Responding and Reflecting #4

In the novel The Scarlet Letter I have learned several important lessons from the book. Through my new historicism lens I learn much of the Puritan society and how they controlled much of what was happening in the community. They controlled the fate of Hester and her role in the community as a "sinner." Throughout the book Hester is shamed because of sin but never reveals who the father of her child is. She shows courage despite the shamming of the community and continues to raise her daughter and embrace her Scarlet A. I believe this lens has also shown me the importance religion played in the new-found America. It continues to show that the Puritan society controlled the laws of the community and the fate of Hester and Pearl.