Tolstoy just owned Hawthorne

Tolstoy does it better, folks.  Hawthorne's attempt to get into the mind of his heroine is laughable, if not downright ludicrous.  It's mockery, even.  The story is so predictable.  He spends pages at a time describing the Scarlet letter.  To me, he seems to think that the reader is stupid.  And who knows, maybe the audience he wrote for was.  But there are several things I'd like to say to Hawthorne:

• One: We get that she's wearing a red letter.  It's red, scarlet, burgundy....It's the letter 'A'.  Move on and stop acting like we don't know synonyms for the color red.
• Two: We get that the A stands for Adultery.  Adultery is a sin. Again, move on.
• Three: This is probably the most annoying part of Hawthorne's writing: Description. There's just too much of it.  Stop describing every bloody thing.  We don't need to know every detail.  In some cases, small details are good. But for you, Hawthorne: EPIC FAIL!!! 
• Four: Why do all of the characters sound the same in the narrative?  At least show how they are different. Yes, their names are different. But for God's sake.
• Five: The plot is too predictable. I'm sure it was fresh and original then, at least in written form. But not in practice.

Final analysis: If Hawthorne were alive today I'd warn him to not quit his day job.

Why Tolstoy does it better:

• One: The characters have actual feelings. Some people think Tolstoy's writing is dry. Yes, it can be viewed as such by some. But there is obvious passion in his words. Like I said, the characters have real emotions.  Anna Karenina is well-written. The emotions speak to the reader. Tolstoy shows how Anna must feel, shows the pressure of the times without sounding too preachy.
• Two: Complexity. Tolstoy's characters are complex. All that one knows of Hester is that she committed adultery, hates wearing the letter, and has a baby named Pearl. But Anna Karenina? She's deep. Will Vronsky leave her? What will she do about her awful husband? And what of her son? You see, Anna actually loves her son. Hester's love of Pearl is indeed questionable.
• Three: Tolstoy does not describe Anna's dress 500 times. He describes her as she is, and only when he needs to. It's not like the color of her dress is that important to begin with. It's not like the color of her dress is what moves the plot forward.

Final Analysis: Tolstoy rocks. Hawthorne ought to take a creative writing class. Better yet, Hawthorne should read Tolstoy. I know that Tolstoy was alive after Hawthorne's death. But, theoretically speaking, Hawthorne would learn a lot from Tolstoy.

So, those are my thoughts about Hawthorne's feeble attempt at a novel.