Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Brief Biography

In “ The Minister's Black Veil”, Hawthorne uses plain descriptions that don't confuse readers, which helped explain his meaning of his story shown. “The Minister’s Black Veil” had a strong meaning showing that everyone has a sin that they don't want anyone to know about it. This meant everyone was a sinner and nobody was really a good man. Hawthorne was trying to tell the people that God could see the sins of everyone as he says here “loathsomely treasuring up the secret of his sin; then deem me a monster, for the symbol beneath which I have lived, and die! I look around me, and, lo! on every visage a Black Veil!"” (4) , so he wanted Christians to be more orthodox and become more pure to prevent these secret sins.

Nathaniel Hawthorne was a nineteenth century American novelist and short story writer. He is seen as a key figure in the development of American literature for his tales of real life. Hawthorne wrote his short story which created his own literary style to explore human destiny and human nature issues, and he is good at exposing the "evil" of human nature. For example, the story of The Birthmark conveyed the themes of human nature, selfishness of human consciousness and lack of feminism.

Nathaniel Hawthorne has written may pieces of literature that has made us dig deep inside his words to extract different meanings. He is well known for being one of the fathers of the American short story. He is considered a Dark Romantic whose perception is muddled by limits on human consciousness; where truth is uncertain and it shadows our abilities (Moreland). He is of Puritan descendent and therefore his writing portrays anxiety, guilt, self depression and sins being passed down (Moreland). His writing demonstrates how he likes to go deep within an individual’s unconscious. One of his best short stories is Rappaccini’s Daughter. There is so much to take in from such a short story. He includes cultural contexts pertaining to the nineteenth century women’s equality as well as ethical choices which turn out to be unethical.

The Scarlet Letter is regarded as the first symbolic novel in American Literature for Nathaniel Hawthorne 's skillful use of symbolism and allegory. The novel is also said to be the greatest accomplishment of American short story and is viewed as the first American psychological novel, which makes Hawthorne win an incomparable position in American Literature. Hawthorne’s “unique gift” for using this kind of skills taps into the roots of man 's moral nature and gives vivid explanation of the implications in his works (Lei). Hawthorne is outstanding for his skillful employment of symbolism and psychological insight. Hawthorne set the stage for all other American Literature writers.

Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote the “Minister’s Black Veil” as a story about a minister named Mr. Hooper, who was alienated by the people around him for wearing a black veil.This story is also a parable for it displays a moral and spiritual lesson, which is to not judge others for committing mistakes while one should accept his or her own misdeeds. The story started with a sexton pulling at the bell-rope at a meeting house in the village of Milford. Seconds later, a minister known as Reverend Hooper appeared. People who saw him were all astonished to see the minister with a black veil swathed about his forehead.When he delivered his sermon, everyone was more attentive than usual. He spoke about secret sins which initiated the suspicion amongst the congregation that he has committed a shameful act. Later in the day, Reverend Hooper, still wearing the veil, held a funeral service for a young lady. A rumor had started about how the corpse shuddered when the minister looked at it up close. After the funeral, Hooper conducted a wedding for

Hawthorne creates a serious and somber tone throughout much of the story. From the start, the audience gets a sense that Brown will go through relentless agony from the devilish stranger. His diction in

Hawthorne’s writing style in the “Ministers Black Veil” reveals his view on humans nature through symbolism of the black veil. Reverend clark and other men encircle the minister and question why he must never take off the vail. Right before the ministers death he gets aburst of energy and proclaims, “When the friend shows his inmost heart to his friend…, loathsomely treasuring up the secret of his sin; then deem me a monster, for the symbol beneath which I have lived, and die! I look around me, and, lo! on every visage a black veil!”(Hawthorne 882). Everyone has secrets that they do not want to tell even their closest companions because they feel guilty and ashamed. The minister tells the clergyman that everyone wears a black veil over their face. Hawthorne writes this intending for the veil to be a symbol of man’s secret sin therefore showing that his outlook on humanity is that people are secretly sinful.

