dirty’ female”. Just like in the The Scarlet Letter, in the movie “Easy A”, Olive Penderghast had to wear a letter “A” after having a “relationship” with a fellow classmate. However, unlike The Scarlet Letter, Penderghast never did such obscene
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Historical Fiction
1800’s
The Author and His/Her Times
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on Independence day, 1804 and died on May 19, 1864.
Form, Structure, and Plot
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Point of View
The Scarlet Letter is written in third person omniscient and in the past tense. By incorporating third person omniscient, the narrator is able to tell the story from one viewpoint that shows he knows more about the characters than they know about themselves. Furthermore, the narrator occasionally assimilated his own opinions.
Character
In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne is the protagonist. . Arthur Dimmesdale. Roger Chillingworth. Governor Richard Bellingham. Pearl
Setting …show more content…
Like many symbolic figures, The Scarlet Letter has an immense amount of symbols. The historical fiction novel starts off with its first symbol, “the door of which was heavily timbered with oak, and studded with iron spikes”(Hawthorne 45). This representation of a door illustrates a prison door and possibly rasping justice. Moreover, in front of the prison door, there is a rose bush, “a wild rose bush… to offer their fragrance and fragile beauty” (Hawthorne 45), which symbolizes kindness as it condemned and pitied the criminal with the love of nature. Hawthorne also uses the rosebush to foreshadow the upcoming issues of punishment versus forgiveness. Another symbol found in The Scarlet Letter, is the red mark on Dimmesdale’s chest. “QUOTE”(167). EXPLANATION. The black man is also another symbol found in the novel. “QUOTE” (somewhere in ch …show more content…
I did not expect any lasting impact (since not many books I have read are interesting); however, after reading this novel I can say I will never keep secrets. The effect of secrecy in the novel caused disintegration within one’s head. One of the many strengths that the novel demonstrated was the consistent use of symbolism. Another strength was the short chapters which actually motivated me to read. A weakness that the novel had was the introduction that threw me off course. Hester Prynne had some guts to cheat on her husband! I understand it was because she was “in love” with the minister but it was a dirty act to commit. This novel was understandable after have watching “Easy A” which is a more 21 century version of “being a ‘dirty’ female”. Just like in the The Scarlet Letter, in the movie “Easy A”, Olive Penderghast had to wear a letter “A” after having a “relationship” with a fellow classmate. However, unlike The Scarlet Letter, Penderghast never did such obscene