Understanding The Scarlet Letter: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents

by Claudia Durst Johnson

Overview

Sexual misconduct of society's leaders, the plight of single mothers, the separation of church and state — all are burning issues of the 1990s which sparked outrage and controversy 150 years earlier in The Scarlet Letter. Now, no study of American history is complete without thorough examination of Nathaniel Hawthorne's timeless masterpiece. This multidisciplinary study of the novel contains historical documents, collateral readings, and commentary. In short, it is the ideal companion for students who wish to fully understand the novel in the context of its time, and to unlock its current relevance. Among the materials are original 17th-century documents that illuminate Puritan attitudes and bring the Salem witchcraft trials to life, private journals, historical reports, 19th-century magazine articles, sketches, and newspaper stories. Many of the documents are available in no other printed form. Not only do these materials provide a taste of 17th-century Puritan culture, but they also glimpse into Hawthorne's mind as he comes to terms with his witch-hunting ancestors and his vocation. Most importantly, this casebook contemplates the many issues raised by The Scarlet Letter which inextricably link the 17th-century Puritans to the 19th century culture of Hawthorne to the present. Each section of this casebook contains study questions, topic ideas for written or oral expression, and lists of further readings for examining the issues raised by the novel. Designed as a resource for students, teachers, and library media specialists, the volume is cloth bound and printed on high quality acid-free paper, making it an excellent addition to every library collection.

A literary analysis focusing on the issues raised by the novel opens the casebook. In Part Two, the Puritan's code of crime and punishment and the basic tenets of their belief are analyzed through original 17th-century diaries, letters, and testimony from the Salem witch trials. Part Three examines the novel's introductory essay, the autobiographical The Custom House, which finds Hawthorne grappling with the role his ancestors played in persecuting the Quakers and the Salem witches, as well as his own internal conflict over his vocation as a fiction writer. The moral attitudes at the time of Hawthorne's controversial work are also examined through reviews published at the time of publication. Part Four draws connections between two issues raised by the novel - the unwed mother and the lapsed minister - that remain controversial today and features recent news articles on these issues. A glossary of terms and a topic and person index complete this latest addition to Greenwood Press' Literature in Context series.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313293283
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	05/23/1995
Series:	The Greenwood Press "Literature in Context" Series
Pages:	246
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.62(d)
Lexile:	1350L (what's this?)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

CLAUDIA DURST JOHNSON is Professor of English at the University of Alabama, where for 12 years she chaired the Department of English. She is Series Editor of the Greenwood Press Literature in Context series, which includes Understanding The Scarlet Letter. She is the author of two other volumes in the series, Understanding To Kill a Mockingbird (Greenwood Press, 1994) and Understanding Huckleberry Finn (forthcoming). She is also author of To Kill a Mockingbird: Threatening Boundaries (1994), American Actress: Perspective on the Nineteenth Century (1984), Memoirs of the Nineteenth-Century Theatre (Greenwood, 1982), The Productive Tension of Hawthorne's Art (1981), and (with Henry Jacobs) An Annotated Bibliography of Shakespearean Burlesques, Parodies, and Travesties (1976), as well as numerous articles on American literature and theatre.

Table of Contents

Introduction
A Literary Analysis of The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter and the Puritans
The Puritan Mind
Crime and Punishment in Massachusetts Bay
Anne Hutchinson and Hester Prynne
Witchcraft and The Scarlett Letter
"The Custom-House": Hawthorne, the 19th-century, and The Scarlet Letter
"A" Is for Artist
The Creative Struggles of Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Scarlet Letter: Issues in the 1980s and 1990s
Glossary
Index

Editorial Reviews

This multidisciplinary study of Hawthorne's 1850 novel, whose moral and social themes, such as sexual misconduct among society's leaders and the plight of single mothers, continue to occupy America's conscience, contains excerpts from original 17th-century documents that illuminate Puritan attitudes, 19th-century magazine and newspaper articles from Hawthorne's time, and reviews of the novel when it was first published, plus recent news articles reflecting the novel's relevance to current issues. Includes a glossary, and chapter oral and written presentation topics. CIP lists the title as the main entry. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews