Post 10

1. "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne
2. The main idea of this book is about the main character Hester Prynne and how she has commited adultery in her town.
3. One major detail that happened was that Hester Prynne is hated by the whole Puritan town in which she lives in. Another major detail is that she has brought a child into this world and doesn't know who the father is.
4. One minor detail is that Hester Prynne must wear a red "A" on all of her clothing to show she commited adutery. Another minor detail is that that Hester is a beautiful young woman with brown hair.
5. I read this book because i remember hearing about it in a recent movie i had seen called "Easy A" and i thought that it would be a good book to read about.
6. In the beginning, we see that Hester Prynne is a young and beautiful woman who has brought a child into the world with an unknown father. She is punished by Puritan society by wearing the scarlet letter A on the bosom of her dress and standing on the scaffold for three hours. The scaffold is a painful task to bear; the
townspeople gathered around to gossip and stare at Hester and her newborn child, that she named Pearl, named because of her extreme value to her mother. In the faces in the crowd, Hester Prynne sees
the face of a man she once was fiercely familiar with, whom we later learn is her true husband, Roger Chillingworth. Chillingworth visits Hester after she is returned to the prison. He tells her that he will find out who the man was, and he will read the truth on the man's heart. Chillingworth then forces her to promise never tell his true identity as her husband. Hester moves into a cottage bordering the woods. She and Pearl live there alone. Hester earns her money by doing stitchwork for local dignitaries, but she often spends her time helping the poor and sick. Pearl grows up to be wild, even refusing to obey her mother.
Roger Chillingworth has the reputation as a good physician. He uses his reputation to get transferred into the same home as Arthur Dimmesdale, an ailing minister. Chillingworth eventually discovers that Dimmesdale is the true father of Pearl, at which point he spends every moment trying to torment the minister. One night Dimmesdale is so overcome with shame about hiding his secret that he walks to the scaffold where Hester was publicly humiliated. He stands on the scaffold and imagines the whole town watching him with a letter emblazoned on his chest. While standing there, Hester and Pearl arrive. He asks them to stand with him, which they do. Pearl then asks him to stand with her the next day at noon. A few weeks later, Hester sees Chillingworth picking herbs in the woods. She tells him that she is going to reveal the fact that he is her husband to Dimmesdale. He tells her that Providence is now in charge of their fates, and she may do as she wishes. Hester takes Pearl into the woods, where they wait for Dimmesdale to arrive. He is surprised to see them, but he talks to Hester and says that he is desperate for a friend who knows his secret. She comforts him and tells him Chillingworth's true identity. He is furious but finally agrees that they should run away together. Hester finds a ship that will carry all three of them, and it works out that the ship is due to sail the day after Dimmesdale gives his Election Sermon. But on the day of the sermon, Chillingworth persuades the ship's captain to take him on board as well. Dimmesdale gives his Election Sermon, and it receives the highest acknowledgment of any preaching he has ever performed. He then unexpectedly walks to the scaffold and stands on it, in full view of the gathered masses. Dimmesdale calls Hester and Pearl to come to him. Chillingworth tries to stop him, but Dimmesdale laughs and tells him that he can't win. Hester and Pearl join Dimmesdale on the scaffold. Dimmesdale then tells the people that he is also a sinner like Hester, and that he should have assumed his rightful place by her side over seven years earlier. He then rips open his shirt to reveal a scarlet letter on his flesh. Dimmesdale falls to his knees and dies on the scaffold. Hester and Pearl leave the town for a while, and several years later Hester returns. No one hears from Pearl again, but it is assumed that she has gotten married and has had children in Europe. Hester never removes her scarlet letter, and when she passes away she is buried in the site of King's Chapel.
7. I thought the book was really good. I would reccommend it to anyone because I thought it was really good. I remember in the movie that i saw called "Easy A" that the main character in the movie was trying to build up her reputation to be like Hester Prynne's. I thought that this book was good even though it is an older book. I do think that not everyone would like it, but i think that girls would like it more than guys. I think that this book gave a good example of how life would have really been like back in the old days. Today this situation happens all the time and it is so common. Many people just don't even think twice about it because I  think the times have changed a lot. I couldn't even imagine if something like the situation Hester has to do would happen today. If people who were in the same situation had to do something like wear an "A" like her, there would be a lot of conflict . I think this book is a way of the old times, and although this still happens today many people look at the situation differently. I think that people should just be faithful to one another, and even though i wish people could, i know that people will still continue to be unfaithful to one another. It's something that people need to watch out for.