The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a book everyone should read. It is about a woman who has a child, Pearl, with another man while waiting for her husband to join her in America. She never says who her child’s father is, until the end, and takes the mockery to bear alone while being forced to wear the letter “A“ on all of her clothing.. Her husband finds her and turns into a monster once he finds out who his wife’s adulterer is, holding it above the man’s head. Eventually, everyone comes clean and Pearl moves back to Europe with her husband and Hester remains to live in her beloved cottage, while being loved by the towns people.
The Scarlet Letter was very well written. I love the classical language and flow of words. Also, I like how the writer made the reader feel sympathetic for Hester Prynne, not only because she was ridiculed greatly, but because she was a genuinely good person, not just some adulteress. Some wanted the “A” to ‘hang on her heart‘, as one woman put it, but then everyone eventually starts to accept her and realize there is more to her than just an unmarried woman with a baby. I also enjoyed how the book’s tone is always a little mysterious, you never know how people are going to react or who is going to show up next. There was not really anything I disliked about the book except for the character of Roger Chillingworth. I did not like how he became so evil after finding out about Hester, Pearl, and Dimmesdale. I suppose that after finding out about a situation as this, there would be some craziness expected, but I personally didn’t like the way he handled the situation.
The ethos established in the beginning of the book, differed from any book I have previously read. The narrator acknowledges that not many people may read it, but he feels like he should tell the story. He establishes who he is as a customs officer who would love to pass on these remarkable accounts, but he is very grounded about it. He wants to stay true to who he is and realizes his possibility of failure. When Hester’s critics are ridiculing her, I felt sincerely saddened for her. This was a great example of pathos. The way Hester and Pearl are treated and looked at, at first, draws you to be on their side and have sympathy toward their situation. Logos was used as well in making me love Hester. Eventually, Hester is found to be loving and true to the community when she is always there when anyone needs anything. The logos is the logical reasoning of, why would anyone hate someone who was never a terror in the first place? This book is very appealing and relatable for woman, not necessarily for going through the same situation, but because women tend to be more compassionate
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone in high school and up. Nothing in the book is unfit for children, but a more mature brain might grasp the concept better and understand the classical way of writing at a higher quality.
