Sunday, February 5, 2012

The Scarlet Letter


Title: The Scarlet Letter

Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne

Genre: Classic

Comments:

This week's reading was more interesting and understandable than last week's. Usually, people say that the beginning of a book is slightly more dull than the rest, which is in this case true. I've been reading chapters 3 & 4 this week. If I had to choose one word which would describe what has been happening in these two chapters, it would be 'judgement'. Hester, the main character, has been forced to tell the secret identity of her husband- which is later in the chapter revealed to be Dimmestail- who claims that he is not her lover. At least it's how I pictured it.
The most challenging aspect of the novel so far would be what the judges will do to Hester if she doesn't reveal the true identity about her husband. (they mentioned harassing her, raping, etc.) When my mom read this chapter, she thought the most challening part is when they find her guilty for the fact that she is not innocent- which leads to my opinion of what kind of revenge they have on their mind. There wasn't really a rewarding part in the book, but if I had to choose one, it would be when the guilty guy (Chillingworth) admits that he was not the right husband for her and that he was remiss in not joining up with her sooner (even though he seems to have been held captive). His marriage to Hester, his one attempt to human contact, has led to disaster, and in any compassion what he may once felt has now faded. My mom agreed to this as well, and we're happy that he reminded himslef of what kind of person he is. All in all, I have a feeling that this book is about to change rapidly from chapter 4. I can't wait to find out next week!

2 comments:

  1. I found your view interesting, I also liked how you included a single word that you thought summed up what you have read so far. I liked how you talked about your honest opinion and didn't just say the book was "boring" or "good"

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  2. I think that the fact you described the reading so far in one word really shows that you thought about the book quite a lot. Also, maybe in the next post, you can talk about whether the style of the writing, or the vocabulary, makes the book more/less difficult..

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