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booksoverpeople12 's review for:
The Scarlet Letter
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
I read this novel for the first time when I taught it in 2014 to my 11th graders. I have to say that Hawthorne's short stories were always difficult for me to get through in high school and college, and it was a bit tedious to teach The Scarlet Letter because a lot of description in Hawthorne's writing style makes one forget to follow the thread of the story.
However, I did enjoy reading Hester's story and how she kept her silence for a man who did not deserve her love. She remains loyal to not only her ex-husband but also to the father of her child. One thing that bothered me the most and is always a fun topic to discuss with my students is if Hester Prynne can be considered a heroine, and in my opinion she can't. At the end of the day she put not only herself but her daughter second. I think Hester didn't really respect herself or know her self worth, but if we look at the Puritan society then we know that it's not all her fault.
Hawthorne did a fantastic job in illustrating the changes that each character undergoes and that's one of the reasons I enjoyed reading this. He also touches upon timeless themes (Ambition, Guilt and hypocrisy) that we can find in all our literature today.
It is a bit hard to get through due to the language and his descriptions sometimes, but overall it is a great novel to read.
However, I did enjoy reading Hester's story and how she kept her silence for a man who did not deserve her love. She remains loyal to not only her ex-husband but also to the father of her child. One thing that bothered me the most and is always a fun topic to discuss with my students is if Hester Prynne can be considered a heroine, and in my opinion she can't. At the end of the day she put not only herself but her daughter second. I think Hester didn't really respect herself or know her self worth, but if we look at the Puritan society then we know that it's not all her fault.
Hawthorne did a fantastic job in illustrating the changes that each character undergoes and that's one of the reasons I enjoyed reading this. He also touches upon timeless themes (Ambition, Guilt and hypocrisy) that we can find in all our literature today.
It is a bit hard to get through due to the language and his descriptions sometimes, but overall it is a great novel to read.