Nathaniel Hawthorne Originally founded on the Word of God, the United States was bought on the influence of Christianity. For this reason, the plethoric artisans that invested in early American literature were greatly impressed with Biblical principles. Among these writers was Nathaniel Hawthorne, who is arguably considered among the first of America's nonfiction authors. Entering a world unknown to him, Hawthorne was born in Salem on July 4, 1804. The majority of his childhood was spent in New England, however. While he was a boy, Hawthorne and his mother suffered cruelly from the loss of his father, William Hathorne. The instance formulated a cold hinderance in the relationship between Hawthorne and his mother. Delving into his personal experience, Hawthorne reveals his feelings towards this relationship in some of his books (Brooks 1). His journey to college ushered an interest in Hawthorne's literary ability. As his first novel, "Fanshawe" was started in 1825 while Hawthorne tended to academics. This was an unsuccessful work, however, as Hawthorne decided to dispose of all its copies after it was published in 1828 (Brooks 1). The novels that followed did prosper--works such as "The Scarlet Letter", "Twice-Told Tales", and "Mosses from an Old Manse" …show more content…
A present force that drove his literature was his desire to "break the family curse". The superstitious curse originated from his father and grandfather, William and John Hathorne. Their persecution of Quakers and witches in their day had stirred quite the upheaval in the Hathorne reputation. To relieve his relation to the problem, Hawthorne cut the blood line by changing his name from "Hathorne" to "Hawthorne". Some of his books express his remorse and apologetic appeal to revoke the deeds of his ancestors(Brooks