to keep the reader
as a weapon to
in the world of
attack reality. It
uncertainty –
can be found
multiple point of
everywhere in his
view
writingຫໍສະໝຸດ 13Background &
a man of literary craftsmanship，extraordinary in
the use of symbol
the use of ambiguity
revelation of characters’ psychology
the use of supernatural
The symbol serves
Much of Hawthorne’s work is set in colonial New England, and many of his short stories have been read as moral allegories influenced by his Puritan background.
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Author：Nathaniel Hawthorne
Presenter：区海怡（35号）
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Nathaniel Hawthorne
• Introduction • Family background & life experiences • Works • Writing theme/style
• Attended Bowdoin College in 1821; • Hawthorne was hired in 1839 as a weigher
and gauger at the Boston Custom House. • He joined the transcendentalist utopian
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Introduction
Born:July 4, 1804, Salem, Mass., U.S
Died: May 19, 1864, Plymouth, N.H.
Occupation: U.S. novelist and short-story writer
Literary genre: Romanticism
• The Birth-Mark 《胎记》(1843) • Rappaccini’s Daughter 《拉帕奇尼的女儿》(1844) • My Kinsman, Major Molineux
《我的亲戚莫里诺少校》(1832)
• The Minister’s Black Veil 《教长的黑面纱》(1836) • Young Goodman Brown《好小伙子布朗》 (1835)
Plot summary
Presenter：梁艳婷（33号）
• Father: Died when he was only four • Mother: Relied on relatives in rearing
the children • A family with a long Puritan (清教徒）
tradition.
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Life experience
The Scarlet Letter ——Hawthorne
L
I
D
Hester
LOADDINNGG
A
G Dimmesdale
Chillingworth
Pearl
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Outline
• 1.Author • 2.Background • 3.plot summary • 4.Plot • 5.Analysis of characters • 6.Theme • 7.Artistic Features
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• In 1852, he wrote the campaign biography of his old friend Franklin Pierce.
• Hawthorne was rewarded in 1853 with the position of United States consul in Liverpool.
• In 1857, his appointment ended; • He died in 1864, a few years after returning
to America.
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His four major romances or novels written between 1850 and 1860
Nathaniel Hawthorne
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Boston, Setting of The Scarlet Letter
Salem, Birthplace of Nathaniel Hawthorne
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Family background
• Ancestors: A judge relate to the Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692 (塞勒姆驱巫 案件）
• The Scarlet Letter《红字》 (1850) • The House of the Seven Gables
《七个尖角阁的房子》 (1851)
• The Blithedale Romance 《福谷传奇》 (1852) • The Marble Faun 《玉石雕像》(1860)
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community at Brook Farm in 1841; • His later works show some Transcendentalist
influence, including a belief in individual choice and consequence, and an emphasis on symbolism.
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Major Themes of His Works
• Sin and Evil • History and Antiquity • Alienation • Puritan New England • Other themes
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Style – a typical romantic writer