" (MBV pg32) This details the fear of the unknown that permeates the innermost domain of the human psyche. ... Hawthorne's short stories both focus on distrust of the community, be it the community expressing misgivings about the protagonist, or vice versa. ... This idea is shown across many of Hawthorne's stories. ... He investigates human sin, human nature and hypocrisy. His novels The Scarlet letter, and his short stories Young Goodman Brown and The Minister's Black Veil all unite with similar themes as Hawthorne examines human interactions relating to punishment, reli...

• Word Count: 1379
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

The first scaffold scene establishes the root for all further development of the stories central characters. ... Unlike the man she married, however, he is portrayed with images of a dark nature. ... While the girl has developed many "elfish- qualities, she has a knack for pushing the buttons of human emotion. ... In the final scaffold scene, the story comes to a close. ... The girl has now transformed from the fairy-like sprite of earlier chapters, into a human capable of compassion and emotion. ...

• Word Count: 1627
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

He is the social ideal, yet his moral nature is poisonous. ... He has violated, in cold blood, the sanctity of a human heart." ... Hawthorne teaches us many lessons throughout the story. ... To acknowledge our sins before god, is a phrase, and no more than that, but to acknowledge our sins before men, is in truth confessing them to god; for the human conscience is the miraculous presence of god in human nature, and from such acknowledgement forgiveness is achieved.... It also teaches us that the best man, and the worst man alike must fall infinitely short of perfection. ...

• Word Count: 1373
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Hawthorne developed his talents as a writer by his short fiction works and other novels including "The House of the Seven Gables" and "The Marble Faun" (The American Novel). Hawthorne's works focused on what can be called the darker side of human nature. ... Dimmesdale struggles with wanting to live a religious life and dealing with the hypocrisy of his own sinful nature. ... Some of the strengths Hawthorne had in his writing is the use of symbols to imply adultery, sins, and human morality. ... Hawthorne had the ability to narrate a story that helped explain events th...

• Word Count: 1291
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography

Dealing with guilt and the difference between Nature and Civilization, two themes in this novel, are dealt with in this passage. ... But he leaped across the plashy places, thrust himself through the clinging underbrush, climbed the ascent, plunged into the hollow, and overcame, in short, all the difficulties of the track, with an unweariable activity that astonished him. ... Throughout this story, the character of Reverend Mr. ... In this book, Nature possesses its own set of rules, allowing people to act differently than they may back in society. ... Again, the path plays a role in the the...

• Word Count: 1256
• Approx Pages: 5