Here are the notes my english teacher gave my class. They're more or less how she wrote them on the overhead projector.

Nathaniel Hawthorne:

• Born in Salem, Mass. 1804
• His grandfather was a judge at the Salem Witch Trials, Hawthorne was "haunted" by what his grandfather had done and the fact that he never felt any remorse for it
• Lived in near poverty as a child, his father died when he was 4 years old
• "suffering engened by social, religious, and economic inequities"
• Graduated from Bowdoin College in 1825
• Was a transcendentalist, belived in intuition
• Married Sophia Peabody
• Critical of Puritanism

Puritanism:

• Believed in man's obligation to seek the highest truth and strong moral sense
• Punishment usually consisted of public humiliation
• Treated the Bible as law; used Old Testement law books as a basis for punishment
• Starting at age 2, children were taught catechisms. Example: God made man.
• Tried to achieve a perfect utopian society

Human Nature

• "explore the inner workings of the human mind, spirit, and heart"
• "rigitity of Puritanism and its emphasis on original sin undermined rather than strengthened mrorality"

Setting: Boston, Mass. in the 1640's

Moral issues:

• Truth
• Secret sin
• Presence of evil
• Guilt
• Shame
• "Be true, be true"

Symbols to look for:

• Light and darkness
• The letter "A"
• Words describing Hester that begin with the letter "A"
• Pearl is a symbolic character who speaks to the reader