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Studying Hawthorne: One Writer’s Fascination with Human Nature

Studying Hawthorne: One Writer’s Fascination with Human Nature. AP English IV English 1302. Nathaniel Hawthorne: American Romanticist. Hawthorne and Human Nature. Hawthorne 1804-1864. Hawthorne’s works demonstrate a fascination with the human psyche and human motivation.

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Studying Hawthorne: One Writer’s Fascination with Human Nature

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  1. Studying Hawthorne: One Writer’s Fascination with Human Nature AP English IV English 1302

  2. Nathaniel Hawthorne: American Romanticist Hawthorne and Human Nature Hawthorne 1804-1864 • Hawthorne’s works demonstrate a fascination with the human psyche and human motivation. • Hawthorne's works probe into human nature, especially its darker side. • Overall, Hawthorne’s works demonstrate a “haunting” of his Puritan past.

  3. He set many stories against the somber background of Puritan New England, the world of his ancestors. • Unlike most fiction writers of his time, he was not primarily interested in stirring the reader by sensational or sentimental effects. • Hawthorne called his writing "romance," which he defined as a method of showing "the depths of our common nature." • To Hawthorne, romance meant confronting reality, rather than evading it. Hawthorne often dealt with the themes of morality, sin, and redemption

  4. Major Themes in Hawthorne’s works • Hypocrisy v. candor • Presumed guilt v. innocence • Belief in fate or free will • The penalties of isolation • Crimes against the human heart • Patriarchal power • Truths available to the mind via dream or reverie • The impossibility of earthly perfection

  5. “The Minister’s Black Veil” • A tale of inherent sin and hypocritical human nature. • Set in an 18th century Puritan town. • Critiques the Puritan perspective of original sin (ancestral sin—man is born into sin because of Adam’s fall) • Symbols: the veil symbolizes the practices of Puritan society. • A Parable: a story that teaches a lesson. What is the lesson of this narrative?

  6. “Young Goodman Brown” • “Goodman” is not the character’s first name, but a term of respect used to refer to one another, similar to “Mr.” “Goody” is the female form. • Set in Puritan New England, the town prides itself on both its sense of community and its religious values. • When YGB watches his wife, minister, religious leaders, and peers participate in a Satanic ritual, he is forced to make a difficult decision.

  7. Connections to Romanticism • Consider how these stories contain elements of the strange/sinister. • How do these stories analyze the role of guilt in people’s lives? • How do these stories capitalize on notions regarding human nature? • What is the nature and purpose of knowledge?

  8. “The Birthmark” • Examines the human obsession with perfection. • Symbolism: the birthmark represents many things throughout the story, but perfection and morality are its primary representation. • From a Romantic perspective, the story also touches on the dangers of scientific exploration. Consider how Alymer is like Victor. • Alymer’s pursuit of perfection is tragic. His refusal of “the best nature has to offer” becomes his destruction as well as the destruction of those around him.

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