When I embarked on The Scarlet Letter in high school, I was a fresh immigrant with reading skill at a second-grade level. Then, with the help of my eleventh-grade English teacher, I started to actually slowly decipher the meaning of text in this book, and began to love reading in English. As soon as I could understand what was written, I loved symbolism in The Scarlet Letter. This may not stand out as my number one book ever, but it is one, along with Beloved, that first set me on a path towards studying literature in college. ( )

I wanted to like this. I really did. I just couldn't do it. Hawthorne writes in such a complicated and dull way. The plot was interesting. I enjoyed seeing how the story progressed, but the writing was so boring that I hated having to read this. A lot of people will have to read this for school, as I did. Best of luck. ( )

One of my least favorite books in all the world. Hawthorne is a drag and I am very glad I am not a Puritan. ( )

Hawthorne wrote this book in 1850, while the actual story took place 200 years earlier. At first, I was struggling with the flowery speech and archaic way of talking, but eventually I got into the characters. I was most amazed at how pertinent the story is to us today. Whether you consider it 173 years old or 373 years old the message remains the same. The idea that groups of people wish to use their religious beliefs to force others to conform to a specific way of behaving is quite appalling. The Puritans were a crazy lot. The are the direct ancestors of the Christian nationalist we have today. You would think, after almost 400 years, we could have dealt with their brand of crazy, but no.
In the story, the pious rulers, clergy, force their views of morality onto the main character. (Spoiler), the man who had immoral relations with Hester Prynne, was himself a clergyman. Much like today those who cry the loudest about immorality are usually the ones to be cautious about.
In one scene they discus taking Hesters daughter away from her because anyone who would have a child out of wedlock is not fit to raise a child. One of the Cristian values is to not cast a stone unless you are without sin. And yet in this story you wonder how many of the pious leaders have secrets that are untold in the story. It all sounds like something you would hear on the evening news.
I think that the story brings to high relief the hypocrisy of many modern-day Christians. I recently hear that pastors in the south are having a problem with their congregations because when they preach Jesus’ teachings, they are criticized for being too woke. They, both in the story and today, talk about God’s judgment, and yet it is not God’s judgement but mans interpretation of God’s will that they force onto their fellow man.
The story ends with the clergyman revealing his sins to the community in a sort of death bed repentance. This to me is another example of Christian hypocrisy. You cannot live your life doing wrong (according to your belief system) and then just say sorry, just kidding at the end and expect to get into heaven.
Until the last politician is strangled with the entrails of the last priest, this book with be of relevance to each succeeding generation. ( )

I remember the story from video and film, but not the book itself. ( )