Scarlet Letter Essay

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“In this beautiful and touching romance Hawthorne has produced something really worthy of the fine and deep genius which lies within him.” (Whipple 239). This quote is the perfect summary of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The book has mystery, suspense, romance, and action that draw in the reader with every page. The reader gets to know the main character Hester more than anyone else because it is written as a narrative about her life. “ There is a profound philosophy underlying the story which will escape many of the readers whose attention is engrossed by the narrative.” (Whipple 239). Whipple explains in her criticism that The Scarlet Letter is a “beautiful piece” about Hawthorne’s life. In Brownson’s criticism he describes that Hawthorne “Endowed with a larger share of genius,” (Brownson 250). The story of The Scarlet Letter should be an essential read in schools because Hawthorne wrights with such genius, life lessons, and it deals with questions such has does everyone have evil in them?

Like previously stated Hawthorne is a genius with what he did with this book. He advanced literature to add in elements of fantasy such as magic but also working in the things that still eat away at our society such as gossiping or lying. His writing could have inspired people to write stories that we all love today. Hawthorne tackled gossiping, adultery, lying, sinning, self-hatred all in the 1850s. All of those things still affect our society today though social media, other media, people being mean to others, so that is why it should be a essential read in schools. If the problems faced in the book still affect our society today, then high school students should read it to improve the future of our world.

The Scarlet Letter can teach high school students and teachers lessons about life, which is another really important reason, and why it should be read in schools. The Scarlet Letter tells people to look deeper into people then just the things they do. Just like how the town judges her and makes her wear an A on her, the same thing happens in school. People judge people because they might not dress the same way that they do or they are different, and The Scarlet Letter tells the reader that people shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover. “Beauty bends to power though-out the work, and therefore the power displayed isn’t always beautiful.” (Whipple 240). This quote shows how it teaches the reader that a power changes people. It is just like in Macbeth when Macbeth gets power thirsty he transforms into the monstrous beast. Showing how Chillingworth got a higher stance in shows this in The Scarlet Letter. With the power Chillingworth got in the town people grew to trust him and then he became the towns doctor, so people trusted him even more, thus causing him to be able to have this gross power over Hester and Dimmesdale. “Sin is sin and it is only pardonable by the mercy of God” (Brownson 251). Brownson states that god can only forgive sin, which is a lesson that the Christian people would like to pass along to the readers. Since the townspeople punished Hester because of her sin/crime, it shows the readers that god doesn’t like sinners because the townspeople represented god and his will.[pic 4]