Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Scarlet Letter

1. Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Scarlet Letter Kristin Farr 11th Grade English SOL 11.3: Students will read and analyze relationships among American literature, history, and culture a) Describe contributions of different cultures to the development of American literature c) Discuss American literature as it reflects traditional and contemporary themes, motifs, universal characters, and genres 11.4 e) Analyze information from a text to draw conclusions This Powerpoint would primarily be used by the teacher as an in-class teaching tool, as a presentation to the whole class, with time being taken for students to discuss the questions posed on many of the slides. However, there are also numerous links that interested students would be able to explore on their own after the class presentation, such as the timelines and the extra biographical information on Hawthorne. Most of these links which are scattered through the slides would not be explored in class. Also, I think that closely reading excerpts is very important, and that is why many of the slides seem to have a lot of text on them, simply to allow to students to be able to quickly look at the same brief passages.

2. Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Scarlet Letter March 28, 2006

3. OBJECTIVES • To obtain knowledge of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s life and background and how it affected his writing • To understand the historical and social context in which The Scarlet Letter was written • To identify key literary elements in the novel (setting, characters, mood, climax, symbols, themes) • To analyze and discuss events throughout The Scarlet Letter and their implications and meanings

4. OUTLINE • Nathaniel Hawthorne (biographical information) • Historical Context A. What was going on in America in 1850? B. Literary history 1. Brief look at the proceeding literary periods a. Puritan writings b. Enlightenment c. Romanticism/Transcendentalism d. Subdivision of Romanticism: Gothic lit. 2. Influence of Trans/anti-Trans • Literary Elements A. Characters B. Mood C. Climax D. Setting 1. Life in the mid 17th century 2. Effect of his past on the novel (time and place) a. Puritan heritage b. Work at the Custom House frame story and the backgroundof the Custom House E. Plot 1. Thinking about the events throughout the novel a. Chapters 1-8 b. Chapters 9-15 c. Chapters 16-24 F. Symbolism G. Themes

5. NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE Hawthorne's Life

6. NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE • Born July 4, 1804 in Salem, MA • Education- Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine (38 freshmen, 5 faculty members) • Married Sophia Peabody in 1842 • Job at Custom House 1839-40, 46-49 • 3 Children • Moved to England, France, and Rome after Salem • Died in 1864 Do you want to learn more?

8. NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE “The Scarlet Letter is powerfully written but my writings do not, nor ever will, appeal to the broadest class of sympathies, and therefore will not obtain a very wide popularity.” -Hawthorne, after finishing the novel

9. NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE As a literary artist… First American “pro writer”: college educated, familiar with the great European writers 4,000 copies of The Scarlet Letter sold in the first 10 days

10. OVERVIEW The Scarlet Letter tells the story of Hester Prynne who has committed adultery and must wear a scarlet "A" publicly as punishment. When her husband, whom she believed to be dead, suddenly reappears, he determines to discover the identity of the father of Hester's child, although Hester steadfastly refuses to reveal his identity. Through the use of rich symbolism and supernatural events, Hawthorne shows the destructive effects of guilt and revenge.

11. HISTORICAL CONTEXT The Scarlet Letterwas finished in1850…..

12. What was going on in America in 1850?HISTORICAL, SOCIAL, AND LITERARY EVENTS TIMELINE

13. HISTORICAL CONTEXT To what “period” of American Literature does Hawthorne belong?? Lets take a look at the history of American Literature…..

14. HISTORICAL CONTEXT • English Heritage (Elizabethan Age) • 1650-1570: Early Colonial period- Puritan writings, no distinctive American literature • 1750-1800: Later Colonial period- Age of Reason/Enlightenment (Neoclassicism, Rationalism)

15. HISTORICAL CONTEXT • 1800-1850: American Renaissance/ Romanticism- slave narratives, inner feelings, the burden of a Puritan past, the rejection of Neoclassicism Transcendentalism was a part of this…

16. HISTORICAL CONTEXT TRANSCENDENTALISM • Boston-centered movement, led by Emerson, was an important force in New England circles • Human existence transcends the sensory realm • Formalism in favor of individual responsibility • Belief in individual choice and consequence • Focus on the positive

17. HISTORICAL CONTEXT SUBDIVISION OF ROMANTICISM: GOTHIC LITERATURE, the “dark romantics”(1800-1850) -use of supernatural -motif of double (both good and evil in characters; sin and evil does exist) -depression, dark forests -Poe, Hawthorne, Melville -emphasis on symbolism (which we will discuss later)

18. HISTORICAL CONTEXT • In what ways can you see the Transcendentalist influence on Hawthorne? (His wife was a Transcendentalist and had some effect on his literature, and he also became friends with Transcendentalists in Concord, Emerson and Thoreau) • How is he also ANTI-TRANSCENDENTALIST/ GOTHIC, as exhibited in the novel?

