Nathaniel Hawthorne Research Paper

Nathaniel Hawthorne has received the title of “American genius” because of his literary works such as “The Scarlet Letter” and “Young Goodman Brown.” Many critics agree that Nathaniel Hawthorne is a writer of “Dark Romanticism,” which led him to be famous because he ventured away from transcendentalism. There are many reasons as to why Hawthorne stands out from his fellow colleagues who were part of his movement from the transcendentalist to dark romantic. One of the reasons being that Hawthorne wrote about “how humanity was an evil creature, perpetually plagued with sin, guilt, and morbidity.” He also based his books and short stories on the Puritan community and how he portrayed that everyone had an “other.” His use of allegory and symbolism …show more content…
A “dark romantic” writer is considered to be a writer that believes that humans were bitter, sinful and evil beings. During Hawthorne’s time period, many writers wrote about the remorse and guilt of past sins of humans. This type of subgenre is different than a romantic type of writing style because the stories were based on limitations and the destructiveness of the human spirit. Unlike the transcendentalist writers, dark romantic writers ignored the social problems of the world and focused more on actual human dilemmas. This is what set Hawthorne apart from the more traditional writers because he wrote about raw and detailed situations in his books. Both “The Scarlet Letter” and “Young Goodman Brown” are examples of how Hawthorne exposed the truth of the evils within the Puritanic community and about a man’s uncertainty about his own community. Hawthorne was an active writer of this particular genre because of his use of symbolism in both these books which became pivotal examples of great dark romantic …show more content…
Her love for this man is so much that she does not think that she should be called an adulterer. As a result of her infidelity, Hester bears a child named Pearl which is an example of dark romanticism that Hawthorne uses. The character of Pearl is an example of dark romanticism because she is constantly called “the devil’s child” by many people. Hawthorne uses the character of Pearl by placing her in a situation to which she displays this dark and devilish behavior, like when she states that there is no God. She is constantly throwing tantrums and rocks to children who make fun of her which shows the “darkness” that Pearl displays. But, Pearl can also represent the love that both her parents had and the future for Hester Prynne. Dark romantics did not believe in the innate goodness of people which is what Hawthorne achieves in this particular book. The character of Arthur Dimmesdale is supposed to be a great and honorable minister but instead is the one who sins by having an affair with a married Hester Pryne. Another example of an element in dark romanticism is when Arthur Dimmesdale character is mentioned to be possessed by a demon because he is no longer the happy and bright preacher anymore. Hawthorne also uses a lot of symbolism throughout the story which goes hand-in-hand with the dark