23-24 - King Dimmesdale?

These last chapters were really interesting to me. I have not been a huge fan of the book. In fact, I feel like im going to need a significant amount of review because I found it hard to follow Hawthorn's writing. Often times my mind would start to wander and I found myself taking alot more time reading this book than anything else I have read before. Although, these last two chapters were very interesting and had quite the twist, which I admired significantly. I especially liked what happened to Pearl and Chillingsworth. I found that these chapters wrapped up all of our suspicions about the characters. The book ended without me wanting their to be a sequel which was good in my opinion. I like how Hawthorn also wrapped up our suspicions on page 229, where he said "Pearl's errand as a messenger of anguish was all fulfilled". It explains explicitly why Pearl was brought into this book, and why she was the way she was (creepy, demonic, and all-knowing). I was surprised by the death of Dimmesdale as well. The way Hawthorn displayed it in the mood and the way I saw it in my head was almost that Dimmesdale died from exhaustion. It was an interesting way to address his grief and to conclude the book and I was not expecting it to end that way. I also applaud Hawthorn for how he dealt with Chillingsworth. I had constant suspicions about whether Chillingsworth was the devil or not, and It does not address that in exact words. But, the book does go on to say that the whole reason Chillingsworth was even in the town was to bring anguish to Dimmesdale (pg.232), which sheds some light on who Chillingsworth REALLY is. Overall, I would give the book a 5 out of 10 for keeping my attention (aside from these last two chapters). Although, I did really like the religious symbolism as well. 

For my gossamer thread, I wanted to compare Reverend Dimmesdale and King David from the 9th century B.C. As David grew up, he grew into a strong, and powerful man. After being in battle with a friend of his, he was proclaimed the king of Judah. Much like Dimmmesdale, David spoke for God and worked for His glory. David even was considered a "Man after God's own heart". But just like all great individuals, they have their flaws. During David's kingship, he committed adultery with a woman named Bathsheba who lived outside of the palace courts. David went through everything to try and hide his sin, including purposely send her husband to the front lines during battle so he would be killed. Much the same, Dimmesdale went through lots to try and hide his sin with Hester. Although they were both praised by the people around them, they both fell short and committed adulatory. In both situations, their was someone who was also aware of their sin, other than God himself. Hester was strongly aware of the sin she committed with Dimmesdale, and although David did everything he could to hide his sin, the Prophet Nathan still found out about it and confronted him. In each situation, both were great leaders and teachers. On page 222 of The Scarlet Letter, David delivers a most incredible message to the puritans of the area. He is looked up to, talked about, and admired, yet secretly has an indwelling sin among him that has been building up for years.