The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a classic novel that has inspired many creative minds. Its influence can even be seen today. Easy A is a movie that came out in 2010 and is loosely based on this book. There are a few similarities between the two, but there are also some key differences.
One similarity is the scarlet letter itself. The protagonists of each work both wear a red 'A' on their clothes at some point. While on the surface this seems like a simple comparison, it is actually an important difference. Wearing the scarlet letter means two very different things to each protagonist. Hester Prynne is forced to wear the " ignominious letter" (Hawthorne 53) as a punishment for her sins, and as time passes she begins to equate the letter to herself, thinking that the letter is all she is. On the other hand, Olive Penderghast, the heroine of Easy A, wears the scarlet letter by choice. She sews it onto her clothes as an act of anger, showing that while she has given up trying to fight the harmful rumors being spread about her, she will make the most of it. Olive uses the scarlet letter to control how people view her, while Hester loses control of how people see her by wearing the letter.
The Scarlet Letter and Easy A have many similarities and differences, but even so it is interesting to see a modern interpretation of a book from so long ago.
The Easy A movie poster from IMDb
Shannon, it's so cool how your comparison of the letter A in both scenarios seems almost paradoxical! I've never watched this movie, so it was interesting to see how various forms of literature can influence each other and account for apparent similarities while at the same time portraying totally different messages/meanings!
ReplyDeleteOo, the movie seems interesting! though it seems very loosely based. It have the impression that the Easy A version of the Scarlet letter might be like the Leonardo DiCaprio version of Romeo and Juliet. Anyway, nice comparison!
ReplyDeleteShannon,
ReplyDeleteI like this piece especially because it compares the 19th century book to that of a movie made in modern day. I think they copied the theme entirely and simplify modified it in order to fit the current social stereotypes that exist. It was interesting to see all the similarities between the book and its modern day adaptation.
Nice post!!