Chapters 1-4 Response

Nathaniel Hawthorne introduces The Scarlet Letter with a dark description of a Puritan Boston Colony. Hawthorne talks about the prison of the town and the cemetery detailing how they are necessities of society to instill fear and provide control. This continues to add to the somber mood and the only positive aspect of the first chapter is a rose bush growing by the prison but, rose bushes can be good or bad depending on your perspective. When reading the first chapter I was annoyed by Hawthorne's descriptions of symbols. Instead of letting the reader think for themselves he immediately explains what it means, for example, "The rose-bush, by strange chance, has been kept alive in history… it had sprung up under the footsteps of the sainted Anne Hutchinson, as she entered the prison door, …"(46) Anne Hutchinson was a women who was banned from Puritan society and coincides with sin and impurity in puritans minds, which is similar to Hester Prynne. Instead of allowing for the reader to figure out what the rose bush represents Hawthorne reveals the symbol. I was also annoyed because I thought the chapters could have been a lot shorter and a lot clearer to get his point across. The next chapter insues with Hester being publicly shamed for committing adultery and having a baby with a man other then her husband. Hawthorne uses this as a chance to ridicule Puritan society how all sins no matter how trivial or drastic are generally punished the same way, "…there was very much the same solemnity of demeanor on the part of the spectators; as befitted a people amongst whom religion and law were identical, and in whose character both were so thoroughly interfused , that the mildest and the severest acts of public discipline were alike made venerable and awful.'(47). Personally I thought her punishment was too severe. She made a mistake but, it should be a private matter and the whole town should not know about it. In addition she should not be put in jail for that offense. After Hester is publicly shamed she is lead back to the prison where she has an interview with Roger Chillingworth, her husband. He tries to convince her to reveal the father's name and she refuses. I respect Hester's decision to take all the blame and not ruin another man's life. When Hester refuses to reveal the father's name Roger promises revenge on her. I do not like Roger's attitude towards his wife's actions because I think it is acceptable to divorce her or try and continue their relationship but, revenge is never the answer. Right away I already dislike Roger and do not respect him as a man.

Hester reminds me of celebrities and how the media tears them down for their wrong doings like John Travolta with his masseuse controversy or when kristen Stewart cheated on Robert Pattinson.