Nathaniel Hawthorne Influences

Nathaniel Hawthorne lived from 1804 until 1864. He was born in Salem, Massachusetts. He came from a family with a long history and he added a ‘w’ to his last name because he did not want to be associated with the history of the Salem witch trials, because the name Hathorne was tied to a judge in Salem. The Scarlett Letter was published in 1850. The Scarlet Letter was a way to address Puritanism and witch trials and deal with his families past. And

Nathaniel Hawthorne was one of the best fiction authors of the 1800’s, and is still highly praised to this day. Hawthorne paved the way for future successful authors such as William Faulkner. Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804, in Salem, Massachusetts, the second of three children born to Nathaniel and Elizabeth Hathorne (their son added the "w" to the family name when he began his writing career). In 1808, Hawthorne’s father, a ship's captain, died of yellow fever in the distant port of Surinam Hawthorne attended college at Bowdoin College where his main concentration was writing.” (Egotism; or, The Bosom Serpent) “In sketches, tales, and romances published in the second third of the nineteenth century, Hawthorne chose mainly American materials,

Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the greatest American authors of the nineteenth century. He published his first novel Fanshawe, in 1828. However, he is widely known for his novels The Scarlet Letter and The House of Seven Gables. His novel, The Scarlet Letter, can be analyzed from historical, psychological and feminist critical perspectives by examining his life from the past, as well as his reflections while writing The Scarlet Letter. In order to understand the book properly, it’s necessary to use these three perspectives.

Many of Hawthorne’s works deal with religion and his characters often have to struggle with their beliefs. It could be suggested that Hawthorne too was not comfortable in his religion and in ways renounced it through his writing.

Hawthorne is known for being a Romantic writer with a Romantic subject: a rebel who refuses to conform to society's code. Most

Writing an excellent book, short story,or poem is an ability very few people posses : Nathaniel Hawthorne is someone who had this talent. Hawthorne's writing is mostly centered around romantic fiction, he has written a plethora of things but he is mostly remembered for his short stories and novels. Before divulging into his work, a reader should know where his writing comes from, his inspirations, originality and what some would call pure genius. The author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, is an individual whose work has been and should continue to be analyzed for years to come due to his unique twist on romantic fiction. Many of his works have casted a silhouette over America through his intricate stories and writing style that revealed the themes of psychology and human nature during the 19th century. Hawthorne’s ominous style makes his works into oddities compared to the other romantic fiction novels in his time. Many of his works, such as The Scarlet Letter, exemplifies the epitome of Hawthorne’s distinct outlook on the moralistic attitudes of

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem Massachusetts and died on May 19, 1964 in Plymouth New Hampshire. Mr. Hawthorne was injured when he was young and during that time he became fascinated with literature and writing, eventually he went to college and made friends many of whom are famous classic writers. After graduation he returned home and wrote many of his famous book, The Hollows of the Three Hills, An Old Woman's Tale, My Kinsman, and many more. During this time Hawthorne worked for the Boston Custom House, where he met his first wife. They eventually got married, moved to Massachusetts, and had three children. Due to financial reasons they moved back to Salem and he got a job at the Salem Custom House, soon he was let go due to the election of a new president named Zachary Taylor. During this time he started writing again, this is when he wrote The Scarlet Letter.

Nathaniel Hawthorne comes from a bloodline that is associated with the Salem witch trials in 1692. His great-great-grandfather was a puritan that took part in the executions during the witch trilas, explaining Hawthorne’s fondness with the religion. Nathaniel Hawthorne is known for his interest in the News England Puritan past. Most of Hawthorne’s writings implement the Puritan ways and faith in which most of the characters act upon or main faith is revolved around. “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Scarlet Letter” are both one of Hawthorne’s many pieces that are prime examples of the Puritan religion affecting his writing. Through the story Hawthorne uses many allegories representing Christian, but also puritan faith and many symbols relating to them also.

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem Massachusetts. His father died of yellow fever when he was 4 years old and left behind a wife and 3 children. Hawthorne was raised by an abnormal and solitary mother. “He had a leg injury at a young age, which left him not being able to move for months (Biography)”. His leg injury, on the other hand, did not get in the way of what he was dreaming of doing growing up. During the time of his leg injury, Hawthorne developed an interest in reading and writing. He grew up being an enthusiastic reader of poetry and exotic adventure stories. Hawthorne had to overcome a lot of obstacles growing up to become a writer. Despite losing a father and having a leg injury at such a young age, Hawthorne became a successful writer of the American Romantic period.

Nathaniel Hawthorne was one of the most important authors in the history of American literature and the genre of Romanticism or Dark Romanticism, due to his unique style of writing and his focus upon subjects of Puritan religion and the unknown. I consider Hawthorne an important author, due to the fact that he skillfully and accurately based his fictional writings upon happenings of colonial times, was one of the first authors to display unfortunate outcomes for his characters’ immoral choices according to Puritan beliefs, and wrote of things that were considered taboo in his time, such as witchcraft, scientific innovation and experimentation. I strongly believe that Hawthorne’s influence for his writings were his Puritan ancestral background, his fascination with Puritan beliefs, and his interest in what was considered the unknown such as witchcraft and science. According to the Norton Anthology Textbook Vol. B, Nathaniel Hawthorne was “born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1804” (370). Hawthorne belonged “to a family whose ancestral roots were tied to Puritan history, with his family being among the first settlers of Massachusetts and having one of his relatives serve as a judge during the Salem witch trials” (370). Hawthorne, as a young boy, “had a particular interest in writings such as John Bunyan’s Puritan allegory The Pilgrim’s Progress, and by his mid-teens he took interest in British novelists such as Henry Fielding, Tobias Smollet, William Godwin, and Sir Walter Scott”

    Nathaniel Hawthorne was of Puritan descent, but he himself was not a Puritan.  Hawthorne greatly despised his Puritan ancestors, particularly John Hathorne, for the way he treated many innocent people of the Salem Village.  Nathaniel Hawthorne was truly ashamed of what his great- great grandfather, John Hathorne, had done to all those innocent people, so as a young adult, Nathaniel Hawthorne decided to change his last name from Hathorne to Hawthorne, hoping to distance himself from his cold- hearted ancestors.

The introduction of their first youngster, Una, made Hawthorne at the end of the day look for a fiscally secure occupation. With the assistance of his old companions, Hawthorne was selected a surveyor for the port of Salem. His child, Julian, was conceived in 1846. Despite the fact that the new occupation facilitated the budgetary issues for the family, Hawthorne again discovered little time to seek after his written work. By the by, amid this time, he was at that point shaping thoughts for a novel in view of his Puritan family line and presented by a prelude about the Custom House where he worked. At the point when the Whigs won the 1848 race, Hawthorne lost his position. It was a money related stun to the family, however it serendipitously furnished him with time to compose The Scarlet

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.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s heavy Puritan ties helped shape his American

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s works were a product of his ancestors — whom he despised. Hawthorne grew up in Salem, Massachusetts, surrounded by the legacy of the Salem Witch Trials that had happened a little over a century before his time. He despised Puritan tradition, particularly because one of his ancestors was one of the harshest judges during the witch scare. Hawthorne even added a “w” to his last name (from Hathorne) to distance his reputation from that of his ancestor’s (“Nathaniel Hawthorne”). Given this background, it is no