A writer’s style is a combination of thousands of factors that abet a writer to create a unique meaning for each and every word they use; moreover, they invent the relationships and patterns found between these words. Every author has an unique writing style. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s was relative to what he was passionate about. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s writing style is reflective of his Puritan beliefs as indicated through his personal life and family background; his style is also indicative of the fact that his relationship with his wife was less than ideal; furthermore, these ideas are evident in “The Birthmark”, “The Minister’s Black Veil”, and “Young Goodman Brown”.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s ancestral connection to the Salem Witch Trials influenced his writing style. His ancestor was one of the judges that sentenced innocent women to death. This idea, of his ancestors sentencing innocent women to death, struck a deep meaning with Hawthorne and made him change from Hathorne to Hawthorne so he could distance himself from that event in history. The whole controversy over the witch trials deeply affected Hawthorne and is evident in his short stories. For example, in “The Minister’s Black Veil”, "But the strangest part of the affair is the effect of this vagary, even on a sober-minded man like myself. The black veil, though it covers only our pastor's face, throws its influence over his whole person, and makes him ghostlike from head to foot. Do you not feel it so?" (“The Minister’s Black Veil”). The black veil signified Hawthorne’s own skeleton in the closet; his connection to the witch trials that caused him so much trouble. Like the black veil the witch trials was only one small part of his ancestors life, but it threw influence over t...
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...ted an unfixable rift between them that Hawthorne always regretted. God was another a big part of his life, so much so that the main ideas of his religion weaved their way into his writing. He wrote of ministers, good men, and a man who tried to play God; moreover, not only did he write of these men, but he showed their flaws and how no one is perfect. He addressed what God already knew because God himself is perfect in the ways he forgives everyone and allows them to redeem themselves even after they’ve sinned. No matter what anyone believes in for a religion that religion is very important to them, and even if they do not have a religion, the fact that they do not have a religion is very important to them. Everything they do is more or less in the name of what they believe in. Their relationships with their family takes precedent over anything else in their lives.
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.
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’s elaborately descriptive writing style has been studied and criticized by people all over the world for years. Hawthorne has been thought of as one of the greatest writers in history, but his unique style has also been negatively criticized and disapproved of. No matter the opinion of his works, the people who knew him personally respected Hawthorne. “On the day after Hawthorne’s funeral, in May 1864, [Ralph Waldo] Emerson wrote in his journal: ‘I thought him a greater man than any of his works betray…’'; (Martin 37). Hawthorne, however, was not so well thought of by people who did not know him well. Someone who would rather be creative and write than have a “real job'; was not very well respected in Hawthorne’s day. A writer who wrote fictional tales was even less respected than an author who wrote of actual events was. These unjustified opinions of writers influenced Nathaniel Hawthorne throughout his life and career in creative writing.
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.
Nathaniel Hawthorne was one of the first American writers to pioneer the unprecedented and unforeseen gothic genre which resulted in the exposure of darker themes across America in the 19th century. This new genre sprouted the “brooding” romantics who revolved around the human’s capacity for evil as a main theme of their works. Being one of the “brooding” romantics, Hawthorne followed the Puritans’ belief that everyone is a sinner as a result of being a descendent of the Puritans associated with the infamous Salem witchcraft trials. Not only was he related to the despicable Puritans, but also, he had to live with the guilt that his dishonorable great-great grandfather, Judge Hathorne, was “the only one who refused to apologize for his role
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
The story is set in seventeenth-century Salem, a time and place where sin and evil were greatly analyzed and feared. The townspeople, in their Puritan beliefs, were obsessed with the nature of sin and with finding ways to be rid of it altogether through purification of the soul. At times, people were thought to be possessed by the devil and to practice witchcraft. As punishment for these crimes, some were subjected to torturous acts or even horrible deaths. Thus, Hawthorne’s choice of setting is instrumental in the development of theme.
