The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne
Summer Reading – July 2008
 

 
Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is one of the classic novels of American literature. While the setting is Puritan New England, Hawthorne wasn't so much re-creating the Puritan world as he was recounting his vision of the human situation.

 

Hawthorne was not a Puritan himself. He lived from 1804-1864. Puritanism had long since died out as a church denomination. Nonetheless, Hawthorne -- in a way -- felt himself a victim of this narrow, strict society. Watch for his ancestor Judge Hathorne to appear in your reading.

 

Hawthorne is a student of the human heart and The Scarlet Letter is a masterpiece that examines the inner workings of three key characters: Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale, Hester Prynne, and Roger Chillingsworth. Read closely and observe how the heart of each character reacts to the intertwining situation in which they find themselves. Watch closely for symbolism and Biblical allusions in this classic work. Hawthorne uses these techniques on almost every single page.

 

As your July reading, this reading is a bit more challenging than Cyrano, but still is relatively straightforward in its meaning and application.

 

READING GUIDELINE & ASSIGNMENT

 

To make the most of your reading of this work, please be aware of the following:

 

1. You may skip the introductory section entitled "The Custom House." Please begin your reading with Chapter One entitled "The Prison Door."

 

2. You should take notes or highlight key sections. You will be taking a short fact quiz on The Scarlet Letter.

 

3. For this book, I am requiring you to submit proof to me of your "close reading" skills. "Close reading" refers to your ability to read not just for the basic meaning, but to dig deeper into word choice, symbolism, imagery, theme and so on. If you are not associated with the term "close reading," click here to go to an excellent web site that explains the concept. (NOTE: I am not expecting you to be experts at "close reading." We will be developing these skills in Honors English. However, I do want to have a clear starting point with which to begin. The Scarlet Letter is an excellent book to experiment with your close reading skills because of your knowledge of Biblical symbolism/Bible stories and because of the short length of the chapters.)  

 

4. Choose one of the following chapters: Chapter 8 "The Elf-Child and the Minister"; Chapter 15 "Hester and Pearl"; Chapter 16 "A Forest Walk"; or Chapter 20 "The Minister in a Maze." Copy the pages of this chapter from your book on a copy machine or print them out from the internet. Then, highlight, underline, and mark up this chapter with personal observations, questions, responses, and connections you find in the text. (By the way, you should be highlighting or marking key sections whenever you are doing reading for this class!)

 

GENERAL READING EXPECTATIONS

 

1. Know the main characters by name.

 

2. Be able to summarize the novel's plot & key events.

 

3. Be ready to explain the meaning of the title.

 

4. Be ready to discuss the implications of revenge, justice, forgiveness, and the human heart in light of The Scarlet Letter.

 

5. Christian analysis: what Biblical truths or values did you find expressed in this piece? 

 

 

WEB LINK

SCARLET LETTER WEBLINK -- this is text of the novel (for printing, it is 158 pages long!)