Help with The Scarlet Letter?

Question

For AP english i have to read the scarlet letter and take notes on the language, description, ideas/beliefs, the puritan viewpoint (how much has changed?)...so i was wondering if i could get any help with this?

School starts on monday, and i'm starting the book right now!!

Help would REALLY be appreciated! THANKYOU! :s

Answer 1

Well basically, The Scarlet Letter is about a woman who had an illegitimate  child and both she and the child are scorned by society.  Part of what's important about the book is the concept of "original sin" and how this innocent baby who had nothing to do with its mother's "scandal" is born into sin and is scorned as a sinner herself, simply for existing.  In today's society, having children out of wedlock is no big deal - in fact, it's a huge part of celebrity culture and does not carry the same social stigma it once did.  Furthermore, if for some reason the woman IS scorned by her community, the child would most likely be seen as innocent.

Answer 2

Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is famous for presenting some of the greatest interpretive difficulties in all of American literature. While not recognized by Hawthorne himself as his most important work, the novel is regarded not only as his greatest accomplishment, but frequently as the greatest novel in American literary history. After it was published in 1850, critics hailed it as initiating a distinctive American literary tradition. Ironically, it is a novel in which, in terms of action, almost nothing happens. Hawthorne's emotional, psychological drama revolves around Hester Prynne, who is convicted of adultery in colonial Boston by the civil and Puritan authorities. She is condemned to wear the scarlet letter "A" on her chest as a permanent sign of her sin. The narrative describes the effort to resolve the torment suffered by Hester and her co-adulterer, the minister Arthur Dimmesdale, in the years after their affair. In fact, the story excludes even the representation of the passionate moment which enables the entire novel. It begins at the close of Hester's imprisonment many months after her affair and proceeds through many years to her final acceptance of her place in the community as the wearer of the scarlet letter. Hawthorne was masterful in the use of symbolism, and the scarlet letter "A" stands as his most potent symbol, around which interpretations of the novel revolve. At one interpretive pole the "A" stands for adultery and sin, and the novel is the story of individual punishment and reconciliation. At another pole it stands for America and allegory, and the story suggests national sin and its human cost. Yet possibly the most convincing reading, taking account of all others, sees the "A" as a symbol of ambiguity, the very fact of multiple interpretations and the difficulty of achieving consensus.

IRONY

The most obvious example of irony is the fact that Reverend Dimmesdale is the man who committed adultery with Hester Prynne. The "goodwives" of the community remark in the second chapter about how "grieved" their "godly pastor" must be about Hester's scandalous behavior.

Some more minor examples of irony: Hester's letter A, which is meant as a punishment, is mesmerizingly beautiful. It also eventually comes to designate Hester as "Able" rather than its original negative meaning. Finally, the narrator informs us that Pearl is an ironic character: we are told that "God, as a direct consequence of the sin which man thus punished, had given [Hester] a lovely child" in return for her actions.

Answer 3

when looking at the beliefs that drive these people (specifically the idea that all sin should be public knowledge), look at how they act in accordance with those beliefs.  This should be pretty apparent once you see the bad guy and the preacher, the 'saint.'  Look how the A-lady becomes a model for their ideal behavior since she is seemingly the only one that does - it makes her a muc stronger woman and respected even though she's an adulterer.  she stands up for her beliefs.  In the language, look for irony.  Sure it's old and formal and densely written, but the irony, even sarcasm in the author's voice is apparent.  Try to see if this disdain carries through to the whole belief system or just how the people won't live up to and carry out those beliefs.  

Great literature = appearance v. reality.  

Answer 4

Two words: Cliff Notes (Or maybe that's one word, but still, CliffNotes is a great site for literature study help).