A.

SYNOPSIS
Scarlet letter is a story of a woman called as Hester Prynne who lives in Boston.
Actually, she already get married with Dr. Roger Chilingworth ,but he disappear for
about 2 years. She has a daughter called Pearl, produced from her dishonest relationship
with Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, a minister, who is renowned and admired in the
city of Boston. Their relationship must keep to maintain the good name of Dimmesdale.
Because of it, Hester Prynne bears her kid alone, she must accept the denigration of
society as a woman who has a child without father or no one wants to take
responsibility of her daughter. One day, this problem known by the Puritan society, they
try to make Hester to confess in front of them related to father of her daughter. They
asked to Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale as her pastor to make Hester confess. Hester
refuse to tell them , and get punishment in prison with impose an " A " on her chest
which means sinner. The story become more complicated when her husband Dr. Roger
Chilingworth back, he become the doctor Boston. The truth of him as hesters husband
keep by hester as the appeal of Chilingworth. he act friendly with Reverend Arthur
Dimmesdale, but in the fact, he try to make Dimmesdale sick and stress with his guilty
that he has when he make Hester took all of the responsibility of their problem. With
the guilty of Dimmesdale, he promise to Hester and pearl to tell the society the truth. In
his last sermon, he tell that Pearl is his daughter and open his shirt, there is a scarlet
letter in his chest. After the died of Dimmesdale, the Chilingworth life his life with
empty, Hester life in Boston and his daughter Pearl get married. Hester still use the
scarlet letter and lives in her cottage. After she died, she burried beside Dimmesdale.
One stone was used for both graves. On the stone was a scarlet letter A.
B. EXTRINSIC ELEMENTS
1. Background
The Scarlet letter tell about the condition of Puritan society in New England ,
Boston, who has tight rule for their religion. Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the
generation of Puritan Society, he write this story try to criticize Puritan Society who
do violently for other, if it related to the religion. His ancestor John Hathorne is one
of three judges at the seventeeth-century Salem witchcraft trials, where dozens of
people were accused , and later executed for being witches. Not only witchcraft
trials, they also do assassination toward Quaker society. Hawthorne felt that action
of his ancestor (which very impressive for the other people), was make him feel
guilty. Beside that Nathaniel try to make a story which describe what Puritan
society act and behaviour toward other people with his novel, Scarlet letter.
(http://hernyyahya.blogspot.co.id/2013/06/review-novel-scarlet-letter
nathaniel.html?m=1)
Quotation:
a. The judges have shown too much mercy, said another woman. We women
would not have been so easy. At the very least, they should have put the brand
of a hot iron on her forehead. As it is, she can easily cover up the mark. And
1

then she can walk the streets as brave as ever.Yet another woman added in an
angry voice, Why do we talk of marks and brands? This woman has brought
shame upon us all. Surely she ought to die!. (Page 5-6)
(The behaviour of Puritan society that appear in the first scene of Scarlet letter,
they jugde Hester, as a sinner who has a baby wihout father and tell each other
what the good punishment for sinner like Hester.)
b. Hester looked carefully at the old doctor. She was shocked at the change that
had come over him in the past seven years. It was not so much that he had
grown older. But his thirst for revenge seemed to have turned him into a devil.
His eyes seemed to glow with an evil red light as if his soul were on fire!
After all, this unhappy person had taken pleasure in watching another man
suffer. (Page 51)
(This scene try to describe the reader about the behaviour of Puritan society
who always feel as the honest and good people . Dr. Chilingworth or the doctor
felt that he can punish Dimmesdale even the truth, he is not better than
dimmesdale)
2. Biography Context
a. Biography of the author
Nathaniel hawthorne was a direct desendent of John Hathorne (1641-1717), a
puritan justice of the peace. Justice hathorne is the best known for his role as the
lead judge in the salem witch trials, in which he sentenced numorous innocent
people to death for allegedly practicing witchcraft. As the generation of Puritan
society (who already killed a lot of people) Nathaniel felt guilty, he try to change
his name with added a w to his name to distance himself from his infamous
ancestor. (http://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-scarlet-letter). As the generation of
jugde witch trials, he want to tell that everyone has their own sin, people can not
judge the another one because of the bad thing that they do, because all of people
has bad thing that they ever do. Even it has been past, nathaniel still feel guilty.
In his time to write a novel, nathaniel determined to take his family out of the
towns Puritan trappings and moved to red house in lenox, Massachusetts.
(http://www.biography.com/people/nathaniel-hawthorne-9331923?q=nathaniel
%20hawthorne&oq=nathaniel%20hawthorne&aqs=mobile-gws-lite..#synopsis)
b. Corelation between biography of the author and novel Scarlet letter
The W letter which added to his name from Hathorne become hawthorne give
him idea to create the scarlet letter A in his novel. The society which appear in
the story is puritan society as the ancestor of nathaniel hawthorne and the way he
write the story express the way he feel toward the Puritan society.the last about
the location of the story that take place in boston, where nathaniel ever work in
1838.
Quotation:
2

