The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is about a woman named Hester Prynne who lives in 17th Century Boston with her daughter Pearl. She wears the letter "A" on her chest, which means adultery. Hester is known in the community for adultery, and she is ignored by many and looked at differently. Hester's husband, a man much older than she, sent her to Boston and never came back. It was said that he had been lost at sea, and Hester thought she would never see him again. Hester apparently had an affair and had a baby, but would never reveal the true identity of her lover. Hester's husband comes back with the name of Roger Chillingworth, who is known as a physician in society. Hester finds out that the man is her husband and swears not to tell anyone. Roger is seeking revenge and does this by trying to find out who the lover is. Once he does, he finds out it's a man named Dimmesdale and does everything he can to torture him by his words. Chillingworth turns out to be successful, and Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold where Hester was once standing on and was given the letter "A." Hester and her daughter Pearl see Dimmesdale, and the three of them stand on scaffold and link hands. People realize that Dimmesdale has changed, and Hester asks Chillingworth to stop torturing Dimmesdale, but he refuses. Dimmesdale confesses his sin and dies. A year later Chillingworth dies as well. Hester and Pearl leave Boston, and no one knows what happened to them. Hester continues her charitable work and receives a letter from Pearl who has married a European man and has established a family of her own. Hester dies and is buried next to Dimmesdale. The two share a single tombstone, which bears a scarlet "A." I personally enjoyed reading this book. It is a good book for high school students and has very exciting and dramatic moments. This book keeps the reader busy and excited to read the next chapter and to see what happens next. I would recommend this book to anyone, and I believe it's a very exciting book to read.Reviewed by Alen, grade 12
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In the book The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The story begins in seventeenth-century Boston, then a Puritan settlement. A young woman, Hester Prynne, is led from the town prison with her infant daughter, Pearl, in her arms and the scarlet letter “A” on her breast. A man in the crowd tells an elderly onlooker that Hester is being punished for adultery. Hester’s husband, a scholar much older than she is, sent her ahead to America, but he never arrived in Boston. The consensus is that he has been lost at sea. While waiting for her husband, Hester has apparently had an affair, as she has given birth to a child. She will not reveal her lover’s identity, however, and the scarlet letter, along with her public shaming, is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy. On this day Hester is led to the town scaffold and harangued by the town fathers, but she again refuses to identify her child’s father.
The book The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a pretty good book, its an old book but if you like learning and reading about stuff that has happened in the past. Then you will love this book its a little weird at first but then if you keep reading you will find out that a lady named Hester and she walked out of a prison while holding her baby daughter pearl with a letter of an A on her breast and you will learn that back then it was against the law to commit adultery more so than it is now back then you would go to jail.
Reviewed by Samantha K.; grade 12
Montrose Crescenta Branch
In 18th century Massachusetts, Puritan Hester Prynne is condemned for a crime of adultery and made to wear a scarlet letter upon her chest. The book follows her through the hardships she faces in the Puritan community and the hardships inflicted upon her by those close to her.
I liked this book, though it was a bit too dramatic for my taste at times. The mindset of the Puritan community is radically different than that of today, and I found it hard at times to find the book believable (though I'm sure it was). I would recommend it to advanced readers, and to those who take an interest in American history.
Reviewed by Anonymous, Grade 11
Glendale Central Library
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne follows Hester Prynne and her struggle to be accepted by society. Hester has conceived a child out of wedlock, which to the people of the time, is considered a sin. As her punishment, she is to wear a red A on her chest, to symbolize adultery and is ostracized by those in her town. Throughout the questioning of who the father is, she refuses to give up his identity. The story follows Hester, her daughter Pearl, Reverend Dimmesdale, and Dr. Chillingworth, all of whom carry a secret.
The Scarlet Letter is probably one of the most well known books, so I assumed since it was well known, that it was really good. I'm sure if I read it in the future, I would appreciate the writing more, but reading it now was very difficult. Hawthorne used so much description that at times it drifted away from the actually story which made it hard to stay focused. The overall plot was really good, but personally the ending angered me! I would recommend this book to a friend because I feel like this is a book that everybody has to read at one point in their lives.
