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Criticism of the Scarlet Letter

            The Scarlet Letter is a classic novel in American history. Nathaniel Hawthorne writes a short book that conveys his point. However The Scarlet Letter also has many problems. It lacks details, is too complicated, and has an unclear language.
             Throughout the story The Scarlet Letter it lacks 1 key thing that almost all books have and that is details. Everything in the Scarlet Letter is important and you must pay attention to every little detail or you may have missed out. A reader shouldn't have to do this when they are reading. Certain things should just happen because it adds to the fluff of the story. Throughout the story you are kept on edge and waiting for a point for just to relax. However, in the Scarlet Letter it does not climax until the very end. You are left with reading the rising action until almost the last chapter. This is not good for the reader to keep them on edge for this long.
             The Scarlet Letter is too complicated, nearly everything is allegorical symbolic, and ironic. 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. The Scarlet letter does not give you the time you need to digest what you read.
             Hawthorne writes the Scarlet Letter in a style that is too hard to understand. Since everything is so important you must be paying careful attention and thinking about what you are reading. Hawthorne interrupts this process by adding in words that could easily be simplified with other words more commonly known to others. The importance of shorter words can make the reader appreciate the Scarlet Letter more. Because of Hawthorne's complex language The Scarlet Letter cannot be read by the person. If the average person is able to read the Scarlet Letter they miss out on some of the key allegorical and symbolic concepts because of the language barrier.


Essays Related to Criticism of the Scarlet Letter

1. The Scarlet Letter

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, "The Scarlet Letter," Hester Prynne is the protagonist who commits this sin. ... The punishment was to wear the letter "A" on her upper torso for her entire life, also known as the scarlet letter. ... He describes the scarlet letter as elaborate and ornate, almost like Hester Prynne herself. ... (The Scarlet Letter) The author describes the scarlet letter as elaborate and ornate, even though it's supposed to be punishment. ... The scarlet letter is a reflection upon her which makes her more beautiful. ...

  • Word Count: 673
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

2. The Scarlet Letter: Ball and Chain or Pair of Wings?

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's work The Scarlet Letter the main character, Hester Prynne, is outcast from a puritan society and forced to wear a scarlet "A" on her chest. This punishment is intended to imprison Hester in cage of criticism and general bad feeling from the townspeople. ... Hester's personal strength allows her to reverse the intended punishment of the scarlet letter. ... The scarlet letter Hester is forced to wear allows her to be more independent over time. ... Hester's independence would never have come if she had not been forced to wear the scarlet letter. ...

  • Word Count: 513
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Truth In The Scarlet Letter

There are many images of truth shown in Hawthorne's novel, "The Scarlet Letter." ... She shows the scarlet A on her chest for all to see, and braves their criticism. ... She shows this through her scarlet letter, and she insists on it being exposed. To conclude, there are many situations in the Scarlet Letter where truth is shown, exposed and hidden. ...

  • Word Count: 623
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Scarlet Letter And Pearl

Scarlet Letter And Pearl One of the most complex and elaborate characters in The Scarlet Letter is Pearl, the misbegotten offspring of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale. ... The Scarlet Letter. ... "The Scarlet Letter." ... The Scarlet Letter. ... "The Scarlet Letter." ...

  • Word Count: 1158
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Hester's Heroinism in The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne strayed from this redundant theme in his story The Scarlet Letter. There are many different opinions as to what the main story, motive, or point of The Scarlet Letter is. ... After reading The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne is ranked towards the top of the hero list. ... The reason why I feel empowered by Hester after reading The Scarlet Letter comes from the chapter titled "The Revelation of the Scarlet Letter". ... The Scarlet Letter. ...

  • Word Count: 3565
  • Approx Pages: 14
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Scarlet Letter

In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author attempts to show the way society casts out individuals simply because their ideas and deeds differ from the common values. ... She is then forced to stand in front of the town for hours as the crowd tries to break her down with criticism and shaming words. ... "Thus the young and pure would be taught to look at her, with the scarlet letter flaming on her breast as the figure, the body, the reality of sin" (83). ... "Children to young to comprehend wherefore this women so be shut out from the sphere of human charities coming f...

  • Word Count: 1521
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, addresses an issue which has not only existed in the past, but permeated through time. ... Through the fear of rejection and derision, the people today continue to follow similar paths as the villagers in The Scarlet Letter. ... Thus, the only flicker of hope can reside in those who have enough maturity to know that the opinions of the mass media are not the single-determining views of life, and that each individual is subject to their own actions and opinions without criticism from others. ...

  • Word Count: 748
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

8. Puritan Society

In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne, a sinner, is mistreated by the Puritan society. ... In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne sympathizes with his sinners some sympathy, and gives the transgressor some chance. ... "It was debated whether or not the scarlet letter was to be taken off her bosom"(163). ... Even the meaning of the letter "A" evolves, thus "the scarlet letter had not done its office" (Hawthorne 160). ... In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne say that everybody makes mistakes and should be forgiven for it. ...

  • Word Count: 1502
  • Approx Pages: 6

9. Food for Thought

Puritanism gets the most criticism. ... In the novel The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, writes about a lonely, widowed woman that finds love, but is ridiculed for her affair with her lover. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne describes a Puritan village that condemns a lonely widowed woman that has a love affair with the town's minister. ... Hester tries to live by the Puritan code, and she wishes that she could just wear the scarlet letter and just have people think what they think and keep it to themselves. ...

  • Word Count: 670
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

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