Unregistered
05-24-2005, 06:07 PM
This book is not just about symbolism and sin, its about society as a whole. when hawthorne uses the different time scales, he doesnt just use them to highlight the fact that the storyline occured over 400 years ago, he is asking us to question our society. Using the Puritans and their morals he asks us where our morals lie, 200 years later. It is completely remarkable. Although the symbolism gets a bit carried away, its part of the romance- half reality and half fantasy. Hawthorne teaches us a valuable lesson that inevitably society will change as will the opinions of the novel itself, which was considered a classic but is no ridiculed by stupid teenagers who compare it to Jerry Springer. Never judge a book by its cover, you have to dig a little deeper in order to understand. <br>