Nathaniel Hawthorne, born in Salem Massachusetts on July 4th 1804, is a famous American novelist as well as a short story writer. Two of his most famous novels include: The Scarlett letter (1850) and The House of Seven Gables (1851). Throughout a lot of his writing Hawthorne uses symbolism and allegories, this is what makes him a frequently studied author. Nathaniel Hawthorne is brought up as a Puritan. Hawthorne’s ancestors play a large part in the Salem witch trials. One of his earlier ancestors, William Hathorne, is a judge who gave out harsh sentencing. William’s son John is part of the three judges during the witch trials (1690’s). Nathaniel, being ashamed of his families past added a w to his last name as a way of distancing himself from …show more content…
His parents are Nathaniel and Elizabeth Clark Hathorne (Manning). He lost his father shortly after his birth. He was a sea captain and acquired the yellow fever on his journey. He dies in 1808 when Nathaniel is only 4 years old. Since the family’s main income source is no longer present Elizabeth, Hawthorne’s mother, decides to move the family into her wealthy brother’s house. Shortly after having moved in with his uncle, Hawthorne suffered from a leg injury which kept him immobile for months. It is during his time that he becomes interested in reading and decides to become a writer. He attends Bowdoin College (1821-1825) with the financial help of his uncle.
Works
Following college, Hawthorne decides to go back home and ends up staying for 12 years. It is at this time that he starts writing. He self-publishes a couple of his stories. His most popular story being Roger Malvin’s Bruial (1832).
Career
Hawthorne only starts taking his writing career seriously when he meets his wife Sophia Peabody. She is a painter, illustrator and transcendentalist. Following a long courtship Hawthorne and Sophia marry July 9th 1842. They move to Concord, Massachusetts after their marriage and have three children by 1844. The Hawthorne family is surrounded by immense debt and decide to move to Salem where Nathaniel is hired as a surveyor in the Salem Sutom House (1846). This provides his family with financial
Hawthorne uses long sentences to allow for as much description as possible. At points, it seems that he is benevolent to discover more about the man. His writing only included fifteen sentences, but the number of words in each sentence averaged forty-seven. The author’s use of more conjunctions than needed (at least 10 semicolons) in order to make his sentences longer shows that there is always something to add and more to the person than he believed there to be. He uses sophisticated language such as, “personage”, “magistrate”, and “supernumeraries” all throughout the first paragraph to show that even without explicitly saying the word “president” this person is important and ought to be respected.
Nathaniel Hawthorne was a transcendentalist. He judged his Puritan ancestors in their deeds, especially the witch persecutions. Transcendentalism, Puritanism and the idea of witchcraft were reflected in his novel The Scarlet Letter. Although The Scarlet Letter doesn‘t address witchcraft directly, witchcraft saturates the background of the novel. Many factors factors had their influence on the Puritan society, be it positive or negative.
Nathaniel’s father died in 1808 during one of this voyages. Elizabeth hated the sea and she would not let little Nath on a boat. She moved over into her mother’s house and stayed secluded in her little room. November 1813 brought a change to Nathaniel’s active life.
Hawthorne’s writings reflect the Puritan culture and history in a new way. In the past the Puritans culture was one that revolved around god and god’s providence. The idea that if you believe in god and have a good moral mindset, you will prosper and god will always be by your side. Although, if you were against god and made some immoral choices god would always find you and smite or punish you. So you could imagine the change in tone when Hawthorne writes about a witch meeting.
Twayne's Authors on GVRL. Accessed 26 Mar. 2017. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter with Connections. Austin, TX, Holt, Rinehart and Winston,
In the mind of Hawthorne, many people will make promises but won’t stick to them or will go back on their word. This can be seen as a darkness in human nature. Many humans do go back on what they said previously or can’t keep a promise. A lot of literature written during this time period reflects ideas of darkness in human
What is Nathaniel Hawthorne's connection to the Puritan settlements and subsequent Salem witch trials? Nathaniel Hawthorn was born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1804. Hawthorn’s family lineage dates back to the early 17th century when his ancestor, William Hathorne came from England and was part of one of the first Puritan settlements. William Hathorne was a magistrate that sentenced a Quaker woman to a public whipping. One of Hawthorn’s most famous family members was John Hathorne, who served as a famous judge in the Salem Witch Trials.
Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the most studied and influential writers in history. His many works use symbolism and allegory to portray their purpose, filling them with deep meaning and offering a wide variety of interpretation. Hawthorne was not particularly proud of his family history; he disagreed with some of his ancestors positions in the salem witch trials. He distanced himself with that part of his family and added a “w” to his name to further do so. Hawthorne was born in Salem Massachusetts, which gave him a prevalent theme of puritanism in many of his stories.
The Scarlet Letter is a popular novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne which is mainly read during one's high school years. The Scarlet letter is set during the sixteenth century in Boston Massachusetts where a young woman named Hester Prynne is publicly shamed by the Puritans. When Hawthorne was writing this novel he described the puritans as a sad, bland society which had a reliance on the consequence of sin. His description of the Puritan society was not fully opinion-based since the Puritans that came over from England did dress simply. This leads the reader to wonder how much of his personal opinion made its way into the story and how much is historical fact.
They called out that “this woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die!” Yet nowhere in the book is there and discussion of the citizens sins. That is why they pursue the matter of who the father is, they need to know who else to blame. They thrive of the blood of scapegoats, someone to persecute, someone that they can compare their sins to so they can sleep at night. Hawthorne pounds the hypocritical view the Boston puritans held, instead of acknowledging their own sin, they found someone who did something worse so they felt better.
Ellisa Gladney 29 March 2016 English 214 Dr. McCray Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts, on July 4, 1804, into the sixth generation of his Salem family. His ancestors included businessmen, judges, and seamen—all Puritans, a strict religious discipline. Nathaniel Hawthorne is best known for The Scarlet Letter and The House of Seven Gables. http://www.notablebiographies.com/Gi-He/Hawthorne-Nathaniel.html#ixzz44KMA6UdG. According to encyclopedia.com, the work of American fiction writer Nathaniel Hawthorne was mostly based on the history of his Puritan ancestors and the New England of his own day but, in its "power of blackness," has universal significance.
Nathaniel Hawthorne was a very well-known author in the mid-1800s. The manuscript that made him famous was the novel, “The Scarlet Letter.” Which was officially published in the year of 1850 along with two of his other very successful stories, “Young Goodman Brown.” And “The Minister’s Black Veil.” Hawthorne’s books became very popular in the year that it was published and has managed to remain extremely popular now, high school and college students are currently required to read his work today.
The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a story about a woman, Hester Prynne, who committed adultery with the reverend, Arthur Dimmesdale, which will not confess his sin. A physician, Roger Chillingworth, takes care of him on the outside, but behind closed doors Chillingworth is keeping Dimmesdale in his pain. Because the man will not confess his sin he tortures himself, which causes physical and mental illnesses. Another American gothic novel, Moby Dick, was writing from the author's, Herman Melville , experience on a whaling ship. The wailing ship’s captain is Captain Ahab.
His family has a long standing history in Salem, as his relative John Hathorne was a judge in the Witch Trials. Soon after the trials a ‘w’ was added to the family’s last name to distance themselves from the horrors of the time (Nathaniel Hawthorne Biography). Set during
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an author who was born in Salem, Massachusetts on July 4, 1804. He wrote many famous novels, including The Blithedale Romance, The Scarlet Letter, and the House of Seven Gables. He was a renowned artist, and many people do not know that he was also a politician. He took many inspirations for his writings, one of which was the Puritan Christian culture. His book; The Scarlet Letter was about a Puritan woman named Hester Prynne, who is found guilty of committing adultery, and as punishment, must wear a scarlet colored 'A', standing for 'Adulteress', on her chest for crime against the word of God.