43 pages • 1 hour read
Nathaniel HawthorneA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
In the introductory paragraph, Hawthorne states: “The reader, in order to avoid a long and dry detail of colonial affairs, is requested to dispense with an account of the train of circumstances, that had caused much temporary inflammation of the popular mind” (1). Before commencing the story’s action, the author wants the reader to disregard common narratives that uncritically portray colonists as heroic, God-fearing patriots.
As the story progresses, we see many instances in which colonists’ behavior is depicted as rude, sinful, or barbarous. The first example occurs when the old man threatens Robin with being “acquainted with the stocks” (3). Soon thereafter, the innkeeper insults Robin. These men are colonists who later attend the procession and revel in the torture of Molineux. The author depicts them as being more interested in reveling in depravity than helping a fellow countryman who is new to the city.
The horned man leads the procession. Though he is a colonist fighting against British rule, he sadistically exhibits the elderly Major Molineux, who has been tarred and feathered. Through this barbaric conduct, the author suggests that colonial patriots are not uniformly moral people.
By Nathaniel Hawthorne
Dr. Heidegger's Experiment
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Ethan Brand
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Rappaccini's Daughter
Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Ambitious Guest
Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Artist of the Beautiful
Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Birthmark
Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Blithedale Romance
Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Hollow of the Three Hills
Nathaniel Hawthorne
The House of the Seven Gables
Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Marble Faun
Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Maypole Of Merry Mount
Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Minister's Black Veil
Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Wives of the Dead
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Young Goodman Brown
Nathaniel Hawthorne