Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1804. He was raised in a Puritan family and his family members were very impactful in Puritan society. His great-grandfather was one of the judges who was part of the Salem Witch Trials. Hawthorne was disgusted by having the same name as his ancestors so he added the ‘w’ to Hathorne, which he went by in his writings. In 1850, Hawthorne wrote what is considered to be his greatest novel, The Scarlet Letter. The novel is set in a Puritan community
in The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter isn’t just about a woman dealing with the sin of adultery but a woman who faces many different hardships and obstacles to build her character. Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author of The Scarlet Letter, wrote the novel during a time when religion was very strict, corrupt, and harsh. Hester, the main character of the novel, has a child named Pearl with another man that is not her husband. Hester has to stand on the scaffold for an hour and wear a scarlet letter
The Scarlet Letter: The Effects of Literary Techniques Jane Austen once said “I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives”. Nathaniel Hawthorne's, The Scarlet Letter, tells the story of the life of Hester Prynne, an adulteress, forced to wear a Scarlet “A” on her bosom by the sinister Puritan society to mark her shame. As her husband seeks revenge for the unidentified lover, Arthur Dimmesdale
NEXT What Nathaniel Hawthorne did... and why you should care The writer Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on the Fourth of July in 1804 and went on from there to establish himself as one of the great contributors to American literature. Like Forrest Gump, he seemed all his life to be surrounded by history. He was descended from a line of notorious Puritans, including a judge at the Salem witch trials. His college pals included poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and future president Franklin Pierce. Henry
The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a novel that centers around guilt and shame. With the story set in 17th century Boston, the Puritan society had much influence on government and society. “Sinful acts”, as defined by the Puritans, were grounds for social alienation at the time. Guilt and shame are the feelings caused from humiliation when acts that are frowned upon are done. Characters like Hester Prynne, Roger Chillingworth, and Minister Dimmesdale, all became involved in
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, a virus spreads throughout this gothic romance that malevolently affects both protagonists and antagonists, known as moral corruption. This reoccurring theme is most prevalent in namely the three main characters; Hester Prynne, Roger Chillingworth and Arthur Dimmesdale. Hawthorne creates a dystopia in the small Massachusetts Bay Colony of Salem during the 17th century, where the people condemn and damn such individuals who go against the grain so to speak
had anything nice to say and only had biblical lamentations. The speaker laments society and its morals while prophesying society’s downfall. Jeremiads are seen in The Scarlet Letter, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, “What, to the slave, is the Fourth of July?”, and The Great Gatsby. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlett Letter is one novel demonstrating a jeremiad. The Puritans believed people were born sinners and maintained strict watch over themselves and townspeople. Hester committed adultery