Assignment: Biographical Research on Nathaniel Hawthorne

Introduction
In this assignment, a biographical research is conducted on a literary scholar
Nathaniel Hawthorne. With this attempt, the researcher intends to study the
biographical information on the author that inspired him to become a literary scholar
and what hardship he went through. The paper also highlights the analysis of the
themes that the author uses in his short stories spreading different kinds of messages.
In conclusion, it presents a brief analysis if the writing style of the author.
Biographical information: Nathaniel Hawthorne
Born in Salem in Massachusetts on 4th July, 1804 Nathaniel Hawthorne was a
descendant of Puritan ancestors who were the official magistrate in the Salem witch
trials. To separate himself from the activities of his family, he added a w to his
surname. Nathaniel was only four when he lost his father and his mother became
protective of him and influenced him to engage in isolated jobs (Hawthorne, 2013).
His writing talent was shaped during his childhood when he was completely into
books and an introvert. After his graduation, Hawthorne began to write and wrote
various short yet powerful stories including, My Kinsman, Major Molineux and
others. Due to his inability to earn sufficient income through his writing, he took a job
at the College but was soon dismissed. This is the time when he devoted himself to
famous novel the Scarlet Letter in 1850 that was infused with imaginative energy.
Critical Analysis of the Themes of Three Short Stories
Hawthornes was influenced to write short stories because of are partial mood towards
Romance. This factors results into an imaginary freedom with common situations
along with a high level of allegory, metaphoric language and symbolism. The short
stories that Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote comprised of high range of subject matters.
As a result, his stories can be placed into three categories. The themes that the author
used are analyzed as follows:
1. Stories of Puritan Chronicle
Puritan customs are intensely embedded into the mind of Nathaniel Hawthorne
however his relationship to the culture is doubtful and ironic. He was the descendent
of one of the judges of the Salems witch trials. His first novel the Scarlet Letter
comprises of a famous passage that represents his belief as well as his mixed attitude
towards Puritanism, What is he? Murmurs one gray shadow of my forefathers to the
others. A writer of story book! why, the degenerate fellow might as well have been

afiddler! (Wang, 2014, p.57). This passage reveals a blend of irony as well as honor
in the attitude of the author towards this tradition. Henry James presents the manner in
which the author represented the responsiveness towards the puritan beliefs and the
manner in which he considers these moral convictions via aesthetic and artistic
manifestation, specifically the opinion of irony and excitement (Person, 2015). The
pictorial style of Hawthorne indicated the artistic and poetic influences in the short
stories and this couldnt belittle his moral significant in puritan beliefs and mores
(Nasser, 2013). Even though he condemns the Puritan traditions, he sticks to the basic
traits of conventional Puritanism.
II. Stories of Guilt and Sin
One of the contemporaries of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville (2015), studies
the most powerful practices of his art known as the power of the blackness
represented in for spite of all Indian- summer sunlight on the hither side of
Hawthornes soul, the other side- like the dark half of the physical sphere- is shrouded
in a blackness, ten times black. (p. 115). In the terms of images, it is a suitable
description of shadows and lights for the works that Hawthorne has done. This
mystical blackness is close to the attitude of Henry James towards aestheticizing the
puritan beliefs of Nathaniel Hawthorne.
The idea of Original Sin is represented in the famous short story of Hawthorne
Young Goodman Brown. The manner in which this story has been written falls in the
premise of a parable and gothic tale (Brown, 2014, p.165). It can be described as a
vision of universal guilt. The protagonist of the story Goodman Brown decides to go
on a stroll in the forest from the Salem village. The irony of Hawthorne preserves the
practice of romance. The question at the end of the story had Goodman Brown fallen
asleep in the forest and only dreamed a wilddream? (Hawthorne, 2015a, p. 28) is
considered to by an unnecessary question that came from an inexperienced taleteller.
Hawthornes story The Ministers Black Veil that is subtitled as a parable
demonstrates a less serious mood. Mr. Hooper the hero of the story was found
wearing a black veil covering his face, which he never takes off. This appearance
detaches the emotions of his worshippers. He reveals a sermon that has a reference to
a secret sin and at the time of his end, he indicated that the black veil covered the face
of all the individuals.
III. Stories of Science and Art

This category of short stories presented by Nathaniel Hawthorne represents the theme
of practicing human nature in scientific, religious and artistic relations. Aylmer, the
scientist cum philosopher in The Birthmark by Hawthorne attempts a serious
experiment to eradicate a tiny hand-shaped birthmark from the cheek of his wife. This
mark is a representation of the Original Sin for Aylmer (Hawthorne, 2015b). The
removal of the birthmark is significant for the protagonist as he even dreams about
where he digs out the mark of a tiny hand until he stretches to her heart and tears it
out. In this tale, Aylmer is dehumanized because of his religious scientific expedition.
With all the anxieties and presuppositions, the experiment occurs and the birthmark is
removed from the cheek of his wife however, the result of this leads to a new problem
where Georgiana dies. Rappaccinis Daughter is another example of a story with the
theme of belief in god (Carroll, 2014).
Analysis of Hawthornes Style of Writing
Even though from his biography, it is observed that he condemned his ancestors
tradition but in his writing style, he doesnt miss out on including the basic traditions
of Puritans. His childhood experiences have led him to write short stories that
symbolizes as artistic but in a gloomy manner. His stories are always reflecting some
messages. In Rappacicinis Daughter and The Birthmark, Hawthornes belief in god
and superstition is revealed. These stories represent that the even though the results
are not as expected, they would carry out the superstitious activities because of the
incessant belief in god. This showed that Nathaniel Hawthorne was god fearing. On
the other hand, he also included romance in his style of writing as reflected in his first
novel The Scarlet Letter. From the writing style of Hawthorne, it is represented that he
concentrated on different genres but all included a tinge of irony, tradition, art and
guilt. Hawthornes stories reflected the imaginary notions of the author and his style
of romanticism. His stories also reflected religious beliefs even though the
protagonists were either appreciated or condemned for it. The perfect blend of
romance, religious beliefs and original sin allowed Hawthorne to present a tale of
short stories that gained a place in the literary arts.
References
1. Hawthorne, Julian. Nathaniel Hawthorne and his wife. Jazzybee Verlag, 2013.
2. Carroll, Jonathan. "Rappaccinis Daughter serves as a modern retelling of
the third chapter of Genesis, the story of the Fall, while reassigning the
genders of the Adam-and Eve-figures. Hawthorne highlights this allegory from

the start of the story, calling Rappaccinis garden the Eden of the present
world(Hawthorne 11). Rappaccini himself then serves as the God-figure,
always watching over, yet rarely seen in, the garden which he created. The
reader eventually." (2014).
3. Nasser, Shaden Adel. Indeterminacy and The Readers Response To selected
Fiction by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Diss. Ain Shams University, 2013.
4. Brown, Charles Brockden, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar Allan Poe. "Early
American Gothic." The Literature of Terror: Volume 1: The Gothic Tradition
(2014): 165.
5. Person, Leland S. "Sophia Hawthorne, Henry James, and Nathaniel
Hawthorne's" Curious Aversion" to Nudity in Art." Nathaniel Hawthorne
Review 41.2 (2015): 1.
6. Wang, Yueming. "Analysis on the Affinities between Nathaniel Hawthorn and
Pearl in The Scarlet Letter." English Language and Literature Studies 4.4
(2014): 57.
7. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Young Goodman Brown. , 2015a.
8. Melville, Herman. Poor man's pudding and rich man's crumbs. Arsalan
Ahmed, 2015.
9. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The birth-mark. Booklassic, 2015b.