The Scarlet Letter

Author - Nathaniel Hawthorne ... [Goo?] [Posters]

This Audio Download Book item from audible.com was reviewed on 10-Dec-2008.

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1) Audio Download Book The Scarlet Letter by audible.com. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne tells a story of the results of sin. Set in Seventeenth Century Massachusetts, it is a tale of the life of Hester Prynne, who has been convicted of adultery. She is sentenced to wear a scarlet letter "A" on her chest, as a badge of dishonor. We follow her decisions to keep her lover secret, and how this bears down on her over time. We watch as her child (Pearl) resultant of the act grows into a wild daughter, unrestrained by her mother (who feels guilt from her sin, and who also questions the established morals of the society she lives in). All the while, her aged, learned husband comes closer and closer to discovering the identity of the man who took part in the adultery.
Hawthorne describes all this with unique detail. Nearly every object -- whether it be a rose at a prison door, or a river in the woods -- contributes some symbolism to the plot. The language of the narrative is very fitting, and the dialogue is delightfully written in the correct form of the day. With small supporting details woven in (such as the few brief but important appearances of a witch named Mistress Hibbins) and the deep symbolism, The Scarlet Letter has an almost supernatural tone, while it still remains a perfectly realistic novel.
Many consider The Scarlet Letter to be Nathaniel Hawthorne´s crowning achievement. It has certainly stood the test of time, being a classic that is now over 150 years old, and still very well known. For anyone who enjoys this style of literature, this book is one to read.

Ryan Robledo
Author of the Aelnathan:¤

2) Audio Download Book The Scarlet Letter by audible.com. The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, takes place in the 1600s in Boston, which was a Puritan community at that time. The Puritans had extremely strict moral codes, and adultery, a subject matter in this novel, was deemed by the Puritans in the same way that felonies today are regarded. The novel´s plot is directed by the Puritans´ reactions to such behavior.

Nearly all classic novels get praised for character "development." However, the Scarlet Letter is the only novel I have read so far that, in my opinion, truly demonstrates development of characters. All other novels I have read have "exploration" of characters, but not actual development. Development of characters involves portraying the changes in a person´s personality as a result of conflict.

In my opinion, the most impressive aspect of the Scarlet Letter is the ingenious connection between the novel´s message and character development. In the Scarlet Letter, a single incident of adultery has unforeseen consequences that affects four people. How each character responds to the situation determines his or her physical and mental outcome in the story. The core message of the novel is that hiding one´s sins causes more anguish than revealing one´s sins.

The character development is superb, but the novel does not seem to use the developed characters to influence the plot. The subject of adultery was a creative element to develop characters, but I wish that the author had introduced a different conflict toward the end of the novel to show how the 3D characters would have reacted to the change in subject matter. I personally think that varying the subject matter and conflict would have made the message even more convincing; however, the novel is written with a confident call to action, which is the MOST important aspect of any work of fiction.

We live in a world in which immorality is everywhere, so a novel in which nothing inappropriate happens would be a pointless novel. Novels must address societies´ immorality without sacrificing decency. Therefore, I commend The Scarlet Letter for referencing sexually immoral subject matter, without being a "sexual" book. This represents brilliance and should be observed by all writers of fiction.

Many readers have complained that The Scarlet Letter is irrelevant to today´s society. To some extent, I agree. However, the greatest novels written today will be irrelevant to society two hundred years into the future. Therefore, there is no justification for criticizing writers simply because their masterpieces will someday seem irrelevant. As time progresses, scenery changes, climates change, countries split up or join together, governments change, laws change, etiquette changes, etc. However, the elements of human personalities do not change with time. It is for this reason that I constantly emphasize the importance of characters. The Scarlet Letter´s characters´ personalities are thoroughly developed and distinctive, so they exist throughout today´s world, as well as tomorrow´s world.
¤

3) Audio Download Book The Scarlet Letter by audible.com. Pretensions of public morality is what Hawthorne aims at--his story shows the hypocrisy of Puritan leaders imposing a legalistic, rigid morality on the community, and lifelong shame on one woman´s indiscretion, to the extent that their judgmental rigidness can almost be deemed a sin in its own right. You can see the ending coming a mile away, and it´s a bit too melodramatic for my taste. Even so, the real story is not just the actions of the characters but rather how guilt works itself out--Hawthorne´s storytelling keeps you absorbed right to the end such that you don´t want to put the book down. Very interesting food for thought on the relationship of public and private morality. Shows that refusal to forgive can be more of an evil than "sin" as society defines it.¤

4) Audio Download Book The Scarlet Letter by audible.com. My son was forced to read this book for his high school english class. I consider this cruel and unusual punishment. I believe there are some consitutional laws that prevent schools from giving kids this big slop of boring inside about 300 pages. Its the reason why kids these days hate reading, because before they have time to read anything exciting and interesting they have to read stuff like the Scarlet Letter. The only reason Nathaniel Hawthorne is a classic is because he wrote fancy and he is dead. In fact Hawthorne never wrote an interesting word in his life. Its like he went out of his way to bore people to death. Now I know there wasn´t much around to inspire good stories back than but I didn´t think it was this bad. He drags on a plot that shouldn´t of lasted more than 30 pages into a whole freakin novel! Pure insanity that kids are forced to read terrible bore fests like Hawthorne.¤

5) Audio Download Book The Scarlet Letter by audible.com. I pity the fool who has to read this book for school. It truly is a horrible book. Even my teacher, who is passionate about nearly everything he teaches, admits that he hates the book.¤

6) Audio Download Book The Scarlet Letter by audible.com.

Hawthorne´s classic treatise on morality, judgment, and exile in Puritan America.

• A concise introduction that gives readers important background information

• A chronology of the author´s life and work

• A timeline of significant events that provides the book´s historical context

• An outline of key themes and plot points to help readers form their own interpretations

• Detailed explanatory notes

• Critical analysis, including contemporary and modern perspectives on the work

• Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and book group interaction

• A list of recommended related books and films to broaden the reader´s experience

Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 7-Jan-2009, , 650-360-770-670-161-4NB-8

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