Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is one of the best examples of his work. He worked nine hours a day for six months to churn out this nice piece of literature, possibly one of America's greatest novels. The writing of this book marked a phase shift in Hawthorne's life. The end of the short-story phase and the real beginning (his first novel, Fanshaw was a failure) of the novel phase was an inevitable consequence spawned …showed first 75 words of 3280 total…

…showed last 75 words of 3280 total…for his symbolism and underlying meanings to provide a deeper meaning to the story than the surface context. Moral is displayed throughout the book by his philosophical insight concerning Puritanism, which is characterized by his ambivalent approach. Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, already ranked as one of the best American novels, has earned its fame through its incredible insight into the Puritan philosophy as well as being just a great, touching, and overall excellent story.