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Love And Treary Tone In Nathaniel Hawthorne's Work

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Nathaniel Hawthorne’s became a very dark and depressing writer that sought fame in the Mid-1800’s, but what in his life caused him to write in a somber and dreary tone that he is well-known for? Hawthorne’s short stories, novels, and poems dealt with very dark and serious topics. Hawthorne is, and still considered among many, one of the greatest writers of his time, becoming very famous and living a successful life. With all of this success, what gave him the dreadful thoughts to continue writing his terribly saddening stories? Nathaniel Hawthorne’s past experiences must have affected him in a very bitter and scarring way to cause him to write in the style and fashion he did.

The past life of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s family has a strong …show more content…

Dark Romanticism consisted mostly of anthropomorphic visuals of Satan, ghouls, zombies, and so on, all being shown as emblems of human nature. With these dark and dreary tones, dark Romanticism also incorporated the delight and pleasure of being in love. Conceivably, dark romantic stories involved psychological torment of love that could be an impure love, making the entire genre seem more lustful than love filled. The melancholy tones of this era were also very common and subjegated readers to more thought provoking ideas, making it one the most popular themes of the time. This type of writing displayed many lessons to coincide with the peculiar and dark imagery within stories. Stories during this time could have several meanings. Authors during this time try to divulge as many hidden lessons in stories as they possibly can, causing complex thoughts on not only social and political views, but also on morality itself. Parables and allegories became another common addition to many books during this time, especially within Nathaniel Hawthorne’s …show more content…

With many mysteries shrouding “Young Goodman Brown” to this day, it is understandable that the meaning behind the story had to deal with Hawthorne himself and his dreary past. Hawthorne represented himself as the strong symbolic character of Goodman Brown, not only this, but Hawthorne also used the real names of two of the Salem witches that his grandfather had helped kill. Love bonds Goodman Brown to his beautiful wife, Faith, whose name has many literary meanings. Goodman enters the dark woods where he meets the presumable devil, which causes hallucinations and dreams of his family and loved ones, all of which he is seeing as despicable and awful human beings. Faith’s name and body itself is a strong allegory for losing will in not only humanity, but also that of God. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote, “ he looked back, and saw the head of Faith peeping after him, with a melancholy air, in spite of her pink ribbons” (Hawthorne 1). This quote helps understand more about Faith. Though she is kind and beautiful, that does not mean that she is shielded from the harm and sin of the outside world. Meant to be a strong interpretation of peace and love, her character’s symbols completely contradict with what Hawthorne had previously intended to represent her. This story gives insight into the twisted mind of Hawthorne and a glimpse into his

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