1) On the front of Hester Prynnes gown, in fine red cloth, was the letter A.
(Page 5)
2) The people in the crowd were Puritans, people who followed a strict
religious code. The men had beards and wore dark clothes and tall gray hats.
The women wore white caps or cloaks with hoods. Everyones eyes were
glued to the door. They were waiting to see the prisoner, Hester Prynne.
(Page 4)
3) It was a summer morning in the year 1642. In the small town of Boston, an
angry crowd was gathering in front of a wooden building. Its oak door was
studded with iron spikes. The building was a prison. (Page 4)
3. Social Context
The social context who appear in this story is Puritan society in 17 th Century. The
Puritans were a group of religious reformers who arrived in Massacusetts in the
1630th under the leadership of John Winthrop. The religious sect was known for its
intolerance of dissenting ideas and lifestyle. In the scarlet letter, hawthorne uses the
repressive, authoritarian puritan society as a analogue for humankind in general.
The Puritan setting also enables him to potray the human soul under extreme
pressure. (http://sparknotes.com/lit.scarlet /context.html)
Quotation:
1) The people in the crowd were Puritans, people who followed a strict religious
code. The men had beards and wore dark clothes and tall gray hats.(Page 4)
2) Pearl enjoyed playing among the pine trees at home. She imagined the trees
were Puritans, and she laughed at them. The ugly weeds in the garden became
Puritan children, whom she struck down. (Page 25)
4. Historical Context
In the early decades of the seventeenth century some group of worshipers began to
separate themselves from the main body of their local parish church where
preaching was inadequate and to enggage an energetic lecturer, typically a young
man with a fresh cambridge degree, who was a lively speaker and steeped in reform
theology. Some congregations went further, declared themselves into communities
of visible saints, withdrawn from the english city of man into self-proclaimed city
of god. (http://www.history.com/topics/puritanism)
Quotation:
1) Then the Governor said, Good Master Dimmesdale, you must somehow
persuade this woman to repent and confess. You are responsible now for this
womans soul. This direct appeal drew the eyes of the whole crowd to the
Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. The young clergyman had come from one of
Englands greatest universities. He had already become known for his skill as a
speaker and for his strong religious feelings. (Page 14)
5. Cultural Context
3

Puritan Society known as a society who really religious. They has a tight rule for
people who do not follow Gods laws. The people must be punished. The
punishment was harsh, such as hanging, public whippings, cutting of ears, boring
holes in tongues, stockades. This punishment appear in the story when hester
known by the society has a child without husband, she get in prison and wear A
in her chest as a symbol of the sinner.
(http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/english2/puritans_intro.html)
Quotation:
1) At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on her forehead.
As it is, she can easily cover up the mark. And then she can walk the streets as
brave as ever.Yet another woman added in an angry voice, Why do we talk of
marks and brands? This woman has brought shame upon us all. Surely she
ought to die!. (Page 5-6)
(The behaviour of Puritan society that appear in the first scene of Scarlet letter,
they jugde Hester, as a sinner who has a baby wihout father and tell each other
what the good punishment for sinner like Hester.
6. Psycology Context
The psycology context that appear in this story is descrimination and depressed that
happen to the Pearl, Chilingwood and Dimmesdale. The Discrimination happen to
The little Pearl when people around her discriminatie her, because she born without
father. Depressed is happen to Chilingwood after dimmesdale confess his guilty and
died in peace, his desire to revenge toward dimmesdale can not happen and he life
with empty in the end, and the depressed is happen also to Dimmesdale , when he
make Hester took all the responsibility with herself .
Quotation:
1) As Pearl grew, she never made friends among the other children. She was
just as much an outcast among the Puritans as was her mother. Pearl
seemed to sense that the adults did not want her to play with their children.
( Page 24)
2) Nothing was stranger than the change that took place in Roger Chillingworth.
Soon after Reverend Dimmesdales death, the old doctor seemed to dry up. He
was like an uprooted weed that lies wilting in the sun. For too long his life
had been driven by his need for revenge. Once Dimmesdale was gone, the
doctors life was empty. He had nothing to live for. He died within a year. (Page
77-78)
3) The young clergyman had come from one of Englands greatest universities. He
had already become known for his skill as a speaker and for his strong religious
feelings. Now he stepped forward. His face had gone white and his lips shook.
He seemed very nervous and frightened. (Page 14)
C. CLOSING
1. Conclusion

The Scarlet letter is a story of Puritan society that took in 17 th Century. It tells about
a woman Called Hester who must wear A in her chest as a symbol of the sinner.
The reason why this novel produced is because of the guilty feeling of Nathaniel
Hawthorne as the generation of Puritan. His ancestor John ancestor as the judge for
witchcraft trials who kill a lot of innocent people make him want to tell the world
that no one can punish another, because everybody has their own sin. To make a
distance between himself and his ancestor, nathaniel added w to his name from
hathorne become hawthorne. When he make a novel, he move his family out from
the trapping Puritan and move to red house in Lenox, Massachusetts.

REFERENCES

http://hernyyahya.blogspot.co.id/2013/06/review-novel-scarlet-letter nathaniel.html?m=1
http://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-scarlet-letter
http://www.biography.com/people/nathaniel-hawthorne-9331923?q=nathaniel
%20hawthorne&oq=nathaniel%20hawthorne&aqs=mobile-gws-lite..#synopsis)
http://sparknotes.com/lit.scarlet /context.html

http://www.history.com/topics/puritanism
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/english2/puritans_intro.html
Hawthorne, Nathaniel.1996.Scarlet letter.Saddleback education Publishing. Development
and Production: Laurel Associates, Inc.Cover and Interior Art: Black Eagle Productions