Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Scarlet Letter (1850)

Nathaniel Hawthorne

    A romantic novel of adultery in Puritan Massachusetts, Nathaniel Hawthorne's short book The Scarlet Letter has, since it first saw print in 1850, become virtually required reading for American literature students, usually now in the 11th grade of U.S. secondary (high) schools.
    Alas,--the novel is often the first, and last, real literature some students undertake. Perhaps reading it is not easy for 15-year-old students, who make faint effort to look up archaic words, and would fain watch the video (especially since the movie's plot makes more sense to modern teenagers).

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[Biography] | [The Scarlet Letter] | [Main Page] | [Study Questions]

[Introduction to The Scarlet Letter] [Reexamining The Scarlet Letter]

[Part One -- Commentary] [Part Two -- Commentary] [Part Three -- Commentary]

[Part Four -- Commentary] [Part One -- Quiz] [Part Two -- Quiz] [Part Three -- Quiz] [Part Four -- Quiz]

[A Review of The Scarlet Letter from the 1800's] [Sin & Guilt in The Scarlet Letter]

[The Charm & Mystery of The Scarlet Letter] [Essays -- Chapter 13] [Final Test] [Rewriting Hawthorne]

[Short Story Structure of The Scarlet Letter] [Is The Scarlet Letter a Feminist Novel?]

[Notes] ["Yard Display Lets Dad Know Daughter's Feelings"]

[A Scarlet Letter Poem!]

[Scarlet Letter Encouragement!]