Nathaniel Hawthorne was an anti-transcendentalist and believed in the dark side of man, hence his dark romantic novel The Scarlet Letter. ... The Scarlet Letter defines the American Romanticist movement while using symbolic characters and places that give the book seemingly two different stories. ... In a strict society, such as the Puritans, Hester disobeys the laws. ... Being "natural" in the Puritan society can be a very hard thing to do, and a hard thing to get away with. ... Without having done anything to the Puritans she is already, like her mother, pushed into the society. ...

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

The crimes and punishments in Colonial Massachusetts not only reflect the societies morality but an embedded commitment to God. ... The Puritans believed that if one member of their group suffered guilt, then the whole group must suffer along with that person or persons. ... Generally adulterers were forced to wear the letter A sewed on their clothes and counterfeiters wore the letter C (Hemlines 140). ... Under the Puritan belief a witch was a person who had " familiar spirit- or consulted with one, and was then in direct communication with the devil and bound by script to carry out his ...

• Word Count: 2078
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate