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The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne


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IT IS ASSUMED YOU HAVE READ THIS BOOK BEFORE READING THIS THREAD, THEREFORE SPOILER TAGS MAY NOT HAVE BEEN USED IN ORDER TO FASCILITATE EASIER AND MORE OPEN DISCUSSION





Anyone who would like to get hold of a copy of this book and join in the circle - there are quite a few copies available at Green Metropolis

 

Also available free in audio format from Librivox,

or as a free e-book from Project Gutenberg.

 

Also available at Amazon - via the banner at the top right hand corner please! :)

 





The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne:


The Scarlet Letter is the tragic story of a woman's shame and the cruel treatment she suffers at the hands of the Puritan society in which she lives.

 

A settler in New England, Hester Prynne has waited two years for her husband, an ageing English scholar, to join her. He arrives to find her in the pillory, a small baby in her arms. She must, as a punishment for her adultery, wear a scarlet 'A' embroidered on her breast and is concequently ostracized by her contemptuois neighbours.

 

Sworn to kepp secret the identity of both her husband and her lover, Hester slowly wins the respec of society by her charitable acts. Her own strength and the moral cowardice of the man who allows her to face guilt and shame alone are brought into sharp contrast in a dramatic and harrowing conclusion.

 

Some basic questions to consider:

1- Who was your favourite character and why?

2- Was there a particular part you enjoyed/disliked more than the rest?

3- Was this the first book you've read in this genre/by this author, has it encouraged you to read more?

4- Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with?

5- Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience?

 

Some more advanced questions to consider / points to discuss (from Sparknotes):

1. Discuss the relationship between the scarlet letter and Hester's identity. Why does she repeatedly refuse to stop wearing the letter? What is the difference between the identity she creates for herself and the identity society assigns to her?



2. In what ways could The Scarlet Letter be read as a commentary on the era of American history it describes? How does Hawthorne's portrayal of Europe enter into this commentary? Could the book also be seen as embodying some of the aspects it attributes to the nation in which it was written?



3. This novel makes extensive use of symbols. Discuss the difference between the Puritans' use of symbols (the meteor, for example) and the way that the narrator makes use of symbols. Do both have religious implications? Do symbols foreshadow events or simply comment on them after the fact? How do they help the characters understand their lives, and how do they help the reader understand Hawthorne's book?



4. Discuss the function of physical setting in The Scarlet Letter. What is the relationship between the book's events and the locations in which these events take place? Do things happen in the forest that could not happen in the town? What about time of day? Does night bring with it a set of rules that differs from those of the daytime?

 

5. Is The Scarlet Letter a protofeminist novel? Had Hester not been a woman, would she have received the same punishment? When Hester undertakes to protect other women from gender-based persecution, can we interpret her actions as pointing to a larger political statement in the text as a whole?

 

6. Describe Chillingworth's “revenge.” Why does he choose to torture Dimmesdale and Hester when he could simply reveal that he is Hester's husband? What does this imply about justice? About evil?

 

7. Discuss the function of the past in this novel. The narrator tells a two-hundred-year-old story that is taken from a hundred-year-old manuscript. Why does Hawthorne use a framing story for this novel rather than simply telling the story? Why are the events set in such distant history?

 

8. Children play a variety of roles in this novel. Pearl is both a blessing and a curse to Hester, and she seems at times to serve as Hester's conscience. The town children, on the other hand, are cruel and brutally honest about their opinion of Hester and Pearl. Why are children presented as more perceptive and more honest than adults? How do children differ from adults in their potential for expressing these perceptions?

 

9. Native Americans make a few brief and mysterious appearances in this novel. What role do they play? In what ways might their presence contribute to the furthering of the book's central themes?

Edited by Kell
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As I must confess I haven't read this yet, this time (naturally this is one of the books I've read at school), due to my recent traveling and reading funk, and because this book has so much in it to discuss, I suggest we start from the beginning, and work our way from there.

 

That way also those who are still reading it, can jump in already. Do remember though, that the underlying assumption is that you HAVE read the book, so spoiler tags are unnecessary and not used.

 

Does anyone have any objections to this? How many of you are reading or have read this already?

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I'm actully behind and will be starting this book next, but I'm dying to get in and discuss it. I did actually start it once before but got sidetracked and it lay unfinished. This is the perfect excuse for me to get back to it now! (almost finished the ones I'm on at the moment, so it'll be within the next few days I get to it - I promise!).

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I'm late starting too. It's next on my list after The Grapes of Wrath (which I was reading for a book club show on TV that starts in less than hour - I'm only about 100 pages in :)).

 

I think I'll start it in the next few days otherwise my current read will get in the way too much.

