Opinion

I think this book is great because it shows the reader that situations hurt not just one individual but many and can cause preventable damage. I do recommend this book because it isn't as hard to read as others we have red in AP Lit that we have to decipher the words on our way. I learned that love will not always succeed if there is lies and obstacles by reading how Hester and the Reverends love didn't succeed at the end since he died.

Theme

The theme in The Scarlet letter is varied just like tone. Through out the story the various themes that stand out to the reader are sin, experience and the nature of evil. These themes stand out because they cause the major turning points in the story. For example sin is a major theme because it causes the conflict, experience because it causes Reverend Dimmesdale to have exceptional speeches  due to his experience with Hester and finally nature of evil because Hester's affair causes Chillingworth to act evil against Dimmesdale which causes Dimmesdales death. So the reader learns that the human experience is the different main characters reactions as they deal with the affairs consequences .

Literacy Devices

Based on my reading I can conclude that the Literary devices that were most prevalent in the story were Allusions.

 Allusions were used to convey the meaning of the story which to my understanding was how the church system is never perfect but indeed does have the abilities to hide certain things until the church officials who cant live with their conscience come clean when it is too late. Allusions also helped with the tone because the tone is different through the whole book, for example at the beginning the allusion of Adam and Eve by the author when he  talks about Hesters, Dimmesdale and Pearls situation symbolizes suffering  where as in the end the allusion one gets is in connection with the holy spirit because he feels that Dimmesdale has that connection with God when he gives his sermons to the town giving the story a tone of connectivity due to his sins.

Plot Summary

Conflict- The conflict starts when Hester has an affair with Reverend Dimmesdale causing her to be accused of adultery because she has a child out of that affair. This affair has marked her life forever because she then has to wear a big, red letter A on her chest. When she gets out of jail her husband witnesses what Hester has done and decides to have an evil vengeance toward who he correctly believes is the childs father causing a tragic ending.

Climax- The climax starts when Reverend Dimmesdale is "sleep walking" in town square about to confess to the whole town at night what he did. He tries to confess  by holding Hester's hand but instead a meteor lights the sky with a A on the sky. So therefore that interrupts his confessions and helps Chilligsworth stop him and take him home.

Resolution- The resolution takes place when Dimmesdale finally confesses to the town in a sermon what he did with Hester after Pearl told him that he was only friends with them in secret. His confession causes his death but causes Hester to still wear the big red letter A on her chest because she hasn't repented yet.

Main Characters

The main characters in the Scarlet letter are :

• Hester- She  is Pearls mom and the woman who had an affair with Reverend Dimmesdale. This causes her to be outcasted by society because she decides to keep the identity of her child's  (Pearl) father a secret. But the most important reason that makes her a main character is the Big letter A she brightly in red wears on her dresses everyday.
• Reverend Dimmesdale-He is a young reverend that gives outstanding sermons to the town and is the one who has the affair with Hester. He tries to keep the secret without having self consequences but he fails at it. His conscience and connection to god doesn't allow him to live with himself and therefore he decides to reveal to the town that he is the father of Hester's child and the one she had an affair with, finally causing his death towards the end of the story.
• Pearl- She is the outcome of Reverend Dimmesdale and Hester's affair and Hester's reason to live. She is a girl who is dressed in red by her mother in resemblance to the letter A her mother wears.
• Chilling worth- He is Hester's husband in England whom she cheated on before he arrived to Massachusetts Bay. He "Forgives" Hester but in return asks for his identity not to be revealed because he is on a mission to find who Pearls dad is.He does accomplish his mission but in the process becomes an evil man that torments Dimmesdale.

Setting

The main setting of the scarlet letter is in  Massachusetts Bay  in the 1640's famously known as the colonial period. Throughout  the  setting the reader can conclude that the people in that   time period were very focused on what the Governor (Bellingham) and Reverends  (Dimmesdale and Wilson) had to say because the church system was very known and important to the ruling system.Therefore  they had the power to do as they pleased with Hester.  I can conclude this by the other minor settings which took place:  in town square as many call it where Ester was revealed to the town as a sinner, her small cottage where she was hidden from the rest of the town and the forest where she had to hide in order to talk to Dimmesdale and the jail where they kept her and released her when pearl was  3 months.

Historical Context of The scarlet letter

The Scarlet letter takes place in Massachusetts in the 1640's at the beginning of the colonial period which lasted from 1620-1776. This means that the author Nathaniel Hawthorne historical context throughout the book was the fact that "Puritans" as they were defined,  were migrating from England causing disturbances in the Christianity Religious system.

The reader can conclude this because indeed Hester and Chilling worth did migrate from England to Massachusetts were Hester had an affair that caused disturbance to the famous Reverend in the story.