The Sin of a Perfect Story

            The Scarlet Letter is a novel that continues to be taught by schools. Although the language and time period is way past our knowledge, we still have to read and learn a book that shows great qualities of fiction writing. Like most popular books it shows great plots in an outstanding compelling voice. But even more, it goes out of its way to be better than just a typical novel. Nathaniel Hawthorne goes beyond with strong characters that are dynamic and imperfect, describes an ideal setting that puts the whole novel together flawlessly, and exposes themes that are intriguing but also extremely important. With all of these significant elements, The Scarlet Letter is the ideal book to read and teach others about.

When reading a book, one of the most important aspects to have is a memorable character. If you can’t connect or learn from the different characters, the book isn’t teaching or inspiring you in any way. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne creates brilliant characters that are important to remember. It’s key to have dynamic characters because their actions change and support the plot and theme of the story. We get to experience a few dynamic characters in this novel. Like Mr. Dimmesdale, we think of him in the beginning as the “Reverend that takes it very grievously to heart that such a scandal should have come upon his congregation” (Hawthorne 49). He starts off as a man with a kind heart who is devoted to his people, to someone who becomes scared of them and what he has done. We get to experience his struggle throughout the book on his guiltiness and understand him more as a character. Chillingworth says, “his spirit lacked the strength that could have borne up, as thine as been, beneath a burden like thy scarlet letter.” (Hawthorne 162). Chillingworth is talking about Dimmesdale and how he is too weak to have such a big secret. We realize that Dimmesdale doesn’t behave like the way his sermons are read to the people. Yes, he has the rest of the Puritans falling off of every word he preaches, but he can’t even follow them himself. The affect on how everyone treats Hester really gets to him. The guilt adds up and up throughout the story that he eventually cracks. He confesses his sin and is set free. This leads to his death. Unlike Hester, he let his sin define him into someone else. He is an important character because without him, the story would be so much different. We need a character like him to keep the plot going and make the story come alive and together. We see Dimmesdale’s imperfectness and that’s why it’s so much easier to relate to the book. In spite of its time period that we aren’t as familiar with, we can still get a sense of it and put ourselves into the characters.

Pearl is another great character in the novel because she’s different than the others. Pearl is a dynamic character that brings humor to the intense, serious Puritans. It’s hard for Pearl to fit in because frankly she was born into a world that doesn’t accept her. She’s a wild child and we get to go on her rollercoaster with her. As Hawthorne states, “she lacked reference and adaptation to the world into which she was born.” (Hawthorne 85). She clearly was born to stand out and broke the rules right when she was born. But as the story unfolds, she seems to be maturing with it. As the plot reveals itself more and more, she changes along with it. She understands what’s going on more and overcomes her sin that she was born with. She accepts both her parent’s fate and wants to change hers. She could easily become like her mother or the witch lady, but she does something about it. She moves where she can be “married, and happy, and mindful of her mother.” (Hawthorne 248). She definitely grows throughout this story and we get a back seat as it happens. Having such a dynamic character lets us connect more with her and the story. She brings together little pieces throughout the novel that want us to keep reading like when she talks to her mother or when she’s in the forest with her parents. Mr. Dimmesdale and Pearl are just a couple of characters that are important to this novel and why it’s such a great book to learn about.

The setting of a story means a lot. It not only tells us where the story is being taken place, but it also sets the mood and influences the way characters behave. Because The Scarlet Letter is taken place in a time period we’re not used too, we get a new perspective on it that makes it interesting to read. In the beginning we experience the different qualities of Europe and America. Puritans wanted to move to America for a better life and a new start from England. Ironic or not, the Puritans seemed to have the same structure as England. Puritans wanted everyone to have the same beliefs and shunned you if you didn’t. Throughout the novel, Massachusetts seems just as bad and maybe even worse than their homeland England because Hester even wants to move back. This setting is the reason why Hester Prynne has to wear the scarlet letter. She did the unthinkable, adultery, and now has to suffer with the letter A on her clothes. “Come along, Madam Hester, and show your scarlet letter in the market place.” (Hawthorne 52). To us, the Puritans live in a world that we couldn’t imagine living in. But the setting is so crisp and descriptive, like the early scene of the center of the town that we feel like we’re with Hester getting publically embarrassed.

One of the most important parts of the book is when the characters are in the forest. What’s great about the forest is that there are “no rules”. The forest is a perfect setting because it let’s us see the truth about the characters. Without the forest, we wouldn’t be able to understand the truth behind a lot of things that happened throughout the book. “She had wandered, without rule or guidance, into a moral wilderness.” (Hawthorne 190). Hester and Dimmesdale let us into their background because of the forest, without it we would be lost with crucial details. It’s the opposite of the town where are the rules are being on display always. The setting made the characters act a certain way. For example, in the town Dimmesdale acted like a good guy but was hiding his guilt and in the forest he opened up and felt some sort of freedom when no one was watching. The setting is a very important key to any novel. Hawthorne does a fantastic job with the novel because without the setting he displayed, the story wouldn’t come together and make sense.

It’s easy to say that the biggest theme in The Scarlet Letter is sin. The time of the Puritans, the people had rules to follow and if they didn’t they were highly judged. She was so judged that Hester had to wear a scarlet letter A on her clothes. With such a judgmental time period, it was known what was a sin and what wasn’t. Adultery was definitely a sin. This theme is extremely important because it’s the center of the whole book. “And there stood the minister with his hand over his heart.” (Hawthorne 139). Dimmesdale kept his sin hidden while Hester’s was out in the open. The whole town was obsessed with sins and all the bad things people do. This theme connects every other element of the story together. It all seems to be connected once the perfect theme is being placed. The sin theme brought the characters, settings, and the whole plot together.

The extraordinary theme is important because it teaches us a lesson throughout the novel. It’s the purpose of reading a story. You experience the characters and the environment they’re in because of the theme being expressed. If it’s a good story, there will be more than one theme. Identity is another special theme. The characters go through hardships that determine who they truly are. Hester stays strong throughout the novel and seems to be the rock and center for the rest of the characters. But Dimmesdale struggles with his identity, he’s described as “there was something ugly and evil in his face, which they had not previously noticed.” (Hawthorne 113). He lost who he was because of his sin. But while he lost who he was, Pearl found who she was. The two themes worked together to make an unstoppable theme.

The Scarlet Letter is the perfect novel to teach a class. It has all the elements that make it a great story. With captivating characters that come together with a fascinating setting, they’re able to teach us important themes Hawthorne is trying to express. This novel is not like any others. It has just the right flare and creativeness that makes it one step above every other book taught in classrooms. Students can learn a lot from this perfect novel that isn’t afraid to dig deep into everyone’s sins.

Work Cited

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Pleasantville, NY: Reader’s Digest

Association, 1984. Print.