Nathaniel Hawthorne's the Scarlet Letter

I wanted the novel THE SCARLET LETTER. THIS IS A COLLECTION OF CRITIQUES, not the novel.

I am a junior in college. I had to read this book once before for a lit. class my junior year in high school. I admit it was a bit difficult to read the first time, but I understood and enjoyed it this time. I recommend looking into what was going on during the Romantic Period and gaining an understanding of what Romantic writers focused on. It will help you understand the story line. And if you get a chance, check out some other works by Hawthorne, like The Birthmark or Young Goodman Brown. That will help you understand Hawthorne's style of writing.

read it twice, the frist time you get the plot the second you get the true skill it took to write it

This rich, beautiful tale of forbidden love is possibly the best book I have ever read. It is filled with rich detail and fascinating symbolism. It left me in tears and in awe.

The Scarlett Letter is a wonderfully written novel, that encompasses the Puritan life in the early settlement of New England. The main characters in the book are Hester Prynne, Rev. Dimmsdale, Pearl, and the haughty physician Roger. The scandal in the novel is adultery. A sin that takes a hold of all the characters in one way or another. Love and truth are the few things the characters can trust. Isolation is also a great part of the novel and with each turning of a page Hester's strength empowers the reader to hold that tear let the heart remain strong...for ourselves and for Hester.

Hester commits adultery with the priest. Her husband comes back and about this news and asks her to not acknowledge him. Hester is punished by wearing a scarlet letter at all times. Later as she begins to pick up her life the priest gets sick; yada yada yada.