When somebody has power, it is interesting to see what kind of person they are, how they look, and how they manage themselves. Nathaniel Hawthorne got the opportunity to meet the president in 1862 as a working class voter with the Massachusetts manufacturers. The president, Abraham Lincoln, made an impact on Hawthorne and resulted in this passage. The careful analyzation of the president by Hawthorne reveals his thoughts about the President. Nathaniel Hawthorne used various rhetorical strategies to portray his views of the president.
Hawthorne uses various elements including; Imagery, comparison, and an extended metaphor. He describes how the government has the same qualities as the eagle and compare them by pointing out strengths and weaknesses, as well as flaws. He also uses an extended metaphor, making the government become the eagle. By using these elements of text, his attitude towards the government is raw and makes the government sound “unsheltering.”
“Young Goodman Brown.” : An Annotated Bibliography “Young Goodman Brown” is a story about a man who challenges his faith in himself and in the community in which he resides. Gregory, Leslie. " The Text of Nathaniel Hawthorne 's "Young Goodman Brown". " American Literature Research and Analysis.
When you think of a Puritan society, what comes to your mind? Perfect, flawless, and a religion based on following God? Well, that is what it says on paper, but is it really that perfect? Throughout the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne jabs at the Puritans in an attempt to portray just how flawed they really are. After reading the book, you want to think that Hawthorne is telling the story of sinning in a Puritan society.
Born on July 4, 1804, in Salem, Massachusetts, Nathaniel Hawthorne was an only child. His father died when he was very young. When he was still a child, an injury to his leg left him unable to move for a very long time. He spent much of his time reading and soon focused on becoming a writer. He most likely added a “w” to his real last name “Hathorne” because of his ancestor’s involvement in the infamous Salem witch trials.
One action, a split second decision can undo all good deeds in a person 's life. This often occurs in novels such as The Crucible by Arthur Miller or The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne where characters make a life altering decision that causes them pain in the end. These character traits are used so often it becomes something of a stereotype, similar to the characters’ personalities in these iconic novels. The authors use cliches to express the idea that kind hearted people can become sinners despite their goodness.
The exploration of societal pressures. Life can be separated into two equal parts totally independent from one another. The inner self, being the innermost thoughts and feelings of the individual, and the outer self, how the individual decides to conduct itself around the others in society. Often times one of these parts takes control of the other, suppressing its partner. The suppression is often not of equal frequency because of the obligation humans feel to be liked and to fit in causes the outermost self to be given the most thought and worry.
Nathaniel Hawthorne has many reoccurring symbols in multiple works. Hawthorne uses symbolism in his work to express a meaning that is deeper than what he shows. These symbols can be as obvious as a marking on one’s body or clothes or it can be something that is a worn. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s use of symbolism in “The Birthmark, The Scarlet Letter, and The Ministers Black Veil expresses the sense symbols that give a deeper meaning than what is being said. The birthmark of a hand expresses the grip that mortality holds to the highest and purest human figures, lowering their status and rating them with the lower figures.
Hawthorn imbued the beliefs of himself and the values he stood for within "The Custom House. " It's an important piece of literature because of the stance it takes on morality of the era in which it was written. Hawthorne had firm belief in the purity of innocence, the non-existential good, and the corruption of man. Hawthorne believed their was purity not in man, but nature because of it's grace and beauty.
Without any attention stressing on the letter, the townspeople hardly acknowledge it anymore. During the election of the new governor, Indians present even misunderstood the symbol as one of high rank. The meaning shifts towards indeterminate and the idea of taking off the letter starts up among the magistrates. “It was debated whether or no, with safety to the common weal, yonder scarlet letter might be taken off your bosom. On my life, Hester, I made my entreaty to the worship magistrate that it might be done forthwith” (Hawthorne 153).
Literary Devices in The Scarlet Letter Literary devices are often used to capture a reader’s attention in a text. Nathaniel Hawthorne used many different types of literary devices in his book The Scarlet Letter. He uses symbolism to give hidden meaning to elements in the story, conflict to make the story interesting, and allusion to make references to historical events (ex. biblical references). While reading The Scarlet Letter, the literary devices did not jump out at me, but now as I reflect upon them they help me understand the book well. Literary devices can make a passage have a whole different meaning.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s understanding of the human nature is incredibly faulty. His understanding of the human nature corresponds closely with his symbolism of the forest. Contrasting the children of the Puritans with Pearl, there are several examples that fit within the topic of human nature. Hawthorne contrasts the forests with society. The Puritan children are the children of society and Pearl is the child of the forest.
Amanda Vicente The Scarlet Letter Reading Response AP English Language Period J 16 August 2016 Journal Entry 1: Chapters 1-2 In The Scarlet Letter, the author sets a mood from the beginning of the book. The setting is old and beat up in front of an aged wooden prison with judgmental Puritans ready to tear a women apart. The Puritans are hypocrites and the author portrays that in the story.
Receiving the scarlet letter changed every aspect of Hester’s life. Especially at the start of the story, the letter symbolized the solitude and great suffering Hester faced just because of a letter placed on her bosom. The “A” also depicted how no one viewed Hester the same way as before her peccant actions. “…she saw that, owing to the peculiar effect of this convex mirror, the scarlet letter was represented in exaggerated and gigantic proportions, so as to be greatly the most prominent feature of her appearance” (Hawthorne 109). The pejorative community Hester lived in never saw Hester as the beautiful, young woman she was, but now, as a horrible fiend.
In the “Scarlet Letter,” Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays hypocrisy of the Puritan society, where the protagonist Hester Prynne face many consequences of her actions and the how she tries to redeem herself to the society. During the seventeenth puritans believe that it is their mission to punish the ones who do not follow God’s word and it is their job to stop those from sinning. Therefore, the hypercritical puritan society punishes Hester harshly for committing adultery, but in Hester’s mind, she believes that what she did was not a sin but acts of love for her man. Eventually, she redeems herself by turning her crime into an advantage to help those in need, yet the Puritan society still view her as a “naughty bagger.” (Hawthorne 78)
