By Emily Bryant

For most, Puritan life isn't usually associated with excitement. However, in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter he proves this stereotype wrong and presents a problem that is far from boring. When Hester Prynne becomes pregnant and is convicted of adultery, a major crime and sin in Puritan times, quite a bit of drama is created. The heart of the drama lies in what the townspeople don't know: the fact that one of their most respected young figures, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, is the guilty associate. Perhaps what makes all this interesting is not necessarily the events and characters of the novel, but the irony created by it all.

Dramatic and situational irony play a major role in adding to the plot's conflict and significance. When dramatic irony is created, and the reader is presented with facts unknown to the characters, a sort...