The first few chapters introduce the theme of sin, when they tell the reader about the prison, the scaffold, and how Hester is being publicly condemned for adultery. These chapters also show the reader that the society is depicting the political reality of Hester's World, the Puritan society. The Puritans intended to create a "Utopian" society, but it can be seen in these chapters that this world already knows sin. ... Chapter five deals with one of the major questions of the book: why does Hester choose to stay in Boston when she is free to leave? ...

• Word Count: 295
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

In many stories there is always that one character that changes throughout the course of the book. ... Throughout the book Hester changes from being an arrogant, unremorseful woman to a nicer and helpful woman. ... Right at the end of chapter 2, Hawthorne writes, "Could it be true? ... In chapter 5, Hawthorne writes, "Another peculiar torture was felt in the gaze of a new eye. ... " (Pg 110) As the book goes on, it becomes more and more clear that the scarlet letter hasn't done its office, hasn't done what it is meant for. ...

• Word Count: 944
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

In Chapter 17 Hester tells Dimmesdale about his so-called friend "Thou hast long had such an enemy, and dwellest with him, under the same roof!"... Although Dimmesdale is physically very sick at the end of the book, he seems to be quite clear mentally. ... In Chapter 17 she talks to Dimmesdale and confesses Chillingworth's identity to him. ... Chapter 23 he brings about the climax of the story: Dimmesdale turns to the crowd and cries out his guilt. This is the point the reader has been waiting for throughout the entire book. ...

• Word Count: 1627
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

The first scaffold scene occurred in the beginning of the story which was about Hester and the second scaffold scene happened in chapter 12 which was about Dimmsdale. ... Nobody was aware of Dimmsdale's crime in this chapter. ... Hawthorne described the strictness of puritan's society from beginning to end of the book. ... This two scenes show, you can't get away after committing a crime, you must get punished and that's how the puritan society is in this book....

• Word Count: 560
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

The first story denotes the story going on in the book, including the characters. ... A large occurrence of this comes in the first chapter of the book. The chapter mentions a rose bush outside of the prison. ... Also through much of her actions throughout the book she shows her naturalism. ... Throughout the book Dimmesdale keeps telling Hester and Pearl that one day they will stand on the scaffold together. ...

• Word Count: 1687
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

Every chapter and page has symbolism. ... The symbol is first mentioned in the first chapter as a "wild rose-bush, covered with its delicate gems." ... I think this adds more value and depth to the book. ...

• Word Count: 420
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Nathaniel Hawthorne writes a short book that conveys his point. ... You are left with reading the rising action until almost the last chapter. ... The book is also extremely short if you exclude the custom house its even shorter. The book should be longer for all the details to digest. By the time you are able to clearly and precisely understand 1 symbolic/allegorical detail in the book you have missed out on other things. ...

• Word Count: 424
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses many different objects and people as symbols to express his message throughout the book. He begins using a plant, then the namesake of the book, then continues on to uses two people as symbols to get his message across. ... First, the rosebush outside the prison; in the first chapter, it is used as a symbol of hope, or maybe a symbol of redemption. ... Finally, Hawthorne chooses a person to represent all which is evil in the book. ... So consumed by evil near the end of the book, he admits to Hester that Satan is using him as a tool to commit...

• Word Count: 777
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

As Hawthorne himself states in the opening chapter, the novel is about human weakness and its resulting sorrow. ... THE TITLE OF THE BOOK The title is significant to every chapter of the book, as the scarlet letter is displayed in many forms. ... Throughout the book the scarlet letter is seen standing out on her dress against the drab gray colors of her clothing, a constant reminder of her sin. ...

• Word Count: 1285
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne strategically structures the story around three very crucial scaffold scenes. In the first scaffold scene, Hester comes out of the dark prison to accept her punishment. She holds her daughter, Pearl, in her arms as she stands on the scaffold. Reverend D...

• Word Count: 443
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

The Scarlet Letter is a story of characters that have to live and deal with the effects of sin in different ways. There are many themes to this story, the main one being you can't just ignore your sins and hold them inside of you. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale committed adultery, but when his mistress,...

• Word Count: 358
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

The book argues that true evil comes from the close relationship between hate and love. The narrator points out in the novel's last chapter, both emotions depend upon "a high degree of intimacy and heart-knowledge; each renders one individual dependent upon another." ...

