Modernizing Hawthorne

I've seen much debate on the Internet about whether teachers should continue to use The Scarlet Letter in the classroom. My students loathe Nathaniel Hawthorne. Last semester they read TSL. Some students (usually girls) admit that the plot is pretty good, but almost all of the kids complain that his writing is difficult to comprehend. His sentences are endless, and he takes pages and pages to say what he could say in one little paragraph. His style absolutely does not mesh with today's idea that you have to hook a reader with the first page--no, the first sentence, if not word. Even I do not enjoy trudging through TSL.

Still, TSL remains a part of our cultural literacy. If a college professor compares a character to Hester Prynn, I want my students to know what's going on. Plus, even if the prose is painful to get through, the themes of ostracism and hypocrisy are timeless. I think, next year, I might try teaching several of Hawthorne's short stories in lieu of TSL. In addition, we might watch TSL movie, just so the students have that bit of our cultural background.

I'm thinking of keeping "Young Goodman Brown," which I've always taught in conjunction with TSL. The students are able to practice their lit. analysis skills, which is crucial in my Intro. to Lit. class. I'm also adding "The Birthmark," which I taught for the first time this year. The story prompted my students to discuss unhealthy relationships and whether man can take science too far (such as in the cases of designer babies and plastic surgery). I had the students write short stories modernizing the plot of "The Birthmark." Some students flipped the gender roles, so women were criticizing men's bodies. That was definitely interesting.

I think the key to teaching Hawthorne successfully (beyond displaying your own enthusiasm for his work) is making it relevant to students. This modernization project really seemed to bring Hawthorne to life for the kids.