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An Analysis of an Excerpt from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables

An Analysis of an Excerpt from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables.

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An Analysis of an Excerpt from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables

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  1. An Analysis of an Excerpt from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables “He's a terrific snob and he won't hardly even talk to you unless you're a big shot or a celebrity or something, but he can really play the piano. He's so good, he's almost corny, in fact. I don't exactly know what I mean by that, but I mean it. I certainly like to hear him play, but sometimes you feel like turning the goddam piano over. I think it's because sometimes when he plays, he sounds like the kind of guy that won't talk to you unless you're a big shot.” –Holden Caulfield

  2. What or Theme Statement • The narrator seeks to prove that the highest personal achievement is self-knowledge, but that this only comes from those who are truly honest and acknowledge their flaws. Judge Pyncheon is trying to be the perfect archetype of humanity but fails because of a lack of honesty and acknowledgement of his flaws.

  3. How (Literary Elements) • Juxtaposition • Asyndeton • Imagery • Irony • Rhetorical Questions • Satire

  4. The first part of the elongated sentence lists an excessive amount of Judge Pyncheon’s good deeds—alluding to different standards of the archetype of humanity. • “The purity of his judicial character…” (Line 6-7) • “…his unimpeachable integrity as treasurer’s of a Widow’s and Orphan’s fund…” (Line 12-13) • “…the cleanliness of his moral department…” (Line 17)

  5. Second part of elongated sentence starts mentioning darker traits (imagery) that contradict the archetype he’s trying to personify, and yet the narrator continues as if nothing is wrong. • “…the severity with which he had frowned upon, and finally cast off, an expensive and dissipated son, delaying forgiveness until within the final quarter of an hour of the young man’s life…” (Line 18-21) • “…his efforts in furtherance of the temperance-cause; his confining himself, since the last attack of gout, to five diurnal glasses of old Sherry wine…” (Line 22-25) • “…the snowy whiteness of his linen, the polish of his boots, the handsomeness of his gold-headed cane…” (Line 25-27)

  6. The use of syntax in the mid section of the excerpt enhances the satirical tone with which the narrator is speaking. • “…the smile of broad benevolence wherewith he made it a point to gladden the whole world;—what room could possibly be found for darker traits, in a portrait made up of lineaments like these!” (Line 33-36) • “Then, might not he claim to be its result and sum, and say to himself and the community—”Behold Judge Pyncheon, there”?” (Line 39-41)

  7. Like syntax, Hawthorne employs the use of rhetorical questions to add to the satirical tone. • “What room could possibly be found for darker traits, in a portrait made up of lineaments like these!” (33-36) • “Then, might not he claim to be its result and sum, and say to himself and the community—”Behold Judge Pyncheon, there”?” (Line 39-41) • “…would you characterize the Judge by that one necessary deed, and that half forgotten act, and let it overshadow the fair aspect of a lifetime!” (Line 47-50) • “What is there so ponderous in evil, that a thumb’s bigness of it should outweigh the mass of things not evil, which were heaped into the other scale!” (Line 50-52)

  8. The narrator is juxtaposing this “one wrong act” with the rest of the Judge’s life, but ironically, through repetition of “one,” this one wrong act speaks more to his character than all the good deeds he’s done. • “…some one wrong act…” (Line 43-44) • “…one questionable deed…” (Line 45-46) • “…among a thousand praiseworthy…” (Line 46) • “…one necessary deed…” (Line 48) • “…that half-forgotten act…” (Line 48-49)

  9. The last few sentences show the extreme change of opinion of the narrator, showing that they now realize what kind of a man the Judge is. • “…a personage of his eminent respectability.” (Line 3-4) • “…purity of his judicial character…” (Line 6-7) • Versus • “A hard, cold man…” (Line 54-55) • “…can scarcely arrive at true self knowledge, except through loss of property and reputation.” (Line 58-59)

  10. The final line is the most important syntactical choice that Hawthorne makes because technically he uses a semicolon incorrectly. • “Sickness will not always help him to it; not always the death-hour.”

  11. How we relate! • Marisa has gout • High school students often inhabit personas that they want to be perceived and sometimes deny their true self. • Michael wanted to play baseball, but decided he didn’t want to be like the kids who played baseball. • Michael hates you

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