Nathaniel Hawthorne was an early American writer that has had a powerful influence on literature for literally centuries. He was known for penning short stories that still have a powerful impact. This writer had a unique style and incorporated definite themes in his writings. This essay will explore Nathaniel’s early life, writings and delve into his specific style of storytelling. Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts. He had 2 siblings and was the child of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Hathorne. He added the “w” to his last name when he started his writing career. His father died of yellow fever in 1808 (LitFinder Contemporary Collection). His mother took her three children and moved into his uncles’ home after his father’s death (The Oxford Companion to American Literature). Hawthorne believed himself as a Christian, but he was skeptical of all claims, whether Puritan or Roman Catholic to know the details of the divine will (American writers II). Hawthorne attended Bowdoin College and graduated in 1812. He struggled for years with debt and had countless failed ...
Short Story Criticism, edited by Rachelle Mucha and Thomas J. Schoenberg, vol. 93, no. 1, pp. 113-117. 89, Gale, ed., 2006. Literature Resource Center, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/H1420071520/LitRC?u=troy25957&sid=LitRC&xid=268bd900. Accessed 8 Dec 2017. Originally published in Critical Essays on Hawthorne's Short Stories, edited by Albert J. von Frank, G. K. Hall & Co., 1991, pp.
“Nathaniel Hawthorne – Biography.” The European Graduate School. The European Graduate School, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014
“Nathaniel Hawthorne.” The Norton Anthology: American Literature, edited by Baym et al. New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 1995.
Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts on July 4, 1804 (Magill 1; Campbell 1; “Nathaniel Hawthorne”; Eldred 1). He was born into the sixth generation of his Salem family, and was a descendant of a long line of New England Puritans, which contributed in his interest in the Puritan way of life. The family was originally known as the “Hathornes”, but Nathaniel added the “w” to his name so it would become “Hawthorne”. The Hawthornes had been involved in religious persecution with their first American ancestor, William. Another ancestor, John Hathorne, was one of the three judges at the seventeenth-century Salem witchcraft trials. Hawthorne’s father was a sea captain, and when he was four years old (1808), his father died on a voyage in Surinam, Dutch Guinea (Campbell 1). Hawthorne was left alone with his mother and two sisters. He spent his early years in Salem and in Maine, during which he showed an interest in his father’s nautical adventures and read his logbooks often, even after his death (Magill 1). His maternal relatives recognized his literary talent at such a you...
In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the Puritan community banned all forms of sin. Sin was looked upon as evil, being connected to the devil and his dark ways. Hester Prynne, the main character of the story, was shunned by the rest of the Puritan world after committing the sin of adultery. She lived in a world where it was not accepted. She was isolated from the world around her, having little hope. Throughout the novel, symbols such as the character of the kind woman, the wild rose bush outside of the prison doors and the character of Pearl, Hester Prynne's illegitimate child, are used to show that even in a world full of sin and darkness, there is always hope.
In the scarlet letter the core of the story line revolves around a movement known as the Puritan. The Puritan movement began when King Henry declared England's independence from the Church of Rome and he appointed himself head of the new Church of England. King Henry did this because he wanted to divorce his wife Catherine of Aragon in order to marry Anne Boleyn. By appointing himself head of the Church of England he was able to grant himself his own divorce that the pope would not give him. At first there was little difference between the Church of England and the Roman Catholic but later with the spread of Protestant reformers such as John Calvin the church began to change. Some people thought the church of England retained too many of the superstitious practises of the Roman Catholic Church. They wanted simpler truths and less structured forms of worship like the earlier Christians, because they wanted to purify the Church of England, they got the name of Puritans. John Geree describes the puritans as "one, that honoured God above all, and under God gave every one his due"!
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in the year 1804 in the heart of Salem, Massachusetts, where to Salem witch trials were conducted. Hawthorne was born in an unforgiving time period, where life revolved around religion and family. Hawthorne’s father died of Yellow Fever in the year 1808. Nathaniel grew up fatherless, which had a lasting effect on who he later became to be. Education at the time was centered on reading and writing, with a heavy religious influence. “The education of the next generation was important to further "purify" the church and perfect social living” (Kizer). However, since his father passed away, there was no other man to instill the Puritan beliefs into young Nathaniel. Hawthorne later on was able to see the culture through a different lens than the people surrounding him, which made him slightly opposed to the Puritan way of life. He became intellectually rebellious; not thinking in the same way that his peers or family was.
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, the descendent of a long line of Puritan ancestors, including John Hathorne, a presiding magistrate in the Salem witch trials. After his father was lost at sea when he was only four, his mother became overly protective and pushed him toward more isolated pursuits. Hawthorne's childhood left him overly shy and bookish, and molded his life as a writer. Hawthorne is one of the most modern of writers who rounds off the puritan cycle in American writing
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 was born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1804. Descended from a staunch Puritan family, Hawthorne?s father was a presiding judge over the Salem Witch Trials. Hawthorne?s father died when he was young and he spent much time alone during his childhood. He had an introspective nature and was an avid reader. He began to write while he was in college and following graduation, returned to Salem where he entered a twelve-year literary apprenticeship. His first collection of short stories, Twice-Told tales, was published in 1837. Soon afterwards, he joined for a short period an experimental utopian community outside of Boston called Brook Farm in 1841. In 1842, Hawthorne married Sophia Peabody and they moved to Concord, Massachusetts. There Hawthorne wrote many pieces including his next collection of stores in 1846 called ?Mosses from an Old Manse.? From 1846 to 1849, Hawthorne worked in a Salem customhouse. Following his dismissal was a two-year period of intense productivity after which he wrote very little fiction, although he did keep notebooks. Hawthorne died in 1864 following several years of inability to complete any of this writings. Much of Hawthorne's work is set in colonial New England and many of his short stories have been read as moral allegories influenced by his Puritan ancestry. He believed that the misfortunes of his immediate family were the result of d...
"Nathaniel Hawthorne- Biography." The European Graduate School. The European Graduate School EGS, 1997-2012. Web. 25 November 2013.
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.
BIOGRAM The man Nathaniel Hawthorne, an author of the nineteenth century, was born in 1804, in Salem, Massachusetts. It was there that he lived a poverty-stricken childhood without the financial support of a father, because he had passed away in 1808. Hawthorne was raised strictly Puritan, his great-grandfather had even been one of the judges in the Puritan witchcraft trials during the 1600s. This and Hawthorne’s destitute upbringing advanced his understanding of human nature and distress felt by social, religious, and economic inequities.
Lathrop, G. P., ed. "Hawthorne, Nathaniel." The Reader's Encyclopedia of American Literature. Binghamton, New York: Vail-Ballou, 1962. 439-40. Print.
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, to a family that had been prominent in the area since colonial times. Hawthorne was very handsome and never had problems with looks. When Nathaniel was four, his father died on a voyage in Surinam. Hawthorne was extremely concerned with traditional values. From 1836 to 1844, the Boston-centered Transcendentalist movement, led by Ralph Waldo Emerson, was an important force in New England intellectual circles. The Transcendentalists believed that human existence transcended the sensory realm, and rejected formalism in favor of individual responsibility. The Scarlet Letter shows some Transcendentalist influence, including a belief in individual choice and consequence, and an emphasis on symbolism.