The Redish Colored "A"

I wasn't a huge fan of the Scarlet Letter, but it did have a good plot. One of the points in this book that really stood out to me was the cultural differences of that time period. Obviously the characters in the Scarlet Letter were very religious, but it's strange to think that for committing adultery you could be humiliated publicly as a punishment. I really did not like the ending of this book because no one really wins except Pearl. Hester and her husband's marriage is ruined, John Wilson dies after confessing to his sin, and Hester's husband never gets revenge on Preacher Wilson. It took a lot of thought for me to realize the theme of this book, but I think it is that when you do something wrong, it doesn't do anyone any good to hide it. In the end you usually get caught, and in the end of this book, even though he doesn't get caught, Wilson doesn't get anything good out of lying.

One of the major symbols I noticed in this story was Pearl. Even though Hester loves her, she is a consequence for both Hester and Preacher Wilson. Hester treats her like it is her husband’s child. Another obvious symbolism in this book was the scarlet "A". Both Hester and Preacher Wilson had to wear one sewn onto their clothes. When Hester's husband discovers the Preacher's A, he knows that he was the baby of Hester's father. I think that hiding the "A" symbolizes how the Preacher hid his secret from the town.

One thing I found very interesting in this story was that Pearl would not acknowledge her Mother when she tries to remove the "A" from her dress. I think this shows that Pearl is trying to be an honest character, even when her parents are not. She proves that she can be a contributer to society when she moves to Europe with her mother, with Chillingworth's money. This was definitely not one of my favorite books, but it did have a good story line