Reviewed by Nayri T., Grade 11
Casa Verdugo Library
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a book about Hester Prynne, a young woman, living in Bostonian Puritan society in the 1700s. So, long story short: Hester commits adultery, a crime which is usually heavily punished at the time. The character has a girl, Pearl, and is sent to prison. According to the rules of the city, Hester needs to wear a scarlet “A” on her chest for the rest of her life and she does- but not for the rest of her life. As I do not want to reveal the ending and the most intriguing part of the story, I will not say who the father of the baby was. The story goes from there, and the A, which is supposed to stand for Adultery, stands for many different things during the course of the story.
The book, like any other one, has its advantages and downfalls. The great part is that there is a lot of suspense and intrigue, it is interesting to find out what happens next. However, some parts of the Scarlet Letter are extremely boring and dull- such as long and meticulous descriptions of places, markets, and forests. Another aspect of the book I liked was Hawthorne's use of language- simple, yet so powerful.
Reviewed by Henry G., Grade 11
Pacific Park Library
The Scarlet Letter is about an adulteress. The main character, Hester Prynne, is forced to wear a scarlet A to mark her shame of having relations with another man. Her lover, Arthur Dimmesdale, was never accused of the act and was filled with guilt. He decides to stand by Hester Prynne’s side to show that he was a part of the act as well. Hester’s husband, Roger Chillingworth, leaves to seek revenge.
I thought this book was odd, but still engrossing all the same. It was definitely a good read that I would recommend to others that haven’t read it. The Scarlet Letter shows moral values that I think everyone should take into consideration. Even though you don’t see the act of public humiliation the way it was is the book, people still have regret for many of their actions.
Reviewed by Anonymous, Grade 12
Glendale Central Library
The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne takes place in Massachusetts Bay Colony during the 17th century in a strict Puritanical settlement. The nameless narrator accompanies the readers throughout the entire book, never revealing much about himself except for the explanation of how he found the manuscripts of this story at the customhouse in Salem, Massachusetts where he once worked as a surveyor. The plot of the story centers around a young woman named Hester Prynne who is disgraced and shunned by her society after she is released from prison. Hester is forced to wear the scarlet letter “A” on her chest as a token of shame due to the grave crime she has committed. Her husband, an old English scholar, along with the town’s priest are also tangled into this complex scandal which leads to jeopardizing their careers and morality.
The Scarlet Letter mimics the style of British literature, still it fails to make the plot as engaging as one would hope for. Not only are the concerns of this book inapplicable to our modern world, the issues of this story are also quite unappealing. Classics like The Scarlet Letter are what pushes the adolescences away from reading the gems of old literature or it might even discourage them from reading at all. Therefore in my opinion I would not recommend others to read this tempting but disappointing book.
Reviewed by Anonymous, Grade 12
Glendale Central Library
Taking place in the late 1600s, the book begins with Hester Prynne leaving prison with a child and a scarlet ‘A’ sewn on her chest. She slept with an unnamed man and had a child, and was charged with adultery due to the fact that she was married when she had the baby. As more characters are introduced, it becomes obvious who the father of Pearl, the baby, is. Throughout the novel, themes of lightness and darkness are sprinkled in the text, and Hawthorne defines the difference of good and evil.
I loathed this book. Even though it is considered a classic, it does not deserve to be one. The writing was too wordy and altogether confusing. The lack of periods and run-on sentences make the novel drag on. It uses too many metaphors and symbols which make the reader need a supplemental source to understand the reading. I would only read this with an instructor because it is not a book to enjoy for leisure. This book has to be read multiple times to understand it, but it is so boring that you can only read it one time and hope for the best.
Reviewed by Stacy, Grade 12
Pacific Park Library
The Scarlet Letter is about a woman named Hester who gets accused of adultery and ends up going to jail pregnant because of it. In a puritan town, like hers, she is required to pay for her actions by public humiliation which consists of standing in front of a chord and getting yelled at, and having to wear a big A to represent her sin, adultery. Throughout the book, readers will get to understand who the person she committed adultery is with and why she works so hard to protect him from receiving the same backlash as her.
I personally did not enjoy the book at all after the first few chapters. The sentences were extremely long, the plot was just not as interesting, and it ended up being a very predictable book. If elt as if the writer could have given more into the feminist theme that was apparent in the beginning and allowed the man who committed adultery with Hester to suffer the same fate as Hester to make the punishment be felt and experienced by both the man and woman. I also felt like the daughter of Hester could have been given a little more personality.
Reviewed by Ariana, Grade 11
Montrose Library
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