The Scarlet Letter

Why the Custom House? When reading The Scarlet Letter, one might find the introduction chapter, The Custom House, a little bit confusing and maybe even a little bit pointless. Despite the temptation to just flip through the first 44 pages and go on to the first chapter, one needs the introduction understood and absorbed in order to understand Nathaniel Hawthorne and the thought put behind and the significance of the Scarlet Letter. The autobiographical sketch talks …

…House, at the beginning, he reveals his whole background and why he thinks and is influenced the way he is. The Custom House lets us step inside Hawthorne’s shoes for a minute. It lets us get inside his mind and helps us figure out his motivation behind the book, its characters, and the side that he takes on them all while having the chance to dip your foot into Hawthorne’s style of writing.