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Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne . Nathaniel Hawthorne 1804-1864. Born in Salem, Massachusetts Puritan Background Ancestor of John Hathorne – one of the three judges in the Salem Witch Trials. Hawthorne ’ s Background. Born Hathorne-changed name to a “ W ”

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Nathaniel Hawthorne

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  1. Nathaniel Hawthorne

  2. Nathaniel Hawthorne 1804-1864 • Born in Salem, Massachusetts • Puritan Background • Ancestor of John Hathorne – one of the three judges in the Salem Witch Trials

  3. Hawthorne’s Background • Born Hathorne-changed name to a “W” • Father died in 1808-grew up with mostly women; shy introverted • Began writing after college at Bowdoin College in Maine • Spent 12 years in isolation in mother’s attic – starving artist • Held many jobs including writer, publisher, working at a custom house, and consul in England

  4. More Background • Married Sophie Peabody in 1842 • Was friends with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Herman Melville, and President Franklin Pierce (14th president)

  5. More Background • Worked as a surveyor at a Salem Custom House (Collected taxes from imports) • Lost his job due to political changes • Respected his Puritan ancestry but found it both a blessing and a curse

  6. His Themes in Writing • Moral allegories • The sinful man • Hypocrisy • The Dark side of Human Nature • Religious in Nature

  7. His Most Famous Works • Novels • The House of Seven Gables • The Scarlet Letter • Short Stories • “The Minister’s Black Veil” • “Young Goodman Brown”

  8. Who were the Puritans? • Wanted a “pure” church • No candles • No Images • No stained glass windows • Rejected the “showy” church of England • Led very somber lives governed solely by a strict interpretation of the Bible • No “nonsense” – dancing, gambling, drama, etc

  9. Basic Beliefs of the Puritan Church • Jesus Christ is the Son of God – died on the cross for all everyone’s sins • The whole Bible is the word of God and it is to be followed to the letter. • The belief that these ideas are fact are known as a person’s faith

  10. Basic Beliefs of the Puritan Church • Faith is what is necessary to get into heaven. • If you don’t go to heaven you go to hell. • Sins, as defined by the Bible, are to be avoided at cut out of life • A catechism is a book that is used to teach basic principles of the church

  11. The Infamous Puritans • The Salem Witch Trials put the Puritans prominently in the history books • Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible put it in Literature classes forever

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