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by: Nathaniel Hawthorne
Amazon.com's Price: $3.95 Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.3
EAN: 9780553210095
ISBN: 0553210092
Label: Bantam Classics
Manufacturer: Bantam Classics
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 256
Publication Date: March 01, 1981
Publisher: Bantam Classics
Release Date: February 01, 1981
Sales Rank: 83950
Studio: Bantam Classics
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
Hailed by Henry James as 'the finest piece of imaginative writing yet put forth in the country,' Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter reaches to our nation's historical and moral roots for the material of great tragedy. Set in an early New England colony, the novel shows the terrible impact a single, passionate act has on the lives of three members of the community: the defiant Hester Prynne; the fiery, tortured Reverend Dimmesdale; and the obsessed, vengeful Chillingworth.
With The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne became the first American novelist to forge from our Puritan heritage a universal classic, a masterful exploration of humanity's unending struggle with sin, guilt and pride.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - One of the best novels ever
'The Scarlet Letter' is a beautifully written and perfectly balanced classic of American literature, addressing in a lean 251 pages countless issues of the human experience: love, the nature of sin and shame and repentance, revenge and mercy, civilization and wild, society and ostracism. In bald terms, 'The Scarlet Letter' is absolutely one of the best pieces of writing ever, um, written.
A lot of people seem to take umbrage at Hawthorne's affected 19th-century style. My advice to you: ... Read More
Rating:  - Sin, Redemption
I think the many readers who were forced to partake of this classic were angry at their English teacher for making them read a book so wordy, detailed, and archaic in language. Many of the reviewers' complaints are about the author's style, which is definitely an acquired taste. Hawthorne doesn't merely give you a scene; he tries to tell you what time it is, how and why it is happening, and what each character is thinking as they enter the room. In this way, this can be a turn off to a leisurely reader; ... Read More
Rating: - Hawthorne's Masterpiece
Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter is a tale of secret love, adultery, and sadness. Every person should read this timeless American novel at some point in their life. The strength of Hester Prynne is unusual for novels composed during the time this was published, and is therefore a revolutionary literary work. My only complaint is the length of "The Custom House," however horrible this sounds, I would just skip it, it does not add to the plot of the novel anyway.
Rating: - A wonderful piece of literature, however
I completely agree with most HS students that this book should be optional reading for them because HS teachers should very well know that there are many different minds that need very different kinds of reading material and exposure to variety is not always a good thing that's why you end up having reviews of books like this by some HS students who puke on it rather then have savored it like I did. My reasons for really loving this book is because of the historical/puritan life and manners I like to read ... Read More
Rating: - Useful for AP Lit
I read Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter for my Advanced English 11 class. This is not a book I would normally have picked up and read, but I am glad that I read it.
The Scarlet Letter deals with themes of love, society's oppression, secrets, a character finding herself, as well as numerous other classic literature themes. I found the book itself to be challenging to read, but I liked the story. Hawthorne explores when feelings and passion conflict with religion, which was fascinating to ... Read More
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