• Word Count: 471
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

The letter ends up becoming a symbol, and it affects the characters in different ways throughout the book. ... Even though in the beginning of the book Dimmesdale comes up as the hypocrite and the coward, throughout the story the author describes his suffering and shows why he did what he did. ... For example, in chapter 17, Dimmesdale says to Hester, "Happy are you, Hester, that wear the scarlet letter openly upon your bosom! ... In conclusion, the scarlet letter "A" on Hester's chest is the biggest symbol in the book, along with Pearl. ...

• Word Count: 958
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Chapter One: The Prison Door Summary A large crowd of Puritans stands outside of the prison, waiting for the door to open. ... Chapter Two: The Market Place Summary The crowd in front of the jail is a mixture of men and women, all maintaining severe looks of disapproval. ... Chapter Three: The Recognition Summary On the edge of the crowd Hester notices an Indian accompanied by a white man. ... Chapter Four: The Interview Summary After Hester returns to her prison cell, she remains agitated by the day's events. ... Chapter Six: Pearl Summary Hawthorne discusses the choice of the...

• Word Count: 5572
• Approx Pages: 22
• Grade Level: High School

This may not have been clearly and directly stated to the reader, but throughout reading the book, you gather possible hidden meanings of Hester's scarlet letter. ... The symbolism of the scarlet letter is expanded in Chapter Five, Hester at Her Needle. ... Throughout the beginning chapters Hester is isolated and looked down upon by the Puritans. ...

• Word Count: 1352
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

The Scarlet Letter is a book revealing lives of sin, social identity, and humanity. ... The book opens with a chapter called "The Custom House," in which the narrator of the book writes a long description recalling his days as the chief executive officer of the Customs House in Salem, Massachusetts. ... First describing the prison, the first scene of the book sets the expression for the first parts of the book, a gray and gloomy environment with a multitude of people to match the mood. ... In the third chapter, a small, deformed man accompanied by an Indian is identified in the crowd. ... As...

• Word Count: 3653
• Approx Pages: 15
• Grade Level: High School

Scarlet Letter Summary: The story revolves around Hester, a bearer of the scarlet letter. She was condemned by the townspeople of execution for she committed adultery with an unknown man. Her husband Chillingworth, filled with anger, told the townspeople that they should find the man who co...

• Word Count: 720
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

In The Scarlet Letter Hester is convicted for a crime she never committed. The only "crime" she commits is one that is based on the laws and morals of the Puritan society. Although adultery, in the eyes of Puritans, is seen as a horrendous crime, if it is out of love it contradicts the actual crime,...

• Word Count: 694
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Finally, we get to the deformed scholar, whose intellect gives him the title of the most evil and sinful person in the book, Roger Chillingworth. ... By chapter 14, Chillingworth's transformation seems to be complete, and Chillingworth becomes aware of what has happened. ... The quote that brings the whole book together is one where Hester and Reverend Dimmesdale are in the woods and they are discussing the magnitude of their sin. ...

• Word Count: 1211
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

The meaning of the Scarlet Letter is also something that gets distorted throughout the book. In the beginning of the book the "A- stands for adultery which is not something to be proud of. ... This is evident in chapter 24 when Hester voluntarily wears the letter when she returns from England. ...

• Word Count: 1455
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

In the beginning chapters, Hester Prynne stood on a scaffold before the townspeople. ... What seems so mocking to the situation later in the book, Reverend Dimmesdale commanded Hester to speak the name of her fellow sinner: I charge thee to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow-sufferer! ...

• Word Count: 1021
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

In chapter three, a townsman tells Roger Chillingworth that he should be glad "to find [himself], at length, in a land where iniquity is searched out, and punished in the sight of rulers and people, as here in [his] godly New England"(64). ... This is also a view of Wagenknecht that is proven in the book. ...

• Word Count: 942
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

A Love That Could Never Be Have you ever loved someone so much, but you couldn't be with them? In "The Scarlet Letter," Nathaniel Hawthorne demonstrates a love that could never be with Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale. Since Hester was shone from a normal life in society after her acts of adul...

• Word Count: 1114
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

In the first chapter we see a plant which stands out, "But on one side of the portal, and rooted almost at the threshold, was a wild rosebush, covered with its delicate gems" (Hawthorne). ... Later in the book we hear a conversation between Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth (Hester's unknown husband). ...

• Word Count: 1118
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

(Hawthorne, chapter 4) Hester has no sunlight to give thee because she has committed the sin of adultery. ... (Serrano, p. 6) Whenever Chillingworth is presented in the book he is always wearing dark clothes and found in dark places. ...

• Word Count: 1649
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School