Analysis of Hawthorne's Introduction to The Scarlet Letter
Analysis of Hawthorne's Introduction to The Scarlet Letter
In the "Custom House," written as an introduction to The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne gives an autobiographical description of his life and times. The detailed descriptions of the scenes and people not only prepare the reader for the author's style, but also aim at recreating the author's past. The preface concentrates on the author's period of service at the Custom House during which time he came into contact with several people and had the opportunity to study human behavior. The description of his co- employees and others shows the author's deft hand at characterization, which is revealed during the novel. Further, the preface serves the purpose of giving a background to the novel and introduces America's Puritanical ancestors. Through the novel, by taking a favorable view of Hester and Dimmesdale and by drawing Chillingworth in evil proportions, Hawthorne attempts to undo the wrong and injustice done by his ancestors. The reference to the discovery of the scarlet letter and some papers