Outline I. Introduction a. (Opening Sentence) b. Nathaniel Hawthorne background attributed to his writing by giving it a gothic style. II. Body c. His New England Background i. “ Concord, however, contained Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Ellery Channing, and Hawthorne was in frequent contact with these important thinkers…” (“ Nathaniel Hawthorne. ” 213) 1. When he lived in Concord he had many important friends that influence him to write in a gothic romantic style. . (This also shows) ii. “ In 1842 Hawthorne married Sophia Peabody and they resided in Concord, the geographic center of literary transcendentalism…” (“ The Scarlet Letter. “ 307) 3. (This Shows That)While he was In concord the transcendentalism influenced him 4. (This Also Shows) d. His Puritan Ancestry iii. “…one of his puritan ancestors had ordered the whipping of a Quaker woman…” (“ The Minister’s Black Veil: A Parable” 201) 5.
Was ashamed that his ancestors would do such a thing to an innocent women just see if she is a witch. 6. (also shows that) iv. “ The fact that Hawthorne’s ancestors had pursued such “ evildoers” on behalf of the Puritan faith troubled him. Although there is no evidence for this claim, some have suggested that his ancestors’ actions bothered him so much that he changed the spelling of his last name to distance himself from them. ” (“ Young Goodman Brown” 420) 7. (Commentary)He did not want any part of his ancestors. . (This Also Shows) e. His Power of Darkness v. “ The darkness of the soul that Hawthorne connects with Calvinism is evident not only in “ The Minister’s Black Veil” but also in several of his other stories and novels, most notably “ Young Goodman Brown” and The Scarlet Letter. ” (“ The Minister’s Black Veil: A Parable” 209) 9. (This shows that) 10. (This Also Shows) vi. “ In his work there is as much light as darkness, but the dark is perhaps the more dramatic hue.
In imaginative literature evil can be an esthetic element with the dark as a contrast to light; and Hawthorne used contrast so effectively that Henry James believed his “ darkness” to be mere fanciful playing, with evil and pain used simply as counters in his fictional game. ”(“ Nathaniel Hawthorne. ” 214) 11. Hawthorne loved to write with darkness, it gave him a pleasure to write about stuff that in that time was not acceptable by the people. 12. (This also Shows that) III. Conclusion f. Topic Sentence g. Thematic observation
