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Biography of Nathaniel Hawthorne

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“ It is to the credit of human nature, that, except where its selfishness is brought into play, it loves more readily than it hates. Hatred, by gradual and quiet process, will even be transformed to love, unless the change be embedded by a continually new irritation of the original feeling of hostility (Hawthorne). Writers of the 1800s seemed to write in a way that would serve to the sentimental values of their readers and focus on bright, happy, or romantic topics. One Author, however, looked deep into the darker side of human nature and delved into topics such as: morality, sin, and redemption. This author was Nathaniel Hawthorne. On July 4, 1804, in Salem, Massachusetts, Nathaniel Hathorne was born to Nathaniel Hathorne and Elizabeth Clark Manning Hathorne. Not wanting his name to be thought of in the likes of John Hathorne, a distinguished figure in the Salem witch trials of the late 1600s, Nathaniel added a ‘w’ to his name when he began his writing career. Nathaniel Hawthorne was only four when his father, the captain of a ship, died from yellow fever. Much of Hawthorne’s childhood was spend living with his mother, sisters, and uncles. Robert Manning, one of his uncles, was quite taken by a young Nathaniel and was the financing behind Hawthorne’s years at Bowdoin College. He began publishing short stories during his college education and continued to write after his graduation in 1925. Like most people Hawthorne had quite a few hardships growing up. Some of these

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