Book Report of The Scarlet Letter

07一班  蔡芳芳 

The first time I got exposure to this book is when I was in high school.And at that time,I read the Chinese version,not English. The Scarlet Letter,written by Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the most important works in American literature history.What impresses me a lot is the plot of the story and I haven’t forgotten still now.This winter holiday,I got closer to The Scarlet Letter by reading the English version of this book which helps me to know more about the content,background,language, and expression of this book and so on.Now I want to express my feelings and what I think about after reading this book through several aspects:

一、plot

  Firstly,though many of us know the plot of The Scarlet Letter,I would like to talk about the main story and content of this book briefly before I start other topics of it for that is what impresses me most when I get exposure to it at the first time. The Scarlet Letter opens with a long preamble about how the book came to be written.The story happens in a Puritan settlement,Boston, in seventeenth-century.A young lady,also the heroine of the story,Hester Prynne,is led from the town prison with her infant daughter, Pearl, in her arms and the scarlet letter “A” on her breast as the punishment for adultery.Hester’s husband,a scholar much older than she is,was considered to have been lost at sea after she moved to New England alone.While waiting for her husband, Hester has apparently had an affair, as she has given birth to a child. She refuses to reveal her lover’s identity, and therefore,the scarlet letter,along with her public shaming, is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy. Even when Hester is led to the town scaffold and harangued by the town fathers,she again refuses to identify her child’s father.However,Hester’s missing husband, who is now practicing medicine in Boston and calling himself Roger Chillingworth,is intent on revenge and wants to find out Hester’s lover. He reveals his true identity to no one but Hester, whom he has sworn to secrecy.Several years pass. Hester supports herself by working as a seamstress, and Pearl grows into a willful, impish child. Shunned by the community, they live in a small cottage on the outskirts of Boston.Community officials attempt to take Pearl away from Hester, but, with the help of Arthur Dimmesdale, a young and eloquent minister, the mother and daughter manage to stay together. Dimmesdale, however, appears to be wasting away and suffers from mysterious heart trouble, seemingly caused by psychological distress. Chillingworth attaches himself to the ailing minister and eventually moves in with him so that he can provide his patient with round-the-clock care. Chillingworth also suspects that there may be a connection between the minister’s torments and Hester’s secret, and he begins to test Dimmesdale to see what he can learn. One afternoon, while the minister sleeps, Chillingworth discovers a mark on the man’s breast, which convinces him that his suspicions are correct. Dimmesdale’s psychological anguish deepens, and he invents new tortures for himself. In the meantime, Hester’s charitable deeds and quiet humility have earned her a reprieve from the scorn of the community. One night, when Pearl is about seven years old, she and her mother are returning home from a visit to a deathbed when they encounter Dimmesdale at the town scaffold, trying to punish himself for his sins. Hester and Pearl join him, and the three link hands. Dimmesdale refuses Pearl’s request that he acknowledge her publicly the next day, and a meteor marks a dull red “A” in the night sky. Hester can see that the minister’s condition is worsening, and she resolves to intervene. She goes to Chillingworth and asks him to stop adding to Dimmesdale’s self-torment. Chillingworth refuses. Hester arranges an encounter with Dimmesdale in the forest because she is aware that Chillingworth has probably guessed that she plans to reveal his identity to Dimmesdale. The former lovers decide to flee to Europe, where they can live with Pearl as a family. They will take a ship sailing from Boston in four days. Both feel a sense of release, and Hester removes her scarlet letter and lets down her hair. Pearl, playing nearby, does not recognize her mother without the letter. The day before the ship is to sail, the townspeople gather for a holiday and Dimmesdale preaches his most eloquent sermon ever.Meanwhile, Hester has learned that Chillingworth knows of their plan and has booked passage on the same ship. Dimmesdale, leaving the church after his sermon, sees Hester and Pearl standing before the town scaffold. He impulsively mounts the scaffold with his lover and his daughter, and confesses publicly, exposing a scarlet letter seared into the flesh of his chest. He falls dead, as Pearl kisses him. Frustrated in his revenge, Chillingworth dies a year later. Hester and Pearl leave Boston, and no one knows what has happened to them. Many years later, Hester returns alone, still wearing the scarlet letter, to live in her old cottage and resume her charitable work. She receives occasional letters from Pearl, who has married a European aristocrat and established a family of her own. When Hester dies, she is buried next to Dimmesdale. The two share a single tombstone, which bears a scarlet “A.”

二、characters

  Then,the characters of this book.Actually,I feel depressed from the beginning of the reading until I finish my reading.I feel sympathy and injustice for the lady,Hester;I feel disappointed for the young minister, Dimmesdale;I also feel antipathy for the crazy old man,Chillingworth.

Hester is brave enough to face the cruel reality. She is always with a mind of courage. She has been alone with her child for so long,with litter communication.Shame! Hopelessness! Loneliness! Hester has to wear the letter A day after day, seven years as for punishment and ill fame.When a woman has lived through a difficult experience, her character changes a great deal. If she be all tenderness, she will die. If she survive, the tenderness will leave her .Hester’s charitable deeds and quiet humility have earned her a reprieve from the scorn of the community. The letter on her chest represents her work on earth , always helping others, without expecting any thanks. Never afterwards, does that scarlet letter leave her chest. The townspeople no longer view the letter as a punishment , but rather as representing her great strength and bravery and thy say it means “Able”.

But Arthur Dimmesdale, his sin against Hester and Pearl is that he will not acknowledge them as his wife and daughter in the daylight. He keeps his dreadful secret from all those under his care in the church for seven years for fear that he will lose their love and will not be forgiven. He is too weak to admit his sins.He suffers from mysterious heart trouble,seemingly caused by psychological distress. What’s worse, he is an advisor to the townspeople about their sins.

After Mr. Dimmesdale’s death , no one changes more in appearance than Roger Chilling worth. All his strength and energy has been used to harm his patient.This unhappy man has made his aim in life to add to the suffering of the young minister. When the evil old man no longer has such a purpose, the devil takes him back to the hell.

三、feelings

Finally,the conflicts of Arthur’s torture also left me impressive feelings.He lives in a very depressing environment for his weakness and avoiding to admit his affair with Hester.He has aspiration for exterior reputation and aspiration for interior easement and so it is difficult for him to reveal the secret.However,he has to bear the sense of guilt and afraidness and the malicious attack from the old man.In fact,his death at the town scaffold is a “happy” ending of his life because at that time, all his inner conflicts and the torture he suffered had disappeared,as a satire to the stupid of human and a fight back the old man.