NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE
Module 3 – Case
NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE
Case Assignment
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804, in Salem, Massachusetts; his birthplace is preserved and open to the public. William Hawthorne, the author’s great-great-great-grandfather, a Puritan, was the first of the family to emigrate from England, first settling in Dorchester, Massachusetts before moving to Salem. There he became an important member of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and held many political positions including magistrate and judge, becoming infamous for his harsh sentencing. William’s son, and the author’s great-great-grandfather, John Hawthorne, was one of the judges who oversaw the Salem Witch Trials. Having learned about this, the author may have added the “w” to his family name in his early twenties, shortly after graduating from college, in an effort to dissociate himself from his notorious forbearers.
Hawthorne’s father, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Sr., was a sea captain who died in 1808 of yellow fever in Suriname. After his death, young Nathaniel, his mother and two sisters moved in with maternal relatives, the Mannings, in Salem, where they lived for 10 years. During this time, on November 10, 1813, young Hawthorne was hit on the leg while playing “bat and ball” and became lame and bedridden for a year, though several physicians could find nothing wrong with him.
For this Case Assignment you will read and consider the symbolism found in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown. Symbolism is always part of Hawthornes works. You may find them in names of characters or recurring objects (clothes, bushes, darkness, etc.), and in other ways.
Assignment Expectations
Write a 4- to 5-page essay that addresses symbolism in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown.
Include an introduction and conclusion.
Be certain to revise and reread your essay before submitting it.
Cite outside sources (be careful not to copy and paste large amounts of text from other sources and claim them as your own).
