Original Sin in the Scarlet Letter Essay Example
Abstract: Nathaniel Hawthorne, a writer of American literature in 19th century, was influenced by Puritanism. He was haunted by his sense of evil and sin in his whole life. In his works, he saw the cruel ruling of Puritanism through his puritan view and showed his dissatisfaction towards it. To analyze through symbolism in his famous work of "The Scarlet Letter", we can see the important theme of Original sin and the redemption of humanity.
Key words: Puritanism, original sin, redemption
1. Nathaniel Hawthorne's life:
1.1 Nathaniel Hawthorne's background:
Nathaniel Hawthorne, the great romanticist of American literature in 19th century, was born on the 4th of July 1804, in Salem, Massachusetts. He was a descendant of Puritan immigrants. One of his ancestors was a colonial magistrate, notorious for his part in the persecution of the Quaker, and another ancestor was a judge on the Salem witchcraft. His father died on a voyage in Surinam, when the young Nathaniel was four. But maternal relatives recognized his literary talent and financed his education at Bowdoin College in Maine.
Between the year 1825 and 1836, Hawthorne worked as a writer and contributor to periodicals. Insufficient earnings as a writer forced Hawthorne to take a job in the Salem Custom House. In 1850, with the publication of the Scarlet Letter, in Nathaniel Hawthorne became famous as the greatest writer living then, his reputation as a major American author has been on the increase ever since.
Living in the period of optimistic transcendentalism, to compare with other peer writers, he was pessimistic and paid more attention to the dark side of people. We can take Ralph Waldo Emerson as an example, the difference between Hawthorne and Emerson is that Hawthorne saw things through the views of social people rather then those of natural people. His conclusions were completely different from Emerson who was one of the leading figures of New England Transcendentalism. To Hawthorne, we can't
Key words: Puritanism, original sin, redemption
1. Nathaniel Hawthorne's life:
1.1 Nathaniel Hawthorne's background:
Nathaniel Hawthorne, the great romanticist of American literature in 19th century, was born on the 4th of July 1804, in Salem, Massachusetts. He was a descendant of Puritan immigrants. One of his ancestors was a colonial magistrate, notorious for his part in the persecution of the Quaker, and another ancestor was a judge on the Salem witchcraft. His father died on a voyage in Surinam, when the young Nathaniel was four. But maternal relatives recognized his literary talent and financed his education at Bowdoin College in Maine.
Between the year 1825 and 1836, Hawthorne worked as a writer and contributor to periodicals. Insufficient earnings as a writer forced Hawthorne to take a job in the Salem Custom House. In 1850, with the publication of the Scarlet Letter, in Nathaniel Hawthorne became famous as the greatest writer living then, his reputation as a major American author has been on the increase ever since.
Living in the period of optimistic transcendentalism, to compare with other peer writers, he was pessimistic and paid more attention to the dark side of people. We can take Ralph Waldo Emerson as an example, the difference between Hawthorne and Emerson is that Hawthorne saw things through the views of social people rather then those of natural people. His conclusions were completely different from Emerson who was one of the leading figures of New England Transcendentalism. To Hawthorne, we can't