The Life and Work of Nathaniel Hawthorne

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Historical Background Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4th, 1804 and died on May 19, 1864. The Hawthorne legacy was one of the strict Puritanism which grapped with his stories and his novels. The original family name was Hathorne he added a ‘w’ to distinguish himself. In 1848, Zachary Taylor won presidency, Hawthorne lost his job which was given as a part of the Democratic Party, and Taylor’s presidency left the Whigs in change and Hawthorne without a job. He married Sophia Peabody at her parents’ home in Boston. The following year he lost his mother; he found a worn letter “A” in the attic of the old home and with it came the inspiration to write his arguably most famous novel. “The Scarlet Letter” Hawthorne moved into a farm house in Lenox, Massachusetts. He met Herman Melville; Melville had begun his writing of Moby Dick and consequently dedicated his masterpiece to Hawthorne. The family moved back to concord where they resided in the Alcotts Hillside, which Hawthorne renamed Wayside (they now had 3 children.) He also wrote stories for children base on Greek myths. Hawthorne w...

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