scarlet letter book report

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a two hundred and fifty-four page novel about Hester Prynne, Pearl, Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale, and their conflicts. The book opens with a discussion about the prison door and a lonely rosebush whose significance will be mentioned later. It goes on to tell of Hester’s punishment for her sin; she must forever wear the letter ‘A’ on her breast. She must be marked as an adulteress for she …showed first 75 words of 531 total…

…showed last 75 words of 531 total…such a harsh environment. Pearl herself is the symbol of the relationship between Dimmesdale and Hester. She takes a role of devilishness and yet is the model of beauty and love. Later in the book, when the three main characters are standing on the scaffold in the square (The Scarlet Letter, p. 151), a letter ‘A’ is written in red across the sky. This celestial phenomena symbolizes that even adultery could be something beautiful and amazing.