Literary Elements

Nathaniel Hawthorne's tone in The Scarlet Letter is reflective during the introduction. The custom house surveyor discusses his life and his reasons for deciding to write. The body of the book is somewhat ironic at parts. For example, Pearl is the youngest main character and yet the most wise. Hawthorne's voice encompasses his reflective and ironic tone, plus diction which is typical of the 1850's. His purpose in writing this book is to entertain.
The major conflict of the novel is Hester being forced to wear the scarlet "A" as punishment of her sin. She is initally judged because of the scarlet letter. When Chillingsworth finds out about Hester's unfaithfulness, Dimmesdale becomes the object of his revenge. This leads to more conflict between the protagonist, Hester, and the antagonist, Chillingsworth. Possible moods of the novel are resentful and fearful. I resented Dimmesdale for not being honest about fathering Pearl, but I also feared that Chillingsworth would harm him.