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 man, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s religious background, seclusion from society, and devotion to his craft can be related to his novel The Scarlet Letter. His religious upbringing as a Puritan is what gave him the knowledge to write about Boston’s Puritan society in his novel. Hawthorne’s great-grandfather, who one of the judges at the Puritan witchcraft trials, was like the magistrates of The Scarlet Letter that attempted to make a society that would be a “Utopia of human virtue and happiness”. A further parallel found between Hawthorne’s life and the novel is the element of seclusion found in each. Hawthorne secluded himself from society with his few family members and close friends.
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.
The Romantic Era of literature produced some of the most well known American authors and short stories today, most especially including The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Extending from the mid to late nineteenth century, a great number of essayists, dramatists, authors, and impressionists contributed to the overall advancement of literature as a whole before leading up to the Transcendental movement that Hawthorne chose to break apart from. The division from popular literary movements that Hawthorne underwent stemmed from the isolated and mysteriously dark life that he led leading up to the publication of The Birthmark. The authorship of this short story emulates an obscure, gloomy form of literature that became custom for Hawthorne around 1847 when he published such a controversial masterpiece. The lively and bright pieces of fiction that were published around this time did not appeal to Hawthorne, but instead, a more twisted and gruesome plot concerning the struggle for human beauty better portrayed his traditional writing style. Physical beauty and the unmoral evil that imperfection calls upon is represented through the protagonists wife Georgiana. The themes of sin and morality fit within the tradition of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s isolated lifestyle, the dark form of romanticism that depicts humans as naturally evil, and elements of fiction centered around human imperfection.
On the sunny day of July 4, 1804, in Salem, Massachusetts Nathaniel Hawthorne was born. Though not an author yet, his life paths of hard and good times and relationships that come and go, would lead him to become a great American author. The original family name was Hathorne, he added the ‘w’ to separate or distinguish himself from history, which included John Hathorne, a judge in the Salem witch trials of 1692-3 (Nathaniel Hawthorne - Biography, 1).
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.
One of the most influential parts of history that helped Hawthorne write is The Salem Witch Trials. The Salem Witch Trials started in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. During this time many women and men were accused of being witches by signing their life off to the devil. Most if not all of the accusers and accused during the Salem Witch Trials were from the northern frontier. This was the location of fighting “in both King Philip’s War 1675-1678 (called the First Indian War) and King William’s War of 1689-1699 (called the Second Indian War”. Within five months 144 people were persecuted as witches. “Violent fighting on the Maine frontier was a major causative factor in producing the witchcraft crisis” (Lewis). During The Salem Witch Trials an accused witch would be humiliated by either making the accused witch confess of being a witch or they would be publicly hung. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter Hester is publicly humiliated for committing adultery. Even though Nathaniel Hawthorne did not grow up when the Salem Witch Trials happened he was influenced by it because he grew up in Salem, Massachusetts.
Nathaniel Hawthorne's works are notable for their treatment of guilt and the complexities of moral choices. "Moral and religious concerns, in short, are almost always present in Hawthorne's work"(Foster, 56). Given Hawthorne's background, it is not a stretch of the imagination to say that his novels are critiques of Puritanism. Hawthorne lived in the deeply scarred New England area, separated from Puritanism by only one generation. His grandfather had been one of the judges in the Salem Witch Trials. Personal issues include the various ways Hawthorne's family and specific events in his life influenced his writing. Readers can easily recognize how "Young Goodman Brown" incorporates facts about his Puritan ancestors. Father Hooper in "The Minister's Black Veil" may be symbolically paralleled to Hawthorne's ancestors, trying to hide a sin they have committed. His descendants' remarks on him in The Custom House introduction to The Scarlet Letter mix pride in Hawthorne's prominence and a sense of inherited guilt for his deeds as judge. Hawthorne's guilt of wrongs committed by his ancestors was paramount in the development of his literary career. He investigates human weaknesses through the time period of his ancestors. Generally Hawthorne's writings contained powerful symbolic and psychological effects of pride, guilt, sin and punishment.