Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the more well known and well respected American authors to this day. Hawthorne was born and raised in Salem, Massachusetts to a Puritan family which had a long New England history. Although Hawthorne was not extremely interested in the idea of higher education he did attended and graduated from Bowdoin college. In 1842 Hawthorne was married to Sophia Peabody and they had three children together until Nathaniels untimely death in 1862 at the age of 59. His short stories are just one of the many reasons for his popularity. Hawthorne like most writers has his own method with which he writes. The term which is most often used when discussing a writer's method of writing is called style. Nathaniel Hawthorne writes with a style which is unique to him and that is what makes his writing so special. In the short stories The Ministers Black Veil, Young Goodman Brown, and The Birthmark patterns in Hawthorne's style become evident. In his writing Hawthorne uses a formal tone, long descriptive sentences which are full of complex vocabulary, a very dark/gothic tone, his characters are often victims of alienation and scrutiny, and lastly it can be noted that Hawthorne inserts autobiographical elements into each of his characters. In The Minister's Black Veil Hawthorne incorporates a formal tone and uses complex vocabulary this along with long descriptive sentences help to paint a very clear picture of the story in the readers mind. For example, when describing the appearance of Reverend Hooper in The Minister's Black Veil Hawthorne writes: “The cause of so much amazement may appear sufficiently slight. Mr. Hooper, a gentlemanly person, of about thirty, though still a bachelor, was dressed with due clerica... ... middle of paper ... ... writer who includes many similar elements in his works. These elements of writing which can be found in so many of his stories come together to make a style which cannot and most likely will not ever be seen in the works of anyone besides Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne distinguishes himself through the use of descriptive sentences which include complex vocabulary and contain a formal tone, the incorporation of a dark/gothic tone, also using characters who fall under scrutiny and alienation, and also the use of autobiographical elements. These are just five of the many connections which can be made between the three stories which were discussed in this paper. Also, although there were only three stories which were analyzed it is more than likely that if one read any of the other stories which Hawthorne wrote in his day than the same findings would be made.
“Nathaniel Hawthorne – Biography.” The European Graduate School. The European Graduate School, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014
There is no end to the ambiguity in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil”; this essay hopes to explore this problem within the tale.
Nathaniel Hawthorne made out his life a source of inspiration. Every event that happened in his life made him think of a way to write about it. The Scarlett Letter was written after his mother died, and it focused on his society and it was used as a strong accusation against the Puritan Americans (Gollin 2605). His works were the results of long-term contemplations of humans and the society of his time, The Minister’s Black Veil is an example of this. A story about a man who decides to walk around his town cover in a black veil that symbolizes sin, and more importantly, “how the guilt we hide from one another and about the dangers of self-absorption” (Gollin 2604). Every major event in his life brought a new theme to his writings and that made it stand out. Just like Irving, he decided that he wanted to pursue of life full of
Fogle, Richard Harter. "Hawthorne's fiction: The Light and the Dark." Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Study of Short Fiction. Ed. Nancy Bunge. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993. 133-35
Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of America's most renowned authors, demonstrates his extraordinary talents in two of his most famed novels, The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables. To compare these two books seems bizarre, as their plots are distinctly different. Though the books are quite seemingly different, the central themes and Hawthorne's style are closely related (Carey, p. 62). American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne is most famous for his books THE SCARLET LETTER and THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES, which are closely related in theme, the use of symbolism, characterization, and style.
The Romantic Period served as a breeding ground for some of America's most extraordinary authors. Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Ralph Waldo Emerson are just some of the names that graced this Golden Era of American literature. Great as they were, these men still lacked a significant amount of originality. Relating their themes and structures results in little to no variation. One author, though born into the era of Romanticism dared to expand the possibilities nineteenth - century literature had to offer. Through works such as "Young Goodman Brown," "The Minister's Black Veil," and "The Birthmark," Nathaniel Hawthorne incorporated Romanticism into his own style. Including ordinary men, such as Mr. Hooper, Goodman Brown, and Aylmer helped to classify Hawthorne as a semi-Romantic author. Other Romantic characteristics were found in his stories as well. Symbolism, man's connection to nature, and the supernatural are all also present in most of his tales. But, most importantly, Hawthorne was remembered for breaking the rules and adding his own touch. He told allegories and parables concerned about his concept of the "unpardonable sin," always including the character's trials from obsession to alienation to finally a loss of soul. Careful review of his work probes the fact that fitting into a dictating society is not only boring but dangerously ordinary.
Giovanni and Aylmer demonstrate manipulation of authority over women in order to pursue their unhealthy infatuation with scientific experimentation. The capability to exercise this desire while controlling another human’s life threatens the Romantic ideal of love for the natural world.
Lathrop, G. P., ed. "Hawthorne, Nathaniel." The Reader's Encyclopedia of American Literature. Binghamton, New York: Vail-Ballou, 1962. 439-40. Print.
The imaginative foundation of a writer’s work may well be an inner drama or ‘hidden life’ in which his deepest interests and conflicts are transformed into images or characters; and through the symbolic play of these creations, he comes to ‘know’ the meaning of his experience; the imaginative structure becomes a means of reaching truth. . . . he lives ‘a life of allegory,’ and each of his works expresses one facet or another of the total structure. . . .heart-leading symbol. [The Heart became] Hawthorne’s central preoccupation and his leading symbol (68).
Nathaniel Hawthorne, an American writer was the child of Elizabeth Clarke Manning and Nathaniel Hawthorne. He was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts. He is a descendent of a long line of Puritan ancestors which of one is his great-grandfather John Hathorne who was a judge in the Salem witch trials. He was not proud of his family’s background and in order to disassociate himself with them he added a “w” to his last name to make it Hawthorne.
Context of Hawthorne's Art.” Nineteenth-Century Fiction 24.2 (Sept. 1969): 182-192. JASTOR. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.
In the short story, “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the Mr. Hooper’s black veil and the words that can describe between him and the veil. Hawthorne demonstrates how a black veil can describe as many words. Through the story, Hawthorne introduces the reader to Mr. Hooper, a parson in Milford meeting-house and a gentlemanly person, who wears a black veil. Therefore, Mr. Hooper rejects from his finance and his people, because they ask him to move the veil, but he does not want to do it. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil”, Mr. Hooper’s black veil symbolizes sins, darkness, and secrecy in order to determine sins that he cannot tell to anyone, darkness around his face and neighbors, and secrecy about the black veil.
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an early American author whose novels and short stories shaped American Literature. His books have stood the test of time. Hawthorne uses a great deal of description is his stories. Hawthorne’s books give us a little in-site into life in the 1800s. He changed the way authors wrote back then, and the way we write today.
middle of paper ... ... Nathaniel Hawthorne - Biography. 2012. The. The European Graduate School.
Nathaniel Hawthorne, known for his use of allegory and symbolism, is now one of the most studied authors. He became famous for his novels and short stories that revealed the portrayal he had of the world. His works have been properly recognized for more than a century. Hawthorne’s perspective of life comes from his history that gave him a sense of inherited guilt. Even with the setbacks during his journey to success, Hawthorne managed to surpass them and become the wonderful writer he is known to be.