Try as much as possible to be wholly alive, with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell and when you get angry, get good and angry.
Try to be alive.
You will be dead soon enough.
--William Saroyan
Although this approach to living life may be humorous and simplistic, William Saroyan describes a common need of people to live wholly and experience life at its fullest. 'Carpe diem' is a phrase that is familiar to more than just Latin scholars. This need for fullness in one’s life also stems a need for completeness. At one time or another most people have experienced the desire to be ‘whole’ – to feel complete and well rounded. Children want to become adults as quickly as possible, students want to become better educated, and college graduates long to find that self-defining career all in the name of becoming a ‘complete’ person. Of course, this could be a reflection of a personal crisis as a graduating senior, but it nonetheless seems to be a universal longing.
This longing for fullness and wholeness transcends time and is found in both Nathaniel Hawthorne and Margaret Fuller’s works, albeit in different ways. Summer on the Lakes was written during a period of hiatus and reflection in Fuller’s life. There is a sense of seeking and desiring new experiences that permeates this work, a need to experience new things in order to continually learn and grow as a person. Part of this desire could come from her views on the rights of women to be recognized as whole citizens and people in America in the nineteenth century; also imparted in her discourse is her longing for women to simply want more for themselves. In the following passage, Fuller describes the girls and women in an Oregon farming town. She lament...
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...se of being in the process. By diminishing a complete person to parts, Hawthorne demonstrates that a whole sense of being is important and should not be destroyed.
Both authors seem to be making statements on wholeness and attaining a sense of completeness in life. Fuller demonstrates this by wanting a sense of wholeness for individual people and by seeing beauty in nature in terms of fullness. Hawthorne shows the reader what can happen if you strip a person of their sense of being; a composite person should not be reduced to parts and destroyed. This theme of desiring wholeness defined by these nineteenth century authors, Fuller and Hawthorne, transcends time and appeals to readers today. As someone still searching for that sense of wholeness, it is reassuring and exciting to find literature that subtly examines personal journeys that are still experienced today.
“Nathaniel Hawthorne.” The Norton Anthology: American Literature, edited by Baym et al. New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 1995.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s writings have been read for many years, and many of his books have been on the required reading lists in the school curricula. His works convey themes of psychology and human nature through his crafty use of allegory and symbolism. These were essential tools in addressing topics that were too radical to be publicly addressed in the nineteenth century (Magill 1). He used these techniques to criticize some part of society, which is evident in his use of satire in the religious world (Hilton 1). Nathaniel Hawthorne’s writings impacted his contemporary society, despite the fact that his criticism and ideas weren’t widely popular and accepted.
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an extraordinary writer, who used real life experiences in every one of his stories. However, growing up in a Puritan society during a reformation gave Hawthorne a distorted view on God’s character. Hawthorne was intelligent, but by no means a people person, which created a pathway for him to become an author. There were a few key points in his life growing in a religion zealous society that lead him to abandon his faith. Hence, the short story of “Young Goodman Brown” representing that humans are cynical and evil, and the dangers of losing your faith in God.
Out of all the great authors and poets we have studied this semester I have chosen the three that I personally enjoyed reading the most; Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allen Poe, and Walt Whitman. These three Writers stand out above the rest for each has contributed substantially to bringing forth a newly earned respect for American Writers of Literature. Up until this point in time most literature had come from European writers. Hawthorne, Poe and Whitman brought not only great works of art to our newly formed nation, but also to the world in general.
When a writer starts his work, most often than not, they think of ways they can catch their reader’s attention, but more importantly, how to awake emotions within them. They want to stand out from the rest and to do so, they must swim against the social trend that marks a specific society. That will make them significant; the way they write, how they make a reader feel, the specific way they write, and the devotion they have for their work. Washington Irving, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgard Allan Poe influenced significantly the American literary canon with their styles, themes, and forms, making them three important writers in America.
Lang, H.J. “How Ambiguous is Hawthorne?” In Hawthorne – A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.
... coined. Though Hawthorne’s characters had a choice, they always took the choice that led them away from their community. However, it seems that Hawthorne did not see this as a terrible option: when his characters turn away from their society, their life becomes more enlightened. Enlightenment, it seems, is more importantly that belonging in Hawthorne’s opinion. For the two ministers, Dimmesdale and Hooper, the departure from society is quite effective in their professional careers as the new outlook on life makes them more powerful preachers. With Hester and Brown, though there is some doubt on how their lives benefitted from their exit from community. Still, if the characters are viewed through a philosophical lens, their egress is of great benefit to them. By exiting the community Hawthorne’s characters find what they have all been searching for: enlightenment.
