Biography of Nathaniel Hawthorne - 1273 Words

When a child is born, his family is there to welcome him into the world. Whether he knows it or not, this family will eventually mold his character, views, and faith. Although all parents try their best to successfully raise their children, even the most perfect of families cannot hide their deep, dark secrets forever. Raised as a Puritan, Nathaniel Hawthorne grew up with a devout family intensely immersed in religion. As he matured, Hawthorne discovered that his seemingly pious family was disturbingly flawed, a discovery that would radically change his life. In his short story â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Puritan family secrets aid in forming symbols of faith and evil and developing the inner complexities of his†¦show more content†¦These actions mimic those of Hawthorne’s ancestors, John and William. Both sets of ancestors were prejudiced enough to attack innocent people because of their religion, shocking and traumatizing their de scendants, Brown and Hawthorne. Additionally, Hawthorne’s portrayal of characters in the story stems from his pessimism. Along his path into the forest, Brown crosses paths with his priest. Upon seeing him, he is shocked to see that he is on his way to the devil’s meeting. Have all of the priest’s sermons about purity and resisting the devil been a lie? How could Brown have listened to this impure pastor each week? Was he affiliated with the devil all along? While he would have blindly followed his priest before their encounter, Brown now doubted his own judgment of the priest’s character. Later, Brown finds his childhood religion teacher, Goody Cloyse, and asks why she is in the forest so late at night. When he learns that she is also attending the meeting, he is shocked and says, â€Å"That old woman taught me my catechism† (Hawthorne 3). Even though Brown trusted and idolized Cloyse as a teacher, she was not as pure as she seemed. Through these characters, Hawthorne shows that, no matter how perfect a person may appear, even the most idolized members of society are tarnished by flaws. Throughout â€Å"Young GoodmanShow MoreRelatedBiography of Nathaniel Hawthorne547 Words   |  2 Pagesirritation of the original feeling of hostility (Hawthorne). Writers of the 1800s seemed to write in a way that would serve to the sentimental values of their readers and focus on bright, happy, or romantic topics. One Author, however, looked deep into the darker side of human nature and delved into topics such as: morality, sin, and redemption. This author was Nathaniel Hawthorne. On July 4, 1804, in Salem, Massachusetts, Nathaniel Hathorne was born to Nathaniel Hathorne and Elizabeth Clark Manning HathorneRead MoreBiography of Nathaniel Hawthorne 1123 Words   |  5 PagesThe tall and mysterious Nathaniel Hawthorne is a man of little understanding. We know him for being very secluded and alone much of the time. We also know he had many secrets that may have accounted for the gloomy tone in his novels. He was a writer who did not believe in the game of small talk and enjoyed losing himself to a world of this own creation. Many people might have thought that Hawthorne came off as rude and uninteresting, but they had no idea of the masterpieces that laid inside his headRead MoreA Brief Biography of Nathaniel Hawthorne856 Words   |  3 PagesNathaniel Hawthorne once said, â€Å"I do not want to be a doctor and live by men’s diseases, nor minister to live by their sins, nor a lawyer and live by men’s quarrels. So, I don’t see that there i s anything left for me but to be an author† (Nathaniel). This statement describes Hawthorne’s personality and life in a way that no other quote could. Nathaniel Hawthorne was an Anti-Transcendentalist writer meaning that he had a negative view of all humans. The Anti-Transcendentalist movement was a pessimisticRead MoreNathaniel Hawthorne: A Brief Biography1277 Words   |  6 Pages On July 4, 1804, an author by the name of Nathaniel Hawthorne was born (Meltzer). As Hawthorne grew, he began to develop a view of himself as â€Å"the obscurest man in American letters.† Through the use of popular themes such as isolation, guilt, and earthly imperfection, Hawthorne was able to involve much of his life and ancestral past in his work to answer his own political and religious wonders (â€Å"Nathaniel†). Hawthorne successfully â€Å"confronts reality rather than evading it† in many of his storiesRead MoreAnalysis Of Nathaniel Hawthorne s Scarlet Fever 1254 Words   |  6 PagesNathaniel Hawthorne 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. â€Å"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 anRead More Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown – Poverty in the Tale and in the Life of the Author1565 Words   |  7 Pagesof the Author  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚   Henry Seidel Canby in â€Å"A Skeptic Incompatible with His Time and His Past† mentions of Hawthorne that â€Å"human failures and their causes were more interesting to him than prophecies of success, one might truly say than success itself. †¦He was not, I think, really interested in escape, except in moods of financial discouragement. . . . (57). Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† embodies traits of the modest lifestyle which the author had to subject himself to becauseRead More Poverty Within and Without Young Goodman Brown1420 Words   |  6 Pagessimplicity within the Nathaniel Hawthorne short story, â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† might be an expression or reflection of the utter poverty within the life of Hawthorne? It is the purpose of this essay to clarify this issue.    Hawthorne’s impoverishment probably begain with the untimely death of his father, and continuedfor most of his llife. Gloria C. Erlich in â€Å"The Divided Artist and His Uncles† states that â€Å"Robert Manning made the esential decisions in the lives of the Hawthorne children and isRead More Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown – Poverty in the Tale and Author’s Life1650 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"Twice-Told Tales: A Blend of Stories† makes reference to the widely-known poverty of the aspiring writer,Nathaniel Hawthorne: â€Å"True enough, Hawthorne planned more than once to write groups of tales and sketches somehow linked into a whole; but he could not get a publisher for them. When he did get a publisher in 1837, it had to be through the help of the hack-editor, Samuel Goodrich. . . .† (107) Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† includes traits of the modest lifestyle which the author was forcedRead MoreEssay on Nat haniel Hawthornes Life in His Works1556 Words   |  7 Pagesauthor 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 in everything he wrote. Nathaniel Hawthorne was bornRead MoreNathaniel Hawthorne: An Author that Influenced and Reshaped our Literature1083 Words   |  5 Pagesbeing modified. American literature is no exception. Many great writers have influenced and reshaped our literature, and Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of them. He faced his problems and moved on. He was and is one of the most influential American writers, and he is more than a writer. Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804, in Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel and Elizabeth Hawthorne. His original last name was Hathorne, but he added the w when he started writing to avoid confusion with his great-grandfather