Nathaniel Hawthorne n Hawthorne was born on July

Nathaniel Hawthorne n Hawthorne was born on July 4 th, 1804 in Salem, Mass. and died on May 18, 1864 in Plymouth, New Hampshire. n Hawthorne’s connection to Salem haunted him; therefore, he took the ‘w’ out of his name to disassociate himself with the witch trials. ** n His great-grandfather John Hathorne was the chiefinterrogator of the “Salem Witches. ” ■ He wrote several successful short stories which were collected in Twice-Told Tales (1837). ** ■ Unable to support his family by writing, in 1846 Hawthorne accepted a political appointment to the Salem Custom House as Surveyor of the Port.

Nathaniel Hawthorne ■ His themes often center on the inherent evil and sin of humanity, and his works often have moral messages and deep psychological complexity. ** n Some published works: n The Scarlet Letter, Twice-Told Tales, The House of the Seven Gables, The Mable Faun, Our Old Home, and children’s books A Wonder Book, and Tanglewood Tales. n Known as a Dark Romantic**— n works are notably less optimistic than Transcendental texts about mankind, nature, and divinity. n The natural world is dark, decaying, and mysterious; when it does reveal truth to man, its revelations are evil and hellish. **

The Minister’s Black Veil n Set in the time of his Puritan ancestors characterized by “gloom and piety. ” n PARABLE— n A short, usually simple story, based on events from ordinary lifem from which a moral lesson is drawn. ** n THEME— n a main idea or an underlying meaning** n Guilt vs. Innocence** – a character’s sense of guilt caused by Puritanical values/heritage n SYMBOL— n a person, a place, a thing, or an event that has meaning in itself and also stands for something beyond itself** n Ex: The eagle is a symbol of bravery and courage. n Ex: The tall tree that is rotted to the core from “The Devil and Tom