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by Devin Kendall

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Nathaniel was the only son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth. He was born on July 4, 1804. Nathan loved reading and writing at a young age and overall started really getting interested in it after he had a leg injury that made him immobile for several months. Nathaniel's dad died of yellow fever and Nathaniel moved in with Elizabeth's brothers who supported him and helped him to attend Bowdoin College. While Nathaniel enjoyed reading and writing, he didn't like college because of how much he missed his mom and sisters. He eventually came home for 12 years to write and published several stories. Throughout Nathaniel's early life, he enjoyed writing but soon realized that while he was still making money, it wasn't enough to  provide "dependable income." For that reason, during some time he worked for the Boston Custom House where he weighed salt and coal.

Early short stories

The Hollow of the Three Hills

An Old Woman's Tale

My Kinsman, Major Molineux

Roger Malvin's Burial

Twice Told Tales

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Nathaniel met Sophia Peabody, who was a painter and an illustrator. He also met Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Eventually Nathaniel went on to marry Sophia July 9, 1842, they settled in Concord Massachusetts, and rented at a place owned by Ralph Waldo. They had things hard with one of 3 children in 1844 and growing debt. Nathaniel got a job as a surveyor in the Salem Custom House. However, Nathaniel lost his job because of "political favoritism." This wound up being a good thing because it gave him time to write again. his writing of "The Scarlet Letter. which is one of the first mass produced publications in the United States. This book made Nathaniel famous. books weren't the only thing Hawthorne wrote, according the www.biography.com, in the 1852 election Hawthorne wrote a campaign biography for Franklin Pierce. Once Franklin Pierce became president he helped Hawthorne by appointing him as American Consul to Britain. After The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel's fame brought him prosperity and inspiration. He took his family on a vacation to to Italy, and then in 1860, finally moved back to the United States where they took permanent residence at The Wayside in Massachusetts.

Later novels and books

The Scarlet Letter

The House of the Seven Gables

Blithedale Romance

Tanglewood Tales

Our Old Home

The Marble Faun

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One theme of the Scarlet Letter is Revenge. Throughout the Scarlet letter, Mr.Chillingworth seeks revenge on Hester's unnamed love (Dimmesdale). Revenge drives the story. On the website "www.study.com," the writer describes how revenge relates to hypocrisy and corruption. Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Chillingworth seeks revenge on Dimmesdale for being false and a liar. The hypocrisy comes because Mr.Chillingworth lies about his name, his identity and pretends to be his friend and doctor, but only wants to harm him. Chillingworth becomes more and more of who he hates throughout the story and is driven crazy by the need for revenge on Dimmesdale. Revenge is what drives the story because Chillingworth didn't start out to be bad, his lust for revenge progressed throughout the story.

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Another theme of The Scarlet Letter is to be truthful. At the end of the novel Hawthorne says "be true, be true, be true." If Hester and Dimmesdale were honest they wouldn't have had to suffer guilt. Truthfulness or lack of truthfulness is the most important part of the novel because Dimmesdale becomes sick after not being truthful and it affects him every night. Guilt literally took over Dimmesdale's health and made things so much harder for him. Furthermore, another theme is to be true to yourself even when others try to put you down. Throughout the novel, Hester is constantly going through conflicts and challenges with the letter on her. She is looked down on, made fun of, criticized, and her life is made so much harder. But her being true to herself helped her get through everything.

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The first example of symbolism is Hester's daughter Pearl. Hester names her daughter Pearl for many reasons. To start, Pearls are usually of great price, in the novel, the "Pearl of great price" comes from the Biblical Gospel of Matthew. in the Gospel of Matthew, he finds a pearl that was very expensive and sold everything he had to buy it. This biblical verse can be compared to Hester and the sacrifices that she made for Pearl. She gave away her life, and sacrificed her life birthing Pearl because back in that time there were many risks to childbirth. She gave away her whole image altogether for Pearl.

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Another example of symbolism is the scarlet letter, the symbolism changes throughout the story. In the beginning it symbolizes the sin of adultery, and it is used as a punishment against her. However when she makes the A, she creates it to be so beautiful and owns her punishment rather than being ashamed of it. Not only does she own up to her skill, she showcases it throughout the story to help her sell clothes and things to people. While the novel progresses, people gain respect for her hard work. Some people begin to ignore the actual meaning of the word and say that the "A" stands for "Able" because hester is seen as and able woman.

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The Puritans didn't tolerate or accept any other religions. Many were prosecuted because of different religious beliefs. Purity and religion were the main factors in the government and society. Punishments were very harsh and uncalled for, the Puritans thought that the Church of England hadn't gone far enough. This idea is shown through The Scarlet Letter because in the beginning it shows that they prison and the town scaffold are the two most important parts(Law and religion).

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Most of Puritan lives Focused on religion and god, if you didn't attend church, you most likely would get prosecuted for studying other religions. Reading the Bible was required in school typical days started from dusk to dawn. According to "www.brighthubeducation.com," many families wore dark clothing, women were not allowed to make decisions in church and they worked at home or in the garden. Punishments for not following the rules included, hanging, public whipping, cutting off ears, boring holes in tongues, stockades, banishment, etc. Harsh punishments usually followed any kind of sin or mistake.

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“Nathaniel Hawthorne.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 8 Mar. 2018, www.biography.com/people/nathaniel-hawthorne-9331923.In-text Citation

Shmoop Editorial Team. “The Scarlet Letter Themes.” Shmoop, Shmoop University, 11 Nov. 2008, www.shmoop.com/scarlet-letter/themes.html

Study.com, Study.com, study.com/academy/lesson/revenge-in-the-scarlet-letter.html

“Homework Help.” Enotes.com, Enotes.com, www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-main-theme-scarlet-letter-.In-text Citation

Shmoop Editorial Team. “The Scarlet Letter Setting.” Shmoop, Shmoop University, 11 Nov. 2008, www.shmoop.com/scarlet-letter/setting.html

“The Puritan Daily Life: Research Topic Ideas on Life as a Puritan in the Colonies.” Bright Hub Education, 13 Apr. 2015, www.brighthubeducation.com/history-homework-help/112142-daily-life-of-a-puritan-colonist/