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Hawthorne Writing S心门土唱远历具轻密七例tyle
Nathaniel Hawthorne was a promin360问答ent early American Author who cont米ributed greatly to the evolution of modern American 开济系围印句向literature. A New Eng逐斗肥队出论重回展激land native, Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts on July 4, 1804 and died on May 19, 1864 in New Hampshire. An avid seaman, Hawthorne's fa层秋知会题传本ther died in 1808 when Nathaniel Hawthorne was only a young child. After his father's death, Hawthorne showed a keen interest in his father's worldwi效与热雨被非妒节呢de nautical adventures and often read the logbooks 足绝静轴最硫代石奏快his father had compile府向联引守士非亮问d from sail得聚苏ing abroad. Hawthorne was a de克scendant of a long line of New England Puritans, which sparked his interest in the Puritan way o致营选固团步f life. After he graduated from Bowdoin College in 1825, Hawthorne returned to his home in Salem were he began to write in semi-seclusion. Hawthorn硫化末千纸e published his first novel, Fanshawe in 1828. In 1839, Hawthorne was appointed weigher and gauger at the Boston Custom House. He later married Sophia Amelia Peabody in 1842. In the following years, Hawthorne wrote his more famous novels which shaped his own literary style, as well as the genres of the romance novel and short story. Eventually, Hawthorne developed a style of romance fiction representative of his own bel丝降iefs. Although Nathaniel Hawthorne's writing style was often viewed as outdated when compared to modern literatur道主沉口升卷先法至油演e, Hawthorne conveyed moder苏n themes of psychology and huma千富多马反后n nature through his crafty use of allegory and symbolism. To begin with, Hawthorne's style was commonplace for a writer of the nineteenth century. During th上圆去连一甚海座抗居顺e time period in which 马Hawthorne wrote, printing technology was not yet advanced enough to easily reproduce photographs in books. Therefore, Hawthorne frequently wrote lengthy visual descriptions since his audience had no other means to see the setting of the novel. (Magill:1 840). One example of such descriptions was in The Scarlet Letter when Hawthorne intricately describes the prison door and its surroundings. Another aspect of Hawthorne's writing which was exclusive to his time period was the use of formal dialogue which remained fairly consistent from character to character (Magill:2 140). Such overblown dialogue was evident in The Scarlet Letter when the dialogue of Pearl, a young child, exhibited no difference from the dialogue of the other characters in the novel. Hawthorne adopted the use of overly formal dialogue partly from a British writer, Sir Walter Scott, whose works were popular in the United States and Great Britain (Magill:1 841). Although Hawthorne's dialogue was overly formal, it was an accurate tool in describing human emotion (Gale). Absence of character confrontation was another component of Hawthorne's literary style. Hawthorne frequently focused more on a character's inner struggle or a central theme than on heated encounters between characters (Gale). One example of this style can be found in The Scarlet Letter since the novel was almost solely based on the commandment 'Thou shall not commit adultery' (Magill:1 846). Despite dated dialogue and dated writing style, Hawthorne implied various modern themes in his works. One of Hawthorne's recurring themes throughout his works was his own view on human nature. Hawthorne explored an interesting human psychology through his exploration of the dark side of human consciousness (Magill:1 841). In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne introduced 'a profound comment on the breakdown of human relationships in the society of the seventeenth century' (Harris 304). Hawthorne's theme that human nature is full of wickedness was also evident in 'Young Goodman Brown' when the title character encountered great difficulty in resisting temptation (Magill:3 1143). One outstanding aspect found in Hawthorne's writing was the concept of neutral territory. Hawthorne described this concept as 'a neutral territory, somewhere between the real world and fairy-land where the actual