Nathaniel hawthorne 2
Nathaniel hawthorne 2Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804 - 1864)
Biography
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804, on the 4th of July in Salem, Mass. His grandfather was a judge in the Salem witch trials. Nathaniel's surname, when born, was spelled, "Hathorne". After he graduated from college he added the "w" in order to make the spelling conform to the way it was pronounced. Hawthorne hated school, and barely advanced through his studies. Nathaniel entered, and subsequently graduated from, Bowdin College in Salem.
Hawthorne was not an outstanding student, and graduated only in the middle of his class in 1825. Nathaniel had many famous classmates, including, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and the (future US President) Franklin Pierce. After graduation, Nathaniel returned to his mother's house on Charter Street in Salem, Massachusetts, and began to write. Nathaniel sequestered himself in her house for the next twelve years. Critics were fascinated with this apparent isolation, and speculated at length of his activities during this time. However, history shows that this "isolation" period was not as reclusive as Hawthorne would have most believe. He socialized quite often in Salem, and used the free passage that was available on his uncle's stagecoach line to make summer excursions around New England; Hawthorne even went as far west as Detroit. Hawthorne published his first novel, Fanshaw: A Tale, at his own expense in 1828. However, he later recalled it and destroyed all the copies he could find. Then, in 1830, the Salem Gazette published his first story, "The Hollow of the Three Hills". With the publication of Twice-Told Tales in 1837, his name was finally recognized by the public. By the year 1838, (at the age of 34) he had written over two-thirds of the tales and sketches he would write during his lifetime.
A year later, Hawthorne met Sophia Peabody and became engaged to her. Hawthorne felt that with his modest success in writing, he would not be able to provide a life sufficient enough for Sophia. Through the help of some influential people, he was given the position as a Measurer of Salt and Coal, in the Custom House at Boston. Hawthorne would use many of these experiences at the Custom House in his later writings.
Just prior to his marriage to Sophia, he searched for better paying work, and was certain that he could not make a sufficient living off of his literature works. Hawthorne began looking for better paying work. Nathaniel invested a thousand dollars in a place called the Brook Farm Community. The work load here left him no time to write. Hawthorne's lack of sympathy with the Transcendentalist viewpoint supported by the community, and the fact that the farm appeared to be financially unsuccessful, led Hawthorne to try to tell Sophia that he must form other plans for them. He resigned from the community in November, 1841.
Hawthorne was given the opportunity to write for the Democratic Review. This employment gave him renewed...
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