Jonathan Edwards, the author of “Sinners in the hands of an angry God” cunningly made his style more effective than Nathaniel Hawthorne's style in “The Ministers of the Black Veil.” Edwards used more of an aggressive style which worked better than Hawthorne’s sad and laid back style.
Henry David Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts on July 12, 1817 and died there peacefully on May 6, 1862. He was described by Hawthorne as "ugly as sin." He loved nature, and his constant preoccupation was exploring the woods and ponds making detailed observations of plants and creatures. Henry led a singular life, never marrying, and marching to his own drummer, as he put it. From 1845 to 1847, he lived alone in a small cabin he built by Walden Pond near Concord. He described this unique experiment in natural living in "Walden" criticizing those who "lead lives of quiet desperation" with all the trappings of customary society. His personal independence and straightforward manner was harsh to some people, and he gained very little recognition during his lifetime.
The similarities and differences between Poe and Hawthorne both show a dynamic and intriguing method that has lasted through the times. They both show an inner personal look through their writing about their loved ones. The dynamic writing between both writers depict the idea that no matter how morbid the writing love can shine through any view. With both writers there is a vision of morbid curiosity along with a romantic nature for the audience; by depicting death of a loved one to show a sense of connection with the audience. Although both are gothic romantic writers you can easily see that both have a different sense of life and death, and to which one holds more value.
There is much debate over the right path to happiness in life dating back to early civilization in the Roman Empire. Majority of people believe that happiness can only be achieved by material things such as; wealth, political power, fancy cars and so forth, whereas others believe that striving for pleasure and success ultimately yields happiness. Liberal education tends to take a conceptual approach to teaching the importance of virtues, whereas vocational studies tend to have a more practical approach. In “On Liberal and Vocational Studies,” Roman philosopher Seneca gives his own view of happiness and the importance of liberal studies in virtuous character of men. As a champion for living a virtuous life as opposed to materialism, Seneca’s remarks explain his arguments for virtue. Essentially, Seneca argues that men should not place emphasis on the things of this world arguing that happiness is not achieved by the possessions in one’s life, but by the way one lives their life.
Nathaniel Hawthorne once said, “I do not want to be a doctor and live by men’s diseases, nor minister to live by their sins, nor a lawyer and live by men’s quarrels. So, I don’t see that there is anything left for me but to be an author” (Nathaniel). This statement describes Hawthorne’s personality and life in a way that no other quote could. Nathaniel Hawthorne was an Anti-Transcendentalist writer, meaning that he had a negative view of all humans. The Anti-Transcendentalist movement was a pessimistic branch of Romanticism, which began in the mid 1800s and lasted until the late 1800s. Nathaniel Hawthorne was influenced greatly by his childhood, which is what caused him to be an anti-transcendentalist, yet in his novel The Scarlet Letter there was a bridge created between anti-transcendentalism and utopian transcendentalism.
For the span of all philosophical theory, the quest for the “good life” or permanent and final happiness has time and again been at the forefront of human motivation and thought. In surmising on how to make our lives good, it is not uncommon to believe that existing in the customary ways, given the lifestyles humans naturally form in becoming adults, is not automatically the preeminent way to exist. If we were to dedicate deliberate and conscious thought to the problem, a superior method may appear. The “good life” can range from a system of ethics to a quality of existence in comparison to others. Many philosophers, writers, and religious figures have speculated on what “the good life” truly is. Among these figures are the philosopher Plato and St. Paul. Plato’s best individual life is one of method and technique.
One of the Hawthorne's best examples of the descent into madness (or at least a form of it) is...
However, we can wonder if the pleasures that derive from necessary natural desires are what actually brings us happiness, since having a family, friends, a good job and doing fun things seem to bring the most joy in life. Plato’s ideas on life are even more radical, since he claims that we should completely take difference from our bodily needs. Therefore it seems that we should only do what is necessary for us to stay a life and solely focus on the mind. Although both ways of dealing with (bodily)pleasure are quite radical and almost impossible to achieve, it does questions if current perceptions of ‘living the good life’ actually leads to what we are trying to achieve, which is commonly described as