Example Of Nathaniel Hawthorne Essay

A well-known American writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on the 4th of July 1804. Salem in Massasuchetts, a city, was the place of birth of the novelist. Nathaniel’s forefathers, the Hathornes, are well known in New England history. Nathaniel changed his second name adding a ‘w' to make it Hawthorne with the intention of hiding his relations to his father and the forefathers. Why would he want to hide his relations to his forefathers? Nathaniel came from a rather long line of puritan ancestors. The ancestors, including his father, were involved in witch trials that frequently took place in Salem, which was shameful to be related to and that led to Nathaniel altering his second name to hide the link.
The life of Nathaniel Hawthorne took a turn after the death if his father, a ship captain, four years after he was born. Protective nature of his mum led to him being pushed in more lonely and isolated pursuits. The only choice left for Nathaniel was books. The unsocial life as a result of protection made him shy person with difficulties in expression and socializing with other students while studying. With the help of an uncle, Nathaniel got a chance to join the Bowdoin College although he was not interested in higher education. His vocation was clear clear at the age of seventeen where he dismissed several faculties in college pinpointing the mistakes in each of the faculty. For Nathaniel, a man not interested with higher education, everything happened for a reason. In college is where Nathaniel met lifetime worthy friends. In college, he did not study anything in a particular but was an avid writer and reader. An important point to note is that Nathaniel, an avid writer, had limited instruction in history and literature. He was an average student.
After graduation, in 1825, Nathaniel spent much of his time with his mom at their home in Salem. Information from the archaic journals indicates that he spent much of his time reading and writing. His inquisitive nature made him carry out more research about his family ancestral origins and doings with the inclusion of works of writings of other American development writers such as William Bradford, and John Winthrop. During the research period, Nathaniel was also writing short stories deducing inspirations from all corners of the limited material available in the local library. Angry with the failure of getting his first collection published, he gave his work to the fire without second thoughts. Nathaniel's first piece of work, Fanshawe, was published anonymously in 1828 but did not receive breathtaking attention from the readers. Perseverance and the passion of becoming a known writer helped Nathaniel Hawthorne, the avid writer, to have another collection of short stories published. However, the short stories were published with various publishers.
The first breakthrough was noticed after he was convinced by his friend, Horatio Bridge, to try publishing his work under his name. Horatio Bridge, a caring friend, played a major role for the success of the publication because he provided his money to serve as a security in case any losses were realized by the publisher. Surprisingly, Twice-Told Tales was a success with an attraction of few favorable reviews from prominent people. One of the favorable reviews that fueled his moral was from his friend Henry Wadsworth. Twice-Told Tales was published twelve years after his graduation, and this was so because living with his mother made life easier, and earning was not a pressing issue. However, he had worked in the American Magazine as an editor, a company that he later quit because it interfered with his writing, a task that needed much of his time. Later on in 1839, out of his field, Nathaniel got a job in Boston Customs House where his task was to weigh and gauge salt and coal. The previous year is when he had the love his life Sophia Peabody. The two matched in solitary and were inseparable due to the depth of the love they shared between them. It was during the year 1841 when Hawthorne decided to quit his job at the Boston Custody and join the transcendentalist. The main reason being to earn enough money to be able to contentedly tie the knot with Sophia. It was also due to this movement that he met Margaret Fuller who probably was his inspiration for his next novel, The Blithedale.
The couples faced several challenges with the transcendentalism and so little earned from the publication to make ends meet. Desperate moments called for desperate measures, and that's why they decided to move back with Nathaniel's mom in Salem. Hawthorne picked a job at Salem Customs House. It was during the year 1848 when Nathaniel lost his mother just after losing his job. It was during the same year that he came across a worn letter ‘A' which led to his writing of his famous piece of work The Scarlett Letter. He later on wrote more novels and short stories getting his inspiration from the chance to travel around Europe including Rome. His death caught him on his way to president Pierce's place in New Hampshire in the 1864.