and imaginary may meet, and each imbue itself with the nature of the other' (Litz 145). The concept of neutral ground was most evident in the Custom House section of The Scarlet Letter and served as the area in which romance took place (Magill:1 1569). Hawthorne's modern themes were also modeled by Hawthorne's own religious beliefs. Although it was not the only reason Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter, his Puritan background contributed greatly to his portrayal of a sinner in a strict Puritan community (Litz 157). Hawthorne also raised questions concerning the morality and necessity of Hester Prynne's exile in The Scarlet Letter. One reason for these inquires was Hawthorne's disbelief in heaven, hell, angels, or devils since modern science was undermining the Bible (Magill:2 847). Unlike the frankness commonly found in modern twentieth century literature, the nature of literature in the nineteenth century was more conservative. Therefore, Hawthorne implied more modern themes through the use of symbolism. One of Hawthorne's most obvious symbols in The Scarlet Letter was Pearl, the living product of the adulterous affair between Arthur Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne. Even though some of Hawthorne's symbols were fantastical, they represented an anachronistic moral standpoint of Hawthorne himself. (Gale) An example of this symbolism was Hester's moral sin of adultery symbolized by an overly ornate scarlet 'A' on Hester's breast. In fact, few authors who worked outside realism have been as concerned with morals as Hawthorne was. (Magill:2 1572). Hawthorne also employed allegory as a way of presenting themes. Hawthorne often achieved allegory by placing characters in a situation outside of the ordinary (Magill:2 1572). In The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne presented a highly complex variation on his usual theme of human isolation and the human community (Harris 304). Hester Prynne was a superb example of both these themes since she was isolated from a strict Puritan community. Possibly, Hawthorne's recurring theme of isolation stemmed from his own experience of seclusion (Gale). Hawthorne explored the themes of penance for sins and cowardliness when Arthur Dimmesdale struggled with himself to make his sin public. In conclusion, Hawthorne's literary style did indeed contain elements such as description and dialogue, which seemed out of place when compared to modern twentieth century literature. However, Hawthorne's style was typical of the literary style of the time. Nevertheless, Hawthorne addressed modern themes and expressed his own view on human nature and religion. In addition, Hawthorne's symbolism was an essential tool in addressing topics, which were too radical to be publicly addressed in the nineteenth century. Therefore, Hawthorne's symbolism an astute way to express his own beliefs. Hawthorne also achieved a unique form of allegory by placing characters in unusual situations. Hawthorne used various symbols to imply themes of adultery, sins, and human morality. All in all, Hawthorne deeply examined every facet of human nature and drew conclusions from the experiences of the characters in his work. WORKS CITED Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter.
Fitzgerald, Sheila ed. Short Story Criticism. vol.4.
Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1989.
Gale ed. DISCovering Authors. Detroit: Gale Research Company , 1996.
Harris, Laurie Lanzen. Nineteenth Century Literature Criticism. vol. 54. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1985.
Litz, Waltona ed. American Writers. New York: Charles Scriner's Sons, 1998.
霍桑忒是什么
美国小说家。生于马萨诸塞州的塞勒姆镇。父亲是船长,在霍桑4岁时去世。霍桑从小性格内向,沉默寡言。1821年进入博多因学院读书,同学中有著名诗人朗费罗和后来当选美国总统的皮尔斯。昌樱1825年毕业后,回到家乡从事写作。1836年、1846年曾两度出任海关港务监督。1841年曾参加超验主义者创办的布鲁克农场。1842年结婚后住在康科德村,结识作家爱默生、梭罗等。霍桑是一个思想上充满矛盾的作家,他接受了新英格兰清教主义关于原罪、罪过和隐秘的观点,一方面反对这个传统,抨击宗教狂热和狭隘、虚伪的宗教信条,另一方面,又受这个教条的束缚,用加尔文教派的善恶观念认识社会和世界。艺术上,他的作品独具一格,擅长心理描写,结构严谨,把现实主义和象征主义融于一炉。霍桑的代表作是长篇小说《红字》(1850),其他重要作品有:长篇小说《带有郑滑七个尖角阁的房子》(1851)、《福耐丛丛谷传奇》(1852)、《玉石雕像》(1860),短篇小说集《古宅青苔》(1828)、《雪影》(1851)等。