 

I'm looking forward to The Scarlet Letter very much having recently read and thoroughly enjoyed a short story of Hawthorne's.

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I have a few more chapters of Watchmen left to read and then I intend to read this next. This book is part of the 100 Classic Book Collection on Nintendo DS, so it will be the 1st one that I read on it (providing that i don't get eye strain). :)

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Here is my review:

 

Synopsis:

Set in the harsh Puritan community of seventeenth-century Boston, this tale of an adulterous entanglement that results in an illegitimate birth reveals Nathaniel Hawthorne's concerns with the tension between the public and the private selves. Publicly disgraced and ostracized, Hester Prynne draws on her inner strength and certainty of spirit to emerge as the first true heroine of American fiction. Arthur Dimmesdale stands as a classic study of a seld divided; trapped by the rules of society, he suppresses his passion and disavows his lover, Hester, and their daughter, Pearl. As Nina Baym writes in her Introduction, The Scarlet Letter was not written as realistic, historical fiction, but as a romance; a creation of the imagination that discloses the truth of the human heart.

Well, if truth be told, this book did not hold my attention. I felt it dragged on and I found myself not concentrating throughout the book.

The story follows Hester, who commits adultery and therefore has to wear a scarlet letter 'A' pinned to her outfit. This makes her a social outcast. The product of the affair was Pearl, who made the story for me. She brought a smile to my face with her little mischievous ways. The rest of the characters I was a bit indifferent too - except Roger, Hester's husband, who creeped me out. There was something about him I just didn't like. I did feel a bit sorry for Arthur, as he seemed to spend the rest of his life paying for his affair, but then actions reap consequences.

I thought it was interesting how they humilitated Hester, with the letter, but how she took it and understood her crime. She seems humble enough to continue wearing it. I was bemused that Pearl only accepts her mother when she is wearing the letter - her crime has become her identity - even to her own child. I liked how it linked back to England and had a dash of history lashed through the book. I was surprised by how much religion was in the book, virtually every chapter mentioned God or the Bible. I guess, however that this was a book set in Puritan times so maybe that should have been expected, and in the eyes of the Church and centuries gone by, adultery is a big sin.

Overall, I was not keen on the book. My interest was not held, however it wasn't so bad I didn't finish it. There were elements that made me keep reading, such as Pearl's character, but they were few and far between.

5/10

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I just put my review for this up on my thread. Overall I thought that the general premise behind the book was good but, like Kate, I felt it dragged, and I feel alot of what made it drag could have been taken out and some aspects could have been discussed in more depth

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Slightly related discussion topic, as it seems many, including myself (*feels shame*), are still reading this book.

 

When you form your opinion on a book, you use a certain criteria, I'd assume. Did this book hold my attention? Did the events move fluidly and logically? Were the characters portrayed realistically? And so on...

 

Now, do you have different approach, or different "judging criteria" for a classic as opposed to more contemporary novel?

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Hmm, I don't really judge it differently. I am more likely to persevere with a classic because I like the idea of having read a classic, but the only one I've read and enjoyed (other than children's books) has been Jane Eyre although I found parts of that difficult. I guess I don't mind difficulty with reading so much in a classic, because I kind of expect it so if the story is engaging that's enough, but if it's not I dislike the difficulty with reading because I have to put a lot of effort into reading something which I'm not enjoying

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Slightly related discussion topic, as it seems many, including myself (*feels shame*), are still reading this book.

 

When you form your opinion on a book, you use a certain criteria, I'd assume. Did this book hold my attention? Did the events move fluidly and logically? Were the characters portrayed realistically? And so on...

 

Now, do you have different approach, or different "judging criteria" for a classic as opposed to more contemporary novel?

 

I don't think I do. I view all books the same. I try and finish all the books I start, but if ultimately it doesn't hold my attention or I don't like the content, I will stop reading it. I don't continue with a classic just because it is a classic, if for whatever reason I'm not getting on with it, I stop reading

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  • 3 years later...

1- Who was your favourite character and why?  Funnily Pearl, as she seems the regenerating force of the novel.  She seems to be a breath of fresh air in the novel and contrasts to the staleness of puritans. 
2- Was there a particular part you enjoyed/disliked more than the rest? I enjoyed the writing style more than anything in regards to this novel.  It felt as though each sentence was ripened with symbolism.
3- Was this the first book you've read in this genre/by this author, has it encouraged you to read more? It was the first book by this author and did encourage me to read The House of the Seven Gables however this remains my favourite.
4- Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with?  I didn't struggle, but did find it appropriate how Hawthorne placed the character of the Rev Arthur Dimmesdale was the ultimate hypocrite and the striking gender inequality particularly in terms of justice or concepts of justice.
5- Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience? Yes

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