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Nathaniel Hawthorne 1804-1864 . Born in Salem, Mass. on July 4, 1804 His father, a sea captain, died when he was four His great-grandfather was a judge for the witchcraft trials in Salem His young life was spent living in a relative’s home, which he later called “Castle Dismal.”
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Born in Salem, Mass. on July 4, 1804 • His father, a sea captain, died when he was four • His great-grandfather was a judge for the witchcraft trials in Salem • His young life was spent living in a relative’s home, which he later called “Castle Dismal.” • 1821-1825: attended Bowdoin College; he became friends with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Franklin Pierce
1828: Published Fanshawe, a book that he later hated. So, he tried to buy and burn all of the copies. • 1837: Published Twice Told Tales, which stared his career. • 1839-1840: Worked at Boston Custom House (position as a measurer of salt and coal). • Brook Farm is established (a utopian community in West Roxbury, Masschusetts). • Founded by a member of the Transcendental Club; it was an experiment in “communal living” (socialism).
1842: Married Sophia Peabody • 1846: Published Mosses from The Old Manse (a book of short stories that he wrote while living in his house, The Old Manse) • 1846-1849: Worked at The Salem Custom House. However, he was fired after political change. • The Custom House is a place where people document goods for importing and exporting.
1850: Published The Scarlet Letter, which is the height of his career. • 1851: Published The House of the Seven Gables • 1852: Published The Blithedale Romance (setting is a Brook Farm- type place)
1853: Appointed by then President Franklin Pierce to be Consul to Liverpool in England. Hawthorne and his family move to England and remained in Europe until 1860. • 1860: Hawthorne and his family move back to Concord, Mass. • 1860: Published The Marble Faun.
1864: Died in his sleep • Franklin Pierce was one of his pallbearers • Buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, Massachusetts. The particular area he is buried is called “Author’s Ridge” • Herman Melville dedicated Moby Dick to Hawthorne.
Custom House • Narrator is working at the Custom House. • Based on some of Hawthorne’s own experience as a surveyor • Much controversy because of it’s an unflattering portrayal of Salem and its residents. • Comes across documents and an embroidered scarlet letter A. • The documents contain the story of Hester Prynne, as documented by a man named Jonathan Pue, who researched history from the seventeenth century. • 200 years before the narrator’s
The Custom House • The narrator wants to write out the narrative to Hester Prynne’s life; however, has writer’s block. • Wonders what his Puritan ancestors would say about a career in writing. Thinks they would find it frivolous. • The narrator gets fired from his job because of political changes, which motivates him to write the narrative for Hester Prynne- thus The Scarlet Letter.
Dramatic Plot Climax Falling Action Rising Action Resolution/Denouement Exposition
For more information: http://www.hawthorneinsalem.org/Life&Times/Introduction.html