Gino Quahliero Period A-B

1. Book Analysis Project The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne Gino Quahliero Period A-B

2. Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel was born in Salem, Massachusetts in July of 1804. He attended Bowdoin College in 1821-1825. He wrote his first two novels in 1838, My Kinsman, Major Molineuxand Roger Malvin'sBurial. After those he wrote Young Goodman Brown,Twice-Told Tales, and The House of the Seven Gables. married Sophia Peabody in July 1842. In 1846, Hawthorne became Surveyor of the Salem Custom House and returned to Salem. That June, Mosses from an Old Manse was published and his son Julian was born. In 1849 his mother passed away, but it was also the year that Hawthorne found a worn letter “A" in the attic of the old home and with it came the inspiration to write his arguably most famous novel, The Scarlet Letter. His health started to weaken in 1864. He passed away May 19, 1864. “Mr. Hawthorne is having a posthumous productivity almost as active as that of his lifetime. Six volumes have been compounded from his private journals, an unfinished romance is doing duty as a "serial," and a number of his letters, with other personal memorials, have been given to the world…” -Henry James "Heath Anthology of American Literature Nathaniel Hawthorne - Author Page." Heath Anthology of American LiteratureNathaniel Hawthorne - Author Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Aug. 2013.

3. Hester - Character Profile Hester Prynne is a proud and strong-willed character. She is married to Roger Chillingworth. Roger goes away for some time. While Roger is gone Hester meets Dimmesdale and has an affair. This affair results in being pregnant with her daughter Pearl. She is caught committing adultery and is forced to wear the letter “A” on all of her clothing. Hester acts like a bit of a rebel by being proud to wear the letter. Hester is a seamstress, so she makes the “A” very fancy on her clothing. Hester is a very talented seamstress. Everyone comes to her because they know about her skilled abilities. After going through all the punishment and embarrassment of her scandal makes her have a better perspective on things. She helps the poor and is a nicer person.

4. Roger Chillingworth - Conflict Analysis Roger is in conflict with Dimmesdale. In chapter 10, Roger plans to get Dimmesdale back ever since Roger found out about Hester and Dimmesdale's relationship. Chillingworth found out about Hester’s crime when he came back to Boston and found her on the scaffolds. Eventually Dimmesdale's health weaken greatly. He went to Chillingworth for medical care. His plan started by moving in with Dimmesdale to provide assistance at all times of the day. (Pg 112-114) Roger began to think Dimmesdale’s sickness was related to Hester and was correct when he saw the symbol on Dimmesdale’s chest. Hester and Dimmesdale think they will be happier if they leave Boston. Dimmesdale found out that Chillingworth was going to be on the same boat as him. Then, Dimmesdale commits to his sin. (Pg 227) Chillingworth is mad, but he never ends up getting revenge on Dimmesdale.

5. Theme Sometimes people say they are going to get payback, or they are going to get their revenge. Most think that to get revenge is the right thing to do. Revenge is not the best option to pick because it can destroy a person. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne is married to Roger Chillingworth, but she committed adultery with Arthur Dimmesdale. Chillingworth plans to get revenge on Dimmesdale. On page 70 Chillingworth said, “…There is a sympathy that will make me conscious of him. I shall see him tremble. I shall feel myself shudder, suddenly and unaware. Sooner or later, he must needs be mine!” at the time Chillingworth is living with Dimmesdale as his doctor. Roger confirmed that it was Dimmesdale because he saw the letter “A” on Dimmesdale's chest. Dimmesdale admits that he committed adultery with Hester as he drops dead. No matter how bad a person betrays or hurts someone there is no reason to get revenge. Revenge cannot fix things, it can only make it worse.

6. Personal Reflection Overall I personally think the novel was an average. I didn’t have much interest in it. If I had to pick I would not have chose to read this book. In The Scarlet Letter, there was some things I liked and disliked. I disliked that the novel was very boring throughout the beginning. It took a while for it to get interesting. I did like how it had just a few characters. A book with too many characters gets too confusing, and it was easy to keep track of everyone in this novel. By reading The Scarlet Letter I learned how someone was punished in the seventeenth century. I can relate to Roger for wanting to get revenge. I probably wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone because it wasn’t easy to read, and it was pretty boring.