The initial first Reaction of the towns people to the ministers secret

"The crowd was in a tumult. The men of rank and dignity, who stood more immediately around the clergymen, were so taken by suprise, and so perplexed as to the purport of what they saw,- unable to receive the explanation which most readily presented itself, or to imagine any other,- that they remained silent and inactive spectators of the judgement which Providence seemed about to work. They beheld the minister, leaning on Hester's should, and supported by her arm around him, approach the scaffold, and ascend its steps;  while still the little hand of the sin-born child was clasped in his". (160)

The crowd when, Dimmsdale reveals his secret, at this moment are in shock and are talking, and every one is talking causeing commotion amoung the crowd. Like every one looking at eachother as if like "did you see that"? "whats going on" Every on is in confusion,

"For an instand the gaze of horror-stricken multitude was concentrated on the ghastly miracle; while the minister stood, with a flush of triumph in his face, as one who, in the crisis of acutest pain had won victory". (161)

So the the towns people were in awe and shock and horror, yet however Dimmsdale is in feeling of repentness, and triumph for the fact that he can finally confess and not have to die a sinner, and as well not sit on the burning secret that has been haunting him for seven years.

Scarlet Letter Research paper Brain storming...

There are a few things that I find interesting in the scarlet letter. One is Why does she make the letter "A" so elaborate and decorative? it is almost like she embraces the letter "A", and says " i did what i did and im a human being and my personal life is no one elses business!" So maybe she is showing it off as a sort of F*%k you puritans. How ever when reading a bit further into the text i saw that the letter "A" could as well be interperated for her new lover Auther Dimmesdale. See Hester i believe loves the minnister so much that she made the "A" so elaborate to sort of trick her own mind into thinking that it was meant for Dimmisdale. This way she could show her love for him and she would be coping with the stress of being critisied in public. I think that it could be a sort of double meaning. Her red "A" could also be related to the word anarchy. See since Hester and her daughter pearl are so out casted and the only rules were the black and white back then so to the town hester was a social anarchist.

Annotated bibliography

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter and Other Writings. Norton Critical Edition. New York, London: W.W. Norton & Company, 2005. Print. 


In this novel Hawthorne tells the story of Hester Prynne and how her husband "left" her. And while e was gone Hester committed adultery and had a baby from it. The husband was the towns own famous Minister Auther Dimmesdale. Hester refuses to say who the husband is, so instead of being burned or killed she must wear the letter "A" on her chest for life to show the crime she had done. Hester is a renegade and a social outcast yet she sort of embraces it to show early signs of feminism. Her daughter Pearl is also a little trouble maker child compared to the puritan community and the ways of the normal children. She as well wears an "A" and sticks up for her own mother. The husband who "left" her comes back and sees hester on the stage and every one criticizes her and he goes undercover to try and find out what man would not be next to her on that stage. So he takes up a new name and becomes the towns doctor. He ends up becoming crazy and tries to kill Dimmsdale with poison when he finds that He had branded an "A" on his chest. It is a very complex and detailed character description and social interaction novel. So many social norms every one must abide to, and to have a first social outcast that was not a witch but a criminal per say in the eyes of a puritan. Hawthorne has created a piece of literary art work.