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A review by jeannamarie
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
2.0
I doth giveth this ancient text a two balls of gas (stars) for the classic essence of the story and a forthwith meaningful diction about the whims of the folly.
Blah.
Read this book junior year of high school in AP Lit & I didn’t like it then. Decided to keep an open mind this time through, since it’s been fifteen years. Oh dear…
‘Twas as bad as I remember. These people. Goodness. I get the general themes of the book and I definitely observed some more intensely than others this time around. For example, how the men got away with the “sin,” and Hester was shunned because her shame/sin became a physical manifestation (aka a baby) visible to all. This just hit harder when I was older and with our current climate. So many things are so much more acceptable to discuss now (and about time).
Anyway, I still think the humans in this books are ALL absolutely ridiculous and I really can’t understand why they educate us in US schools with this novel, there are SO MANY OTHER AMAZING books that we could all analyze by authors of color instead of this religious virtuous nightmare. Maybe this book was relevant to educate kids and young adults one-hundred years ago, maybe it’s beneficial to research literature of this period or the writings of Hawthorne for a research paper, but honestly…it can go from mainstream reading.
I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS BOOK, unless you’re just trying to mark off “classics” on a list.
Blah.
Read this book junior year of high school in AP Lit & I didn’t like it then. Decided to keep an open mind this time through, since it’s been fifteen years. Oh dear…
‘Twas as bad as I remember. These people. Goodness. I get the general themes of the book and I definitely observed some more intensely than others this time around. For example, how the men got away with the “sin,” and Hester was shunned because her shame/sin became a physical manifestation (aka a baby) visible to all. This just hit harder when I was older and with our current climate. So many things are so much more acceptable to discuss now (and about time).
Anyway, I still think the humans in this books are ALL absolutely ridiculous and I really can’t understand why they educate us in US schools with this novel, there are SO MANY OTHER AMAZING books that we could all analyze by authors of color instead of this religious virtuous nightmare. Maybe this book was relevant to educate kids and young adults one-hundred years ago, maybe it’s beneficial to research literature of this period or the writings of Hawthorne for a research paper, but honestly…it can go from mainstream reading.
I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS BOOK, unless you’re just trying to mark off “classics” on a list.