“The Ocean” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a illustration of the contrast in serenity between life and death. This meaning is likely due to events that happened in Hawthorne’s life, and events happening at the time. Hawthorne writes of the caves in the ocean which embody serenity in contrast with the harsh waves of the surface. The serenity of the caves is the serenity of the dead, and the harsh waves are the people living. Nathaniel Hawthorne has had an early introduction to mortality. When Hawthorne was 4, his father died of yellow fever. Incidentally, hawthorne’s father was a sea captain, contributing to the poem’s theme of the ocean. Hawthorne has been known to write about mortality and romanticism and “The Ocean” is no exception. Hawthorne