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Nathaniel Hawthorne was born july 4 1804 in Salem Mass., when Hawthorne was only four years old his father died in a ship voyage leaving his wife widowed and to care for three children. Hawthorne's family moved in with his mother's brothers,the Mannings, Hawthorne grew up in Raymond Maine until 1825 when he moved back to Salem after attending four years of college at Bowdoin College in Maine where he studied the art of writing fiction.

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As Hawthorne graduated from Bowdoin College he wrote his first piece of work called Fanshawe, however he didn't approve of Fanshawe as he later tracked down and destroyed all copies. He went on to discover his personal style and voice for writing as he wrote "The hollow of three hills" and "An old woman's tale" these two pieces of work displayed Hawthorne's style and purpose how he wanted to be portrayed. These stories provide small fame and fortune but Hawthorne eventually took other jobs throughout the late 1830's and early 1840's. Even after Hawthorne had published his first book, twice told tales, he still couldn't acquire a steady income to provide. By 1842 Hawthorne Hawthorne had enough to marry Sophia Peabody. After living in concord for three years he Finally moved back to salem where he wrote his most famous book the scarlet letter.

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The time setting has a lot to do with the theme of Judge and Judgement, the time period affects this theme in the way that the law of man is clearly affected by the laws of god in this puritan version of America. This creates an authoritarian society in which people are binded under more laws than today's society would ever allow. "The magistrates are God-fearing gentlemen, but merciful overmuch,—that is a truth," added a third autumnal matron. "At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne's forehead." This quote shows how the townspeople have an influence on judgement as she does become branded by the letter A.

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The second theme which is found throughout the story is fate and free will. This theme proves a great example as the people of the time period believed everything was predestined and to even think of having free will seemed ludicrous. In chapter 8 "God gave her into my keeping,” repeated Hester Prynne, raising her voice almost to a shriek. 'I will not give her up!'" This quote shows how she believes in fate in this instance saying that it was God's will for her to keep her daughter.

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The scarlet letter is perhaps the most prevalent example of symbolism in the book. It stands for Adultery because hester has committed a sin, and at this time they punished you by branding you with an A. However this is the basic meaning of the letter. As the story goes on the scarlet letter becomes more it represents hard work, skill, charity, and so on. Hester accepts her punishment by making the letter elegant and fancy to capture her skill and craftsmanship. Later on some people even choose to ignore the real meaning of the letter.

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The forest and wilderness is not as big of symbolism as the scarlet letter however does prove some significance to the book as well. To the townspeople the forest is a boundary, dark, scary, home of indians, and worst of all it's lawless. The townspeople rely on law and justice to guide their community, so you can see how the forest seems like the most dangerous place to the puritans. In some ways the town has forced Hester to live in a metaphorical forest, she is cast out from living a normal life. Even though the puritans make the wood seem evil the narrator makes it seem peaceful no stress of the laws of the town.

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Puritans came to New England in 1620 to escape from the England's harsh control over religion. They settled in Plymouth, New England where early simple life began. Literacy rates were surprisingly high and help to preserve journals and diaries which help explain thing the puritans did. Puritans often wore dark clothing, and church was mandatory. Women ran homes and worked the garden, while men would be a minister, hunter, surveyor, farmer. Children often were taught to read so they could understand the bible.

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Puritan law was so strict that it controlled every aspect of human life, such as family relations, clothing, and religion. The father of the house was supposed to provide for the family ad teach the children about life which revolved around God. The puritans lived very narrow minded, they didn't consider new world ideas of belief and especially not scientific discoveries. The women had very strict dress codes that forbade them to even show ankle. The puritan laws were strict and heavily enforced.