Hawthorne?s Symbolism In The House Of Seven Gables Essay

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.

The novel The House of Seven Gables conveys its messages through the usage of images, which is done through inanimate object or places. This can be seen in the house of the seven gables and the daguerreotype of judge Pyncheon. Hawthorne present these images in such a manner, that their original meaning in the novel is no longer applicable. While many see his writing style as a tedious form, such writing has made the images created by Nathanial Hawthorne. Nathanial Hawthorne may be seen as a writer with a tedious writing style, such as the long descriptions of the images in the novel. Nevertheless it’s an effective manner to use allegory in a novel.

This shows that Hester’s good deeds are resounding within the community who now see her as an extremely helpful individual filled with mercy to the sick and afflicted. However, they only say and allow themselves to feel such in

The gothic novel The House of the Seven Gables, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, displays the decaying of the Pyncheon family following the curse of Matthew Maule. The curse accompanies the family and the house together through generations causing the curse to become more real as time goes on. By the end of the novel, Maule’s curse causes the house to become a living character.

Is it possible for an author to utilize so much symbolism that it captivates the reader to the extent of paralleling the tale with their own life? The principle of symbolism is quite evident in the story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Young Goodman Brown”. Nathaniel Hawthorn’s work is immersed with symbolism with most of it deriving from his Puritan beliefs. The themes of sin, guilt, innocence, and lust come forth through the uses of color symbolism as well as visual clues. All of these things are dealt with in everyday life in modern America. “His ability to create vivid and symbolic images that embody great moral questions appears strongly in his short stories.” (Bloom)

Symbolism in The Scarlet Letter In the book The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism, which is the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities, to make objects, people, and actions more significant. The use of these symbols creates greater meaning and significance of different actions, objects, and people There are so many symbols in this book, but here are some of the most important symbols. Hester Prynne's scarlet letter

Hawthorne's characters are sinners, represented as individuals who got salvation and regeneration before the end of novel. Hester acknowledges her offense and gallantly shows it to the society. The sign of her humiliation, clearly embroidered, and worn throughout her life though she could have removed it, clearly shows that she was not hiding anything. Her deliverance is in truth and acceptance. This acceptance of truth and reality is expressed by Hester: “In all things else, I have striven to be true!

After the Custom-House intro, Hawthorne leaves his readers in a Puritan society, at a door that’s “heavily timbered with oak, and studded with iron spikes” (1.1). Granted, it 's a prison door. But the narrator goes on to describe the door as never having known “a youthful era” (1.2). This door is only 15-20 years old, and it is “marked with weather-stains and other indications of age” (1.2). The prison represents the harsh life of the Puritans, including everything that is strict and lawful in the society. The prison represents a place of darkness and sin, and right beside the door sits a symbol of the exact opposite.

This change is very much evident in ‘The House of the Seven Gables’. The dark, decaying, claustrophobic mansion - ‘conceived in the grotesqueness of a Gothic fantasy’, ‘the scene of events more full of human interest, perhaps, than those of a gray, feudal castle’ - at once establishes itself as the central symbol of the novel and imparts an unmistakably Gothic flavour to the narrative. The image of the compass is invoked in relation with the house in the very first sentence of the story - it is as if Hawthorne’s language, too, is carefully calibrated to reinforce the idea of the house as the centre, the essence of the romance, and the one constant presence in the lives of the principal characters. Confusing in its size, with ‘foot worn passageway(s)’, ‘crazy doors’ and a ‘creaking staircase’, the house serves as a pole star for the reader, helping her to navigate her way through the narrative, as early all events - present and past - of the narrative take place within the house, or with the house as the backdrop. Phoebe arrives at the house, and leaves, only to come back for good. Holgrave, the daguerreotypist, having led a nomadic life, finds refuge underneath the seven gables. Hepzibah and Clifford flee in haste, and return, weak and weary, drawn

In the short story, “young Goodman brown,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author elaborately unveils an allegorical piece of work through his extensive use of symbolism. The story in itself takes us in a literal as well as figurative journey through a transitional state in a man’s spiritual life. Our protagonist Young Goodman brown goes through this transitional state as he is ripped away from previously held ideals and religious beliefs. Curiosity is what drives young Brown outside of his safe heaven, and into a promising hell; a hell that is to end his innocent view towards his towns folk. Throughout the story, Hawthorne presents us with a series

In The House of the Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses a preface at the beginning of the book to assure his readers that the novel is merely a romance. Each chapter of the book, however, shows the elements of Gothicism. The novel hints of being a romance because of the supernatural or fantasy-like elements but the being of death, eyes, decay, and darkness strongly shows otherwise. The haunting, dark, and mysterious aspects of the house and actions of the two families allow any reader to make the assumption, and causes contradiction of Hawthorne’s own work.

Someone influential isn’t only a powerful individual, but also someone who understands certain situations and is able to advise others what to do if one ever encounters something similar. Consequently, Nathaniel Hawthorne was the primary author who influenced me the most because I was able to connect and sympathize with the author. Also, when I attended the academic conference that I was so greatly invited to take a part in, I was able to understand and see the short story “Young Goodman Brown” in a new perspective. Besides understanding that the short story is about society wearing different faces, I was able to further comprehend that the short story might also be about assumptions. This triggered a thought which made me further connect with the authors writing. Thus, Hawthorne’s short story really spoke to me.

Hawthorne uses incredibly effective symbolism throughout the novel. One example of this is how Hester Prynne at the beginning of the story is introduced as a detriment to the well being of society and being a

Setting can be used, as Hawthorne did, to produce deeper meaning within the setting. Symbolism was a key component because it allowed the reader to better understand setting. In particular, Hawthorne uses the scaffold to symbolize sin and redemption, He uses Hester's home to symbolize the tight grip that the puritans had on her, and he uses the forest to symbolize something sweet in a place thought to be evil. Setting and the symbolism pulled from it, is used to build a better understanding of the characters in the

William B. Dillingham has, with immense precision, conjectured in his literary criticism of Hawthorne that amidst the theme of ‘inherited curse’ Hawthorne has placed a significant ‘real’ theme which is “necessity of man’s participation” in the “united struggle of mankind”. In fact, he begins his essay on “Structure and Theme in the House of Seven Gables” by stating, “Most critics of The House of Seven Gables fail to discover any structural pattern. The usual conclusion is that the book consists of a series of episodes