Nathaniel HawthorneEssay Preview: Nathaniel HawthorneReport this essayNathaniel Hawthorne:Literature of ConsienceChristopher C. CopassEnglish II, 2nd PeriodMr. ScalesApril 29, 1999Nathaniel Hawthornes 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. Hawthornes unique style of writing and his ability to probe deep into the human conscience made him one of Early Americas most greatly admired authors.
A Historical View of Hawthorne. 1801-1906. The 1801 edition of Hawthorne gives the reader an account of the period, and of his relationship with the Society of the Royal Society on the one hand, as well as of his influence on other famous and popular scholars such as William Shakespeare, William Shakespeare, and Robert Burns, as well as on the English writers and philosophers. It contains illustrations of numerous scenes in the history of England, including his famous “Orientation,” a voyage through the woods to find the King who lived in London where he met Joseph, Lord of Pembroke, the first great king of Britain and of the English colonies. Hawthorne also wrote the following poem: The great poet Hester.
The man [Hester] must be not of that time; of whom the king [Hester] has, we will say nothing; a great knight; a king of a part.
The whole earth hath a king, not of a part or many, but of a king with a king’s hand,
When he comes to us the king may be of any race;
Or in any part, a king with a king’s hand.
To whom to give the whole of his majesty his kingdom, or in any part, his right hand is, if it is of an English person. All that, with which we are in the habit of discussing a particular question, is not an Indian origin.
Hawthorne: A French Renaissance Poet. The biography by Robert Barnes in the first issue of the Bantam-Rescue collection of Hemingway’s First Biography.
The Hawthornes had already left their legacy with the town of Salem leaving Nathaniel Hawthorne a long rich history of ancestry in the town. In 1630, William Hawthorne made the Journey to the New World with John Winthrop, the first governor of Massachusetts. Two of Hawthornes relatives who were directly involved with the Salem witch trials, also left their mark on the town. Hawthorne carried a direct relation to Judge Hathorne himself, being the primary cause of Hawthorne later adding a “w” to his name. Another of his relatives, Phillip English, was accused of witchcraft. These events definitely affected Hawthorne, even after the name change. Even as a grown man he used to say he could “still hear the ghosts in the old houses of Salem” (Manley 23).
I hope I am correct in saying that my family of 8-10 years back, from the first generation, had their names etched on the walls of their houses. Our great, beautiful little town of Salem has a deep history of roots among the common people. We have a natural and ancient history of history that the Salemites built over to make it one of the best local communities on this continent. As mentioned, Salem does not have an entire picture of the history of both the community and the state and how it is related to those in Salem. For the record, there are great historical facts of the Salem towns that I will talk to about in a moment.
A first step in making some sense of all this is, some of you may know from my previous article about how we were part of the first Salem town, Middletown. For the record, we were part of Middletown before the Salem town laws. We were also a part of Providence in what was the first Salem town. It is easy to understand how a town like Middletown could be influenced by a local law passed over to them by many generations of its people. Middletown was not a “new town” like Salem’s, but an original town carved to the very definition of Salem because of what many people found “new to this land” like the Salem names. They were inspired and shaped to fit their vision.
Most of all we had these beautiful red brick houses, painted in red brick, that people would always remember sitting and smoking. They had some sense of beauty that Salem did not have but was unique. Even then, while many people were here, they were not here for the same reason the Salem names could only be described as blue. That is because the red brick houses were carved to match the red brick houses they were built to provide to the town people. We are not an original Salem town either, but it is not in the United States of America, nor are you one of us (the people you will eventually see during our next post). Our name was carved for Middletown but we are still part of a different town which, by its nature, is not a part of any Salem town. Because of the new town’s heritage and history, one cannot say for sure if Salem has any right to be on the list but we are in the state and our names have been engraved that way.
