what is the scarlet letter about?

Question

i have to write a summary on how Napoleon Hawthorne changed peoples lives with his famous book called 'the scarlet letter'. but i dont know wat the book is about and i dont have time to read it. Can anyone help me please?
Thanks

Answer 1

It is about a minster having an affair with a young woman who is forced to wear the red letter A for adultress.

Answer 2

This can't be answered briefly. I could tell you that a woman convicted of adultery was forced to wear a scarlet "A," but that doesn't begin to tell you what it's about. If you don't have time to read it, see if you can find a synopsis on line. You would do much better to read the book.

Answer 3

The main woman character gets pregnant (this takes place in a Puritan settlement) but her husband has been dead for over a year (as far as the village knows, he hasn't really, his ship got lost or something) Because she is an adulteress she has to wear a red A on all of her clothes for Adulteress. She is also made to stand of this scaffolding in the center of the village with her newborn for an hour (I think) to embarrass her. The leaders of the village and the village pastor ask her to name the father of her baby and she refuses. She is then forced to live as an outsider for her sin. (While she is on the scaffold her husband arrives at the village but doesn't reveal himself in embarrassment for his wife's actions.) He instead lurks around and discovers the father of the baby, who is in fact the pastor. He then torments the pastor. I don't remember the end of the book very well, but I think the pastor dies of guilt, and with no purpose in life the husband dies and the Hester, the unfaithful wife leaves the village.

Answer 4

Get a Cliff's Notes. The book is basically about an adulteress, and the problems it brings her. The scarlet A she wears is for adultery, (not smiled upon in that time and age)

Answer 5

nathaniel hawthorne is the author. it is about a woman Hester Prynn who moves to this strict puritan town while her husband is away. in his absence she and the minister have an affair and a child is made. Hester is charged with adultery and must wear a red badge of the letter A for her punishment. she is pretty much cast out of society but maintains her individuality. Arthur Dimmesdale, the minister, becomes so guilty with his sin and the fact that Hester never revealed his name, exposing him, that he pretty much drives himself to his death. Hester's husband actually comes to the town but does not reveal he is her husband to the people. he is a "doctor" and vows to Hester to find out who the father of Pearl is.

DO not rely on the movie with Demi Moore because it isn't like the novel at all.

Answer 6

For "brief synopsis" see Cliffs Notes online:
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/id-167.html

(1) The story is about religious hypocrisy. The woman Hester Prynne is persecuted for having a child, Pearl, out of wedlock when she thought her husband was dead at sea. She is publicly ostracized by being forced to wear a scarlet letter "A" for adultery and to stand in judgment each day upon a scaffold, similar to a public hanging. Hester is honest in not denying her actions or punishment, and is noble in not naming the other guilty party in the adultery, but leaving him the responsibility to come forward. The man, Dimmesdale, is afraid to come forward because he is the minister in the town, who is well respected and held in high esteem. Ironically he is the authority actually called to handle her confession. So he is tormented by the guilt and hyposcrisy, and whips himself privately in punishment. In the meantime, Hester's legal husband Chillingsworth seeks to uncover the identity of the man; and moves in under Dimmesdale's care, tormenting him further. The spiritual battle for Dimmesdale to confess and come clean with God, instead of dying in a state of sin and losing his soul, reaches a climax when Dimmesdale finally admits his sin, and reveals that he bears the same burden on his heart.

(2) RE: how this book changed people's lives -- I would look up the history to see what effect it had to write a novel set in Puritan America about religious hypocrisy, how this was received and if it raised any controversy, public response or greater awareness. I think Hawthorne was the son of a minister, and had other ties to the church, so I would look into that. As for personal changes today, the fact that students study this classic can have different effects -- one is the ongoing perception of Christians as hypocritical, and thus disdain or rejection of the church by secular skeptics; the other is a true appreciation of character and conscience, and right and truth overcoming wrong and falseness; that in the eyes of God, or in the eyes of those we love, we cannot live a lie but are compelled by conscience to be at peace with the truth and set free. So whether the message is seen as making a statement to expose/criticize Christian hypocrisy, or as showing that the spiritual battle in the Bible is indeed valid and universal, perhaps by studying this classic, generations today still learn to recognize and appreciate the spiritual theme and values of forgiveness and "truth setting us free."

P.S. If you need further references showing "The Scarlet Letter" still carries relevant influence today as a timeless theme, on the universal struggle of the human conscience to achieve spiritual redemption, you may quote two scenes adapted as for a musical opera in your end notes or appendix: http://www.houstonprogressive.org/scarletA.html

Answer 7

you shouldnt be asking a question and just go to google and type in

summary and impact of the scarlet letter

and its by nathanial hawthorne not napolean

Answer 8

sure. ill tell u whats its about. but its long so u can visit this site
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/scarlet/

its basically about this woman who was condemned to wears the red letter "A" because she commited adultury(have a sex with another man besides the father of her daughter)