Curiosity can be an incredible thing as Hawthorne’s own exploration of knowledge led him to discover his lineage’s dark actions against others. This leads him to explore the darker parts of people’s minds and their original sins. From a very young age, Hawthorne’s intelligence was acknowledged and nurtured. So much so that his family hoped he would go to college. He demonstrated an aptitude for journalism from the age of 16. He entered Bowdoin College in 1821 where he proved himself to be a competent, but not always diligent, scholar. He expressed a lack of interest in the professions of law and medicine as his time in college came to an end. He proposed the idea of becoming a writer to his mother. He returned home, only to keep himself in isolation for 11 years. During this time, Hawthorne wrote “Fanshawe”, a novel based off his time at Bowdoin. Time passed and he had begun researching New England history, only to find that one of his Puritan ancestors had “ordered the whipping of a Quaker woman, and another had served as a judge during the Salem witch trials.” It is believed that this guilt of his family history led Hawthorne into analyzing evil of man and the original sins in his works, which was the basis for “The Minister’s Black Veil”. Nathaniel Hawthorne in The Minister's Black Veil portrays moral corruption and sin by acknowledging the corruption of Hooper, the symbolism of sins within the veil, and the people's failure to address their own sins while demonizing

Where Hawthorne is known, he seems to be deemed a pleasant writer, with a pleasant style,--a sequestered, harmless man, from whom any deep and weighty thing would hardly be anticipated:--a man who means no meanings. But there is no man, in whom humor and love, like mountain peaks, soar to such a rapt height, as to receive the

In stark comparison to his ancestors, his life was relatively normal; he was married with children and spent his days doing what he loved the most, writing. Hawthorne would often draw from his own personal understandings or beliefs, just as he did when he wrote “but the past was not dead” in “The Custom House”. It was evident that Hawthorne’s Puritan past was alive within him, and even after his death in 1864; it continued to live on forever in the pages of his books.

In the story Hawthorne for “The Minister’s Black Veil” the major theme might be to not judge a book by its cover. Therefore, meaning that many people might have secrets that are sins or they might just have sorrowness that they want to hide from others. The minster like many others can hide from their sins and sorrowness with a veil over their face. The ambiguity in the story is the black veil and why the minister refuses to remove it. In his sermon he states “ The subject had reference to secret sin, and those sad mysteries which we hide from our nearest and dearest, and would fain conceal from our own consciousness” During this sermon all the members from his congregation started to feel uncomfortable.

Hawthorne’s work takes America’s Puritan past as its subject, but The Scarlet Letter uses the material to the greatest effect. The Puritans were

Hawthorne allows readers to see many diverse sides to the story. He also explores even deeper ideas such as sin, hypocrisy, and symbolization. All in all, allowing one to develop an understanding of a complex and in-depth idea of a nation’s history. This resulting in a didactic tale of not only the historic significance of the fictional story but also the moral dilemmas faced in the novel, leaving readers to determine the answers to many questions Hawthorne’s subtly presents them

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s works established him as one of the most unique authors of the 19th century. With works such as The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne not only entertained his audience, he made them look at their own life and compare it to 17th century Puritan New England. He also brought readers to the realization of how harsh and difficult the period of American History was. Hawthorne’s unique style of writing and his ability to probe deep into the human conscience made him one of Early America’s most greatly admired authors.

Nathaniel Hawthorne is considered to be one of the most substantial writers of his time. His most famous novel, The Scarlet Letter truly originated Hawthorn’s version of romantic writing. It was this novel that also originated Hawthorne’s fame. Most of his works deal with or have some relation to Puritan times. The reason for the familiarity in his works is due to the fact that it seems to be influenced by his own Puritan ancestry. It was not until late in Hawthorne’s life that he received recognition. To do this Hawthorne had to change his name and found his own stlye of writing that pertained to his life experiances. His romantic style might have been too modern for the times, but eventually he was