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THE EARLY LIFE OF NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born into a family of declining prosperity. He lived with his mothers and two sisters in Salem, Massachusetts. Hawthorne's father, who worked at sea as the captain of a ship, died during a voyage when Nathaniel was 4. This left is mother a widow and with 3 children to support. Ms. Hawthorne moved her family into her brothers house in Salem. While Hawthorne grew up in Salem, he spent extensive periods during his teens on the shores of Sebago Lake in Raymond, Maine. Instead of spending his teen years "distinguishing" himself as a young man, he spent his time reading and trying to master the art of writing fiction. By the end of his adolescence, Hawthorne was ready to pursue a future at Bowdon University.

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THE LITERARY FAILURES AND SUCCESS OF NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE

During college, the only class Hawthorne excelled in was composition. He became dedicated to the idea of pursuing a literary career. Upon his graduation, Hawthorne published an amateurish novel titled Fanshawe at his own expense, only to decide later on that it was awful and did not deserve his name. However, within 5 years of graduating, Hawthorne found his literary voice and had written and published many impressive and distinctive stories. Though Hawthorne had attracted fame and recognition, it was not enough to bring in a steady income. By 1842 Hawthorne's luck had changed and his literary talents were bringing him a sufficient income. The last 11 years of Hawthorne's life are seen as creatively anticlimactic. Though he did manage to publish a book, most of what Hawthorne left behind was incoherent drafts of unfinished tales.

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1) THE THEME OF LOVE & LUST
While the Scarlet Letter can be seen as a story of sinful passion, it can also be interpreted as a "tragedy of grand passion." The main example of lust that is presented right away in the novel is the fact that Hester is married and having an affair with Dimmesdale. Then, again, we see lust when Dimmesdale finds out Hester is married and decides to continue on with the affair. An example of grand passion and love is the fact that Hester never reveals the identity of her lover. She is asked who she had sinned with, but she does not reveal. She knows that Dimmesdale is a well respected member of society and that he does not want to be known as an adulteress so she keeps her mouth shut and continues to love him. The final major act of love is Hester's devotion to her child. Everyone else sees Pearl as this awful sin Hester committed, but Hester loves her with everything she has. She sees being a mother as one of the most important roles she has ever had in her life, if not the most important one.

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THE THEME OF HONESTY

Though only revealed in the last chapters of the book, the main theme of the novel Scarlet Letter is honesty. Hawthorne writes "Among many morals which press upon us from the poor minister's miserable experience, we put only this into a sentence:- Be true! Be true! Be true! Show freely to the world, if not your worst, yet some trait whereby the worst may be inferred." Basically, Hawthorne is saying we should not pretend to be perfect, we need to own up to everything we have done good or bad. Being honest about who you are does you far more good in the long run than lying does. This is portrayed in the story by the lives of Dimmesdale and Hester. Hester is always honest with who she is and what she is done. She keeps her baby and wears her mark of adultery without pretending she is someone she isn't. She suffers in life, she is marked by sin. However, she learns to rise above her sin by being humble and committing acts of charity. People's opinions of Hester change, by the end of the story she is more respected than Dimmesdale ever was. Dimmesdale put up a front, he harassed Hester just as everyone else did. He tried to hide the fact that the sin also belonged to him. He pretended he was not guilty and that he was still the same respectable man. Keeping up the facade is what eventually killed him. Hiding his guilt and sin literally weakened his heart and led to him dying with no credibility in the eyes of the people of Boston.

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THE SCARLET LETTER

The scarlet A that Hester is forced to wear is one of the most blatantly obvious symbols in the entire story. However, the meaning of this symbol changes over time. Hester is forced to wear the scarlet A as a message to everyone that she is an adultress. In the beginning of Hester's story, she is shamed by the symbol. She feels cut off by the rest of society, she is treated as though she is less than human. She endures so much hatred from everyone she knew. That is what caused the meaning of the A to change. After time, the scarlet A represents adulteress no more. It becomes an extremely powerful symbol of identity for her. She changes her life around in order to give back to her community. She truly blossoms into independent woman she always was. She takes being a mother and devotes her life to her daughter. The scarlet A begins to symbolize her ability to be bigger than her sin, to become bigger than what everyone else sees her as.

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PEARL

Pearl's main function within the novel is to be a living embodiment of the scarlet A. To society, Pearl serves as the living consequence and reminder of Hester and Dimmesdale's sexual sin. To Hester, Pearl is a blessing. A physical representation of the love Hester and Dimmesdale share for one another. Hester is continuously torn down by her community, she is beaten by people's words and actions. Pearl lifts her up, she gives her a reason to live and be good. She symbolizes everything Hester finds important, her love for Dimmesdale, her independence, her commitment to being a mother, etc.

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Life in the Puritan 17th century Massachusetts Bay Colony

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Life in the Puritan 17th century Massachusetts Bay Colony

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GOVERNMENT & RELIGION
From the moment their feet touched the land, Massachusetts Bay Colonists worked to establish a government that was efficient and reflective of their personal as well as religious beliefs. Only the most devout Puritans were allowed to take part in government affairs. Everyone in the society was expected to attend services and support the church, but only those who went through an extremely arduous process of demonstrating their spiritual dedication could go on to become full-covenant members. Being a full-covenant member would allow them to have a voice in the government affairs of the colony. The Puritans traveled to the New World specifically to live among like-minded people and escape the religious persecution they ad been enduring in England. They were hardened by the hatred they faced in English which led them to be hateful themselves. They were very intolerant of other religions, especially Quakers and they would persecute them in the same way they had been persecuted in England.

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Life in the Puritan 17th Century Massachusetts Bay Colony

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Life in the Puritan 17th Century Massachusetts Bay Colony

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THE DANGERS OF NOT FOLLOWING PURITAN RULE

The Puritan rule of the Massachusetts Bay Colony was extremely strict. Though they believed in living simply and peacefully, they believed in doing so in exactly their opinion of what simple and peaceful were. If you did not live up to their expectations or disagreed with them then you were to be severely punished. There were a few different options, so to speak, for ow a rule breaker would be punished. To put the punishments into perspective, the kindest ones were being banned from the colony all together and being left in the stocks for passerbyers to entertain themselves with . The more permanent and gruesome punishments were whippings, having their ears cut off, and hangings.

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https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nathaniel-Hawthorne

https://www.bachelorandmaster.com/britishandamericanfiction/themes-in-the-scarlet-letter.html#.W5GzS9JKi3B

https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-main-theme-scarlet-letter-53579

http://historyofmassachusetts.org/history-of-the-massachusetts-bay-colony/

https://meredithallard.com/2018/03/01/daily-life-in-the-massachusetts-bay-colony/