I am sure all of you guys have read or at least heard of the DREADED New England Puritan book, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In my AP English III class, that is what we are reading right now. I waited until halfway through the book to write a post about it, and I am glad I did, because first impressions are not always an accurate representation of the overall judgement...At First
I absolutely hated it. But I had a good excuse. I was given the book to read a couple chapters while I went on a 12 hour road trip to New Hampshire, missing three days of school. I have been cursed with this terrible motion sickness when I try to read or watch movies on road trips, so not a lot of reading gets done there. Anyway, it took me hours to get through the first couple chapters (and there aren't a lot of pages). The language was so difficult to understand.
Then
I took the time. I used sparknotes to help get through some abstract parts. Then I actually really enjoyed it. My advice would be to read it THEN use sparknotes instead of the other way around. But anyway, it is such a literary masterpiece. Any history buffs out there? This book includes witchcraft as well as the hypocrisy of the Puritans. I am so glad I am reading this book AFTER taking AP US History, it definitely helps to have some background knowledge and a sense of what colonial American life was like.
Now
I am halfway through the book (Chapter 13), and it gets so suspenseful. I was sitting on the edge of my seat in class today with my heart pounding so fast. Not a lot of books do that for me. Now I promised I would not give away any spoilers right now (ugh), so you have to read this Puritan version of Days of Our Lives or Jerry Springer. Seriously. Its a classic.
