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The Puritan society in 17th century Massachusetts was heavily dominated by men. Women were not able to vote and were only able to do garden and house work. Men could vote and would normally carry out their own job. Families were important to the Puritans and a lot of people are able to live long enough to have grandchildren which was very abnormal at the time.

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Puritan life in 17th century Massachusetts revolved heavily around religious views and the Bible. Literacy rates were very high due to the fact that people had to be able to read the Bible. Anyone who people felt like was straying away from God's work or vision was punished. The Puritans did not feel bad about carrying out punishments because they felt that no punishment on Earth could compare to what God could do to them.

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The Black Man:
The black man is a symbol for evil or the devil. Hester believed that letter A was the "Black mans mark". Chillingworth is compared to the devil and evil often by the narrator. Pearl wondered if a brand on Dimmesdale's heart was left by the Black Man.

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The Scarlet Letter A:
The scarlet letter A does not have one meaning or is not a symbol of just one thing. The letter stands for adultery, sin, charity, skill, and righteousness. The letter A was also seen in the sky on a meteor and was viewed as a message from God. The message from God was different depending on who was asked. Dimmesdale believed that he was being punished while others thought that it was God celebrating the death of the general.

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Sin:
The Puritan village sees sinning as the worst thing that can be done because it is seen as straying from God's work. People who sin are publicly punished harshly because they believe that it can't be any worse than what God will do to them. However, Dimmesdale explains that some sins aren't as bad as others.

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Identity:
When Hester was told to wear the letter A and shamed, she left the village. Hester had the ability to remove the letter when she left the village, however she did not. Hester throughout the story decided not to let the people of the village to determine her identity. Hester was determined to find her own identity, ignoring the people of the village.

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Nathaniel Hawthorne's first work that he published was called "Fanshawe". Hawthorne was very disappointed with it after publishing it and attempted to destroy every copy of it. Hawthorne published several novels that were considered to be very impressive such as "An Old Woman's Tale", "My Kinsman, Major Molineux", and "Young Goodman Brown". Nathaniel Hawthorne has published major novels such as "The Scarlet Letter", "The House of the Seven Gables", and the Mable Faun". Hawthorne has several works that are considered to be some of the best in American literature.

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Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, U.S. and died on May 19, 1864 in Plymouth, New Hampshire. Hawthorne was regarded as one of the best American literature writers and his most known work is the Scarlet Letter.
In Nathaniel's early years of life, he lived with his mother and sisters due to the death of his father when he was four. Nathaniel attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine for four years and later returned to Salem afterwards.
In Nathaniel's later years of life, he had attempted to write another novel but was not able to do so. Hawthorne traveled to Italy in hopes of gaining inspiration and ideas for a possible new novel. Hawthorne died while on a journey to find help for his quickly decaying health.

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Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Nathaniel Hawthorne.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 30 June 2018, www.britannica.com/biography/Nathaniel-Hawthorne.

“Nathaniel Hawthorne.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/nathaniel-hawthorne.

“Puritan Life.” Ushistory.org, Independence Hall Association, www.ushistory.org/us/3d.asp.

“The Puritan Daily Life: Research Topic Ideas on Life as a Puritan in the Colonies.” Bright Hub Education, 13 Apr. 2015, www.brighthubeducation.com/history-homework-help/112142-daily-life-of-a-puritan-colonist/.