The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet LetterAdultery, betrayal, promiscuity, subterfuge, and intrigue, all of which would make an excellent coming
attraction on the Hollywood scene and probably a pretty good
book. Add Puritan ideals and writing styles, making it
long, drawn out, tedious, wearisome, sleep inducing,
insipidly asinine, and the end result is The Scarlet Letter.
Despite all these things it is considered a classic and was
a statement of the era.
The Scarlet Letter is a wonderful and not so
traditional example of the good versus evil theme. What
makes this a unique instance of good versus evil is that
either side could be considered either one. Hester could
very easily have been deduced as evil, or the "bad guy," as
she was by the townspeople. That is, she was convicted of
adultery, a horrible sin of the time, but maybe not even
seen as criminal today. As for punishment, a sentence to
wear a scarlet "A" upon her chest, it would hardly be
considered a burden or extreme sentence in present day. Or
Hester can be seen as rebelling against a society where she
was forced into a loveless marriage and hence she would
be the "good guy," or girl, as the case may be. Also the
townspeople, the magistrates, and Chillingworth, Hester's
true husband, can be seen in both lights. Either they can
be perceived as just upholding the law -she committed a
crime, they enforce the law. On the other...
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