19. LITERARY ELEMENTS • Characters • Mood • Setting • Plot • Symbolism • Themes

20. LITERARY ELEMENTS:CHARACTERS • Hester Prynne- protagonist, married to Chillingworth, adultery with Dimmesdale

21. LITERARY ELEMENTS:CHARACTERS • Arthur Dimmesdale- pastor, intense suffering, tragic figure • Roger Chillingworth- physician, old, evil, deformed, diabolical vengeance on Dimmesdale • Pearl- beautiful daughter, sometimes imp-like, rebellious, inquisitive

22. LITERARY ELEMENTS:CHARACTERS • Gov. Bellingham- based on actual governor of Boston • John Wilson- eldest clergyman, based on actual English minister • Mistress Hibbins- based on figure executed for witchcraft, appears to know a great deal about the adultery

23. LITERARY ELEMENTS: MOOD The SOMBER, DARK mood is well-defined from the beginning: “sad-colored garments” of spectators, the prison door which is “heavily timbered and studded with iron spikes”

24. LITERARY ELEMENTS: SETTING 17th century Puritanical New England (Mass.) What was America like then?

25. LITERARY ELEMENTS: SETTING Life in the Mid 1600s • Boston was founded just 2 decades earlier • 1st governor was John Winthrop, who governed based on religious and civic ideals • People were hardworking and devoted • 1630s- Puritans established a number of settlements in Massachusetts • PURITANISM involved belief that the church of England was too much influenced by the Catholic church • Strict code, on which people were expected to act and judged upon • Rejected belief that divine authority is channeled through any one single person (i.e. the pope) • THEOCRACY- state governed by the church

26. LITERARY ELEMENTS: SETTING What aspects of this type of religious society can be seen in The Scarlet Letter? How do you think Hawthorne views this type of society?

27. How do you think his own past might have affected his writing? (Hawthorne was intrigued and even haunted by his past ancestors, and they appeared quite often in his fiction. Hawthorne’s past greatly influenced his writing of The Scarlet Letter.)

28. How did his life affect the writing of the novel? 1. Influences on Hawthorne: Puritan background John Hathorne presided over the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 Major William Hathorne (1608-1681) persecuted quakers

29. How did his life affect the writing of the novel? 2) Salem- childhood, later work at the Custom House, as Surveyor of the Port “The Custom House” introduction creates a FRAME STORY This introduction gives an account of his experience as surveyor; he attacks the officials who connived in his dismissal… Like his heroine Hester, Hawthorne emerges from confrontation with a self-righteous society as an individual of integrity,passion, and moral superiority.

30. The Custom House

31. THINKING ABOUT WHAT YOU’VE READ….. Literary Element: Plot

32. Chapters 1-8 “Hester on the Scaffold” By Mary Hallock Foote

33. Chapters 1-8 • How do you feel about what happens to Hester Prynne in the beginning? • What is her punishment? What do you think the magistrates are hoping to accomplish with this punishment?

34. “One the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A.” THE PUNISHMENT

35. Chapters 1-8 “He was small in stature, with a furrowed visage which, as yet, could hardly be termed aged. There was a remarkable intelligence in his features, as of a person who had so cultivated his mental part that it could not fail to mould the physical to itself…one of this man’s shoulders rose higher than the other.” Who does she recognize in the crowd and how does she feel about it?

36. Chapters 9-15 • How does Dimmesdale really feel about his role in the community? • What are the differences between Hester and Dimmesdale at the end, with her outward punishment and his inward punishment?

37. Chapters 9-15

38. Chapters 9-15 Wood engraving by Barry Moser for the Pennyroyal Press from the January 1991 edition of the Essex Institute Historical Collection. Moser's image shows Arthur Dimmesdale with his eyes downcast and the scar of an "A" clearly visible on his chest.”

39. “..Though he were to step down from a high place, and stand beside thee on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart through life.”

40. Chapters 9-15 How does Chillingworth’s appearance change over the course of time? “The Eyes of the Wrinkled Scholar Glowed” from 1878 edition of the novel (Chillingworth called to prison cell as a healer and aid to Hester and Pearl)

42. Chapters 16-24 What do you think is the climax of the plot of the novel? Possibly the second scaffold scene, where Dimmesdale, Hester, and Pearl are all on the scaffold, divulging their secret in darkness….

43. What is the falling action after this?.....

44. Chapters 16-24 The meaning of the letter was intended to isolate Hester from society. Given the way in which her life ends, did it accomplish what the magistrates intended?

45. In the end, what character did you sympathize with the most and why?

46. LITERARY ELEMENT: SYMBOLISM IN THE NOVEL

47. SYMBOLISM Discuss the symbolism in the following objects in The Scarlet Letter. What implications are made through the use of these symbols?

48. SYMBOLISM Hester’s and Pearl’s Clothing “Her own dress was of the coarsest materials and the most sombre hue; with only that one ornament—thescarlet letter—which it was her doom to wear.” “The child’s attire, on the other hand, was distinguished by a fanciful, or, we might rather say, a fantastic ingenuity, which served, indeed, to heighten the airy charm that early began to develop itself in the little girl…”

50. SYMBOLISM PEARL (the name) “Her Pearl!—For so had Hester called her; not as a name expressive of her aspect, which had nothing of the calm, white, unimpassioned lustre that would be indicated by the comparison. But she named the infant “Pearl,” as being of great price—purchased with all she had—her mother’s only treasure!”