So, I am trying to explain to you why there is no mention of Salem anymore. If you read this blog you will notice that in the post (more on that later) I talked about the differences in the names of Salem’s houses, some of us didn’t even really have a name, others said “Salem!” while I said “New Salem.” The Salem name, given out by the state government of the town, was an unusual one because it was used before the Salem name was printed. This story
His father was occupied with a Salem shipping company. His occupation frequently took him away on voyages delivering spices and silks. One day, he returned to Salem to find his wife had given birth to a new son. He had been born on the 4th of July in 1804 and was given the name Nathaniel. His father loved Nathaniel, affectionately called “Nath,” dearly, but could not spend much time with him because of his job. One fateful day, he was assigned to captain a ship on a voyage to Suriname, in South America. A few weeks later, Hawthorne received the devastating news that the rampaging Yellow Fever had put an end to his fathers life. Although Hawthorne was greatly saddened by his fathers death, it did not have the distinguishing affect on his life that it did on his mothers. She became withdrawn almost to the extent of reclusive. The rest of her life was lived in a state of melancholy. Hawthorne loathed to be in close proximity to his mother. He spent a large portion of childhood at the wharves in Salem, watching the schooners come in bringing silks and spices. Hawthornes life reflected his great love of the ocean, which probably originated at the now famous wharves.
At the age of nine, one of the most significant events in Hawthornes life occurred. The typical New England boy, Hawthorne was very physically active and athletic. One fateful day, while Hawthorne was playing ball, he injured his foot. Not only was his foot damaged, but it grew together improperly and created a problem which would ail him for the rest of his life.
After his accident, Hawthorne was confined to his bed because he had lost mobility. During this time, Hawthorne read many books that would became his favorites, and also have an impact on his writing. These books included Pilgrims Progress, by Bunyan, and Faerie Queen, by Spenser. He also enjoyed reading Shakespeare. When the condition of his leg improved, he put on small plays for his sister, who also admired Shakespeare.
At this point in his life, Hawthorne became mildly reclusive because he had been accustomed to sitting inside reading all day due to the fact that he could not walk properly. He mostly confined himself to his room where he began writing. Hawthorne “founded” a hand-printed magazine, The Spectator, which include some of Hawthornes early literature. He filled his magazine with some of his personal humor. His most amiable times were spent in his “Printing Office” working on his magazine. This appears to be the first time Hawthorne became seriously interested in writing.
As Hawthornes became older, he began to make plans to attend college. The College his Uncle chose was Bowdoin College. The first class at Bowdoin College consisted of seven members. His Uncle, who paid his expenses, chose this simplistic and ancient college. Its classes were modeled after Harvards with a strong emphasis on Latin, Greek, and moral character (Hoeltje 53-54). During his attendance there, Hawthorne became friends with two of his soon to be illustrious classmates, Franklin Pierce and Henry David Thoreau.
When Hawthorne returned from college, he decided to pursue writing further. His Uncle became incensed that he had paid for Hawthornes education, yet Hawthorne had ignored his requests for him to go into the stagecoach business. His mother shared his Uncles anger due to the fact that Hawthorne no longer pitied his mother in her state of continual grief.
As Hawthorne matured, he would produce many manuscripts. His first manuscript was Seven Tales of My Native Land. Many publishers rejected the Novel. Eventually, someone finally agreed to publish the novel. The man delayed so long in publishing the work that Hawthorne, in a fit of rage, burned the manuscript. This was a major setback for Hawthorne, but it would not last long. Throughout his life, whenever he found a copy of the printed book, he would burn it.
In his first years upon returning from college, Hawthorne produced a romance novel called Fanshawe. The novel was about a girl who is attending “Harley College” who is so beautiful that two men fall in love with her. Fanshawe is taking a walk in the woods when he observes someone trying to kidnap the girl. He foils the kidnappers plans, but refuses all rewards and dies a young man. The kidnapper marries the girl.
His next manuscript, printed in 1826, was Twice Told Tales, which became a very popular book. Edgar Allen Poe became a well-known advocate of the book. He thought Hawthorne to be a pure writer and said that his tone was very effective. His only complaint about the book was a discrepancy with the title. He felt Twice Told Tales was an improper name for the novel because he felt the tales in the book