Nathaniel Hawthorne Research Paper

Nathaniel Hawthorne is a fairly well known name among people across the world. From short stories to novels, Hawthorne has many widely studied works that are well fit for review due to their immense use of symbolism and allegory. Also, despite his puritan background, many of Hawthorne’s novels utilize the supernatural and can be viewed as being associated with romanticism. Hawthorne’s life started on July 4, 1804 in Salem Massachusetts. From birth, Hawthorne’s life was very much centered around the puritan religion. Hawthorne’s early ancestor, William Hathorne, was one of the first judges in the [at the time] new city of Salem after emigrating to America during 1630. William Hathorne became infamous for his harsh punishment. William’s son, John, also held an infamous position as one of three judges during the Salem witch trials. Because of this, Nathaniel Hawthorne later added a “w” to his name to

In 1808, Hawthorne’s father contracted yellow fever while at sea as a captain. This tragedy left the Hathorne family with little financial support and led to the family moving in with Elizabeth’s wealthy brothers. After developing a leg disease at a young age, Hawthorne had to spend many months indoors where he acquired a love for literature and writing. From this point on he was determined to become a writer. Financially supported by his uncles, Hawthorne attended Bowdoin College from 1821-1825. While he was there he became acquainted with future president Franklin Pierce.

After college, Hawthorne returned home and stayed there for 12 years. He self published many books during this time including The Hollow of the Three Hills, An Old Woman’s Tale, My Kinsman, Major Molineux and Roger Malvin’s Burial, and Twice Told Tales. Although this brought him some money, writing did not prove to be a stable income, so he picked up another job at the Boston Custom House weighing salt and