The novel The Scarlet Letter is a very different experience than Dagoberto Gilbs The Flowers. In The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne uses a very different, much older style of English. For many people, including me, this style of writing can be somewhat of a challenge. However there are some key reading techniques that i have been utilizing in order to improve my understanding of the literature. These key things are simple and easy to use. The first is utilizing context clues. Using context clues is the act of analyzing the descriptive words in a sentence in order to help understand an unknown word. This can be very useful, but it can also be a double edged sword in some cases because one may interpret the definition of a word wrong and end up misunderstanding the passage or sentence.
For this reason when I read I always have a dictionary nearby to look up words. Some people may think this is too old school but for me i feel that it helps broaden my vocabulary because i can understand the true meaning of a word without speculation.
The third technique i use is re-reading a passage that is difficult to understand. This helps me get a better grasp on whats going on in the passage. Sometimes if a passage is very confusing i find that reading it aloud can also be very helpful.
These techniques are the things that help me have a better understanding of the Old English used in The Scarlet Letter.
