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Biography of Nathaniel Hawthorne

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The tall and mysterious Nathaniel Hawthorne is a man of little understanding. We know him for being very secluded and alone much of the time. We also know he had many secrets that may have accounted for the gloomy tone in his novels. He was a writer who did not believe in the game of small talk and enjoyed losing himself to a world of this own creation. Many people might have thought that Hawthorne came off as rude and uninteresting, but they had no idea of the masterpieces that laid inside his head. The work of Nathaniel Hawthorne was most influenced by his solitary personality and Puritan background. Born on July 4, 1804, in Salem, Massachusetts, Hawthorne was brought up by a family with a long New England history. Hawthorne had many relations to significant Puritans and judges of the Salem Witch Trials. Especially known is Hawthorne’s great-great-grandfather, John Hathorne, a judge who oversaw the Salem witch trials. He is also known for being one of the few who never repented his actions. Because of his family background, Hawthorne added a “w” to his name once he started publishing in order to distinguish himself. At the age of four, Hawthorne’s father, a sea-captain, died of yellow fever, leaving his mother to raise him. His mother withdrew to a life of seclusion, which she maintained till her death. The reclusive personality of Hawthorne’s mother most likely shaped his own personality as well. Even so, Hawthorne showed a love of writing early on, and at the age of

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