Talia Davis Mrs. Macpherson Honors English III February 24, 2014Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804, in Salem, Massachusetts. When Hawthorne was four years old, his father died of yellow fever. From 1821 to 1824 he studied at Bowdoin College in Maine. After attending Bowdoin College, Hawthorne worked as a writer and periodical contributor. Throughout the novel, “The Scarlet Letter” presents biographical criticism. Hawthorne envisioned a path about who he wanted to be as an author. Puritan New England was the setting for his writing journey. Hawthorne wrote fiction that deals with philosophy and human emotion and philosophy was part of the Romantic literary tradition. The Romantic literary tradition included themes such as heresy, witchcraft, and adultery, all of which were used in his works. Hawthorne claimed that his work explored the depths of our shared nature. Nathaniel Hawthorne's fiction is unique in two important respects. He was the first great novelist to combine great moral seriousness and transcendent dedication to art. He was also the first great novelist to insist on the fundamental unreality of his works. An imaginative genius with considerable linguistic skills, he blazed a literary trail that few have followed with comparable success. Like all great writers, he... middle of paper ...... aradoxic. Dimmesdale struggles with the knowledge of his sin and his inability to come out to Puritan society and his desire for confession. He attempts to alleviate the pressure of this position by punishing himself mentally and physically, and by insisting to his parishioners that he is a base and worthless creature. As Hawthorne became a well-known author, he hit difficult milestones along the way. writing career. Hawthorne was living in Concord, Massachusetts at the time of his struggle. Hawthorne said he had no confidence in his literary ability as a means of livelihood. He found himself unable to write a third of the time. Hawthorne had difficulty composing ideas to write about and he began to slow down according to his own standards. Hawthorne repeatedly spoke of the hatred of the pen that belongs to a tired writer.