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3.19 AVERAGE
3.19 AVERAGE
I must first say that I accidentally marked this as 4 stars, when I meant to mark it as 3.
That aside, The Scarlet Letter is perhaps Hawthorne's most famous work, being adapted and referenced by the likes of Taylor Swift, and a movie featuring Emma Stone. And for good reason: it is an emotional, raw text exploring and critiquing morality, asking the question of who is truly able to judge. Hawthorne presents this through the Puritans of 17th century Boston, a society which, despite viewing God as the ultimate judge and arbiter, see themselves fit to act as such.
The story is not lacking in complex characters, namely Hester and Dimmesdale, and the ever-mysterious and unknowable Pearl. However, I feel that Hawthorne did not spend enough time exploring these characters. Being a rather short book, Hawthorne seems to give the reader some deeper exploration into the psyche and experiences of the characters but did not give enough to truly flesh them out. He would give enough that moved the plot along, but not enough to create a more complete image of a character. For example, he describes Hester's gradual change over time, but I believe that the story would rather have benefitted from more concrete examples of such change. Same goes for Dimmesdale, but less for Pearl, given her age.
Overall, The Scarlet Letter's major flaw is, in my opinion, pacing and length. The premise of the story is extremely interesting, and the characters are complex, with captivating motives and internal struggles. But the pacing of the book moves too quickly, with the first and last third of the book moving at a pace that I find too quick. Had this been longer, and more thought went towards further expanding on the characters, this would perhaps warrant a 4.
Alas.
That aside, The Scarlet Letter is perhaps Hawthorne's most famous work, being adapted and referenced by the likes of Taylor Swift, and a movie featuring Emma Stone. And for good reason: it is an emotional, raw text exploring and critiquing morality, asking the question of who is truly able to judge. Hawthorne presents this through the Puritans of 17th century Boston, a society which, despite viewing God as the ultimate judge and arbiter, see themselves fit to act as such.
The story is not lacking in complex characters, namely Hester and Dimmesdale, and the ever-mysterious and unknowable Pearl. However, I feel that Hawthorne did not spend enough time exploring these characters. Being a rather short book, Hawthorne seems to give the reader some deeper exploration into the psyche and experiences of the characters but did not give enough to truly flesh them out. He would give enough that moved the plot along, but not enough to create a more complete image of a character. For example, he describes Hester's gradual change over time, but I believe that the story would rather have benefitted from more concrete examples of such change. Same goes for Dimmesdale, but less for Pearl, given her age.
Overall, The Scarlet Letter's major flaw is, in my opinion, pacing and length. The premise of the story is extremely interesting, and the characters are complex, with captivating motives and internal struggles. But the pacing of the book moves too quickly, with the first and last third of the book moving at a pace that I find too quick. Had this been longer, and more thought went towards further expanding on the characters, this would perhaps warrant a 4.
Alas.
is there a SparksNotes version of this? lol I could not get around the language this round, maybe later....,
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read this in my 11th grade English class. I didn't dislike it as much as I disliked many of the books I was forced to read. The plot was somewhat interesting, but the writing was just too dense for me to find it enjoyable.
This. Is. THE. Book. of. 2024. It changed my life. For about two weeks it's all I could talk about. Are the twists hidden? Absolutely not. Is this entire plot pretty easy to ascertain within the first 30 pages? Of course. Is Nathaniel Hawthorne essentially writing the same three sentences over and over with increasingly frilly adjectives? Without a doubt. But boy did I lap it up.
challenging
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
read this for school.
found it fine there was a good like 3 chapters towards the end/climax iykyk but other than that i was just kind of waiting for stuff to happen. however i feel glad that i did read it to be able to discuss the themes and topics in the book which i do think were masterfully written by Hawthorne, it was just an assigned read so nothing hit too hard
found it fine there was a good like 3 chapters towards the end/climax iykyk but other than that i was just kind of waiting for stuff to happen. however i feel glad that i did read it to be able to discuss the themes and topics in the book which i do think were masterfully written by Hawthorne, it was just an assigned read so nothing hit too hard
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
C 3 * A 2 * W 4,5 * P 4 * I 2 * L 2 * E 3
No need to read it, if you don't have to write an essay about it.
No need to read it, if you don't have to write an essay about it.
slow-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While I enjoy my fair share of classics, this one didn’t have enough going on. It felt like a slow stream of consciousness, which ate one of my least favorite types of books. Also, I just really expected there to be more gossip or drama.