Was It Really Just An Experiment?.. Nathaniel Hawthorne

Hawthorne’s scientist from “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” Dr. Heidegger misuses science by tampering with natural events which leads to four of his friends leaving. Upon drinking the youthful water

The power of imagination makes us infinite, and when it is dulled, one can feel trapped. Only after freeing ourselves, can we understand the beauty of a creative mind. Nathaniel Hawthorne explains how he also had to get back in tune with his imagination after not using it for years while working at the Custom House. Hawthorne draws a very well sketch of the boring life at the Custom House, and how after his head was “cut off” he got the mindset to be able to write the Scarlet Letter. In this long introduction to the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses rhetorical devices to describe character traits, show relationships between characters, hint at future events, and enrich the plot for the reader's enjoyment. With his effective use of imagery, symbolism and biblical allusions, Hawthorne adds depth to the novel while creating a connection to the meaning beyond the story that it tells.

Born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1804, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote many novels and short stories. Hawthorne’s best novel, The Scarlet Letter, overtook the role of the first truly, American novel. His use of rhetorical devices, especially symbolism, established him as one of the most studied authors of all time. In order to convey meaning or to persuade, Hawthorne utilized numerous rhetorical devices. Rhetorical devices in The Scarlet Letter evoked emotions of the audience. In Hawthorne’s work, the devices helped the audience elaborate on the novel. Hawthorne used rhetorical devices to show his character's turmoil. He did this through the character of Hester Prynne, a social outcast bound to isolation by her sins. In novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hawthorne depicts Hester’s inner turmoil through the portrayal of the sinful nature of human beings utilizing rhetorical devices.

Hawthorne was able to show the true intentions and feelings of characters and the relationships between characters. He did this because he wanted the readers to understand that the Puritan society was not as religious or great as it is sometimes portrayed as. Even though their intentions were right with wanting to start a new religious society in the New World, they had their faults. Hawthorne is able to address these through the use of ironies. For example, having the reverend that everyone looks up to and emulates, be suffering from committing a very sinful act. Also, having the townspeople contradict the meaning of the scarlet A, and see it as a positive thing after Hester has just endured the torture of isolation and banishment. Overall, Hawthorne is trying to express his personal views on the Puritan society through the use of

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”

Rhetorical devices are used in literature in order for the reader to enjoy the context more, and read deeper into the text instead of just scraping the surface. Nathaniel Hawthorne was able to use a variety of rhetorical devices to paint a picture for the readers, especially with the combination of symbolism, pathos, and diction. With these devices, he was able to add depth into his writing and manipulate the journey of the readers. His symbols mostly consisted of the letter “A” and the baby, which described Hester’s overall character.

1. Most of Hawthorne stories take residence in Puritan society, in which Hawthorne's lineage was severely entrenched. As a result, he was introduced to sorcery, as Hawthorne was obstructed by the events of the Witch trials and his forefather's part in it. In general, these stories are integrated by the refrains, the falseness of Puritanism; the battle amongst external presence and internal representativeness; and the clash between virtuous and immoral inside us. Tales with paranormal essentials like "The Birthmark" and "Ethan Brand”. "Leave me," he said, bitterly, "ye brute beasts that have made yourselves so, shriveling up your souls with fiery liquors! I have done with you. Years and years ago, I groped into your hearts and found nothing

Frank N. Magill Comments that "Hawthorne writes about witches and devils like a man who does not really believe in such grotesque creatures but appreciates them as

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

And in some way it foreshadows the outcome yet you have to make a educated guess to figure out this question. It is important to remember that Hawthorne was considered a "Dark Romantic" rather than just a Romantic author. The Dark Romantics, as they were named, consisted of authors such as Hawthorne, Poe and Melville. They were considered as almost anti-Transcendentalists because the way they looked at the world was so different to the optimistic views of Emerson and authors of his time. However, the work of these Dark Romantics did actually have much in common with the Transcendentalists. Both groups valued intuition over logic and reason. Both groups saw signs and symbols in all events. Where they differ is that the Dark Romantics, when considering nature, placed an emphasis on Original Sin, its sense of the innate wickedness of human beings, and its notions of predestination.To emphasize he is a romantic in this case categorized as a Dark romantic.

     In Hawthorne's revered novel The Scarlet Letter, the use of Romanticism plays an important role in the development of his characters. He effectively demonstrates individualism in Hester to further our understanding of the difficulties of living in the stern, joyless world of Puritan New England.  It is all gloom and doom.  If the sun ever shines, one could hardly notice.  The entire place seems to be shrouded in black.  The people of this society were stern, and repressed natural human impulses and emotions than any society before or since.  But for this reason specifically, emotions began bubbling and eventually boiled over, passions a novelist

Nathaniel Hawthorne is a prominent writer who uses many different elements in his works. He uses elements such as symbolism, figurative language, metaphor, irony and etc. to make his work prominent. In the works by Nathaniel Hawthorne, he uses symbols for secret sin in The Scarlet Letter, “The Minister’s Black Veil,” and “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment.”

Hawthorne’s short story “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” highlights four major vices that humanity as a whole struggles with. For each of the four vices there is an elderly character that has failed at life due to them. The first such character is Widow Wycherly; her vice is vanity, the next is Mr. Medbourne; his vice is greed, after him is Colonel Killigrew; his vice is lust, and finally Mr. Gascoigne; his vice is corruption. All four of these characters are invited into Dr. Heidegger’s lab to partake in an experiment. They are given water that is believed to be from the fountain of youth. They will be given another chance to right their wrongs and fix their vices. Upon consumption of the water, the four elderly people begin to act young again and return to their old ways of vanity, greed, lust, and corruption. Dr. Heidegger said that, “if the fountain gushed at

With most writers, readers can identify what topics they tend to write about, how long their pieces often are, and what personal style these authors develop. While this is true of author Nathaniel Hawthorne, there are different elements that influence his writings. His life included many times of trials, many joys, and many ancestors that caused some turmoil within his mind. Two of his major works are influenced almost directly by his background (Werlock). Nathaniel Hawthorne threw his life into every single piece of his writing. His experiences, background, and the setting in which his life took place are prominent

Romanticism is categorized as “a preference for simplicity and naturalness, a love of plain feelings and truth to common place reality, especially as found in natural scenes”. Nathaniel Hawthorne was an anti-transcendentalist and believed in the dark side of man, hence his dark romantic novel The Scarlet Letter. This allegorical novel depends heavily on symbol and character. The novel is chock full of symbolic dimension of images, characters, and descriptions. The Scarlet Letter defines the American Romanticist movement while using symbolic characters and places that give the book seemingly two different stories. The first story denotes the story going on in the book, including the characters. The other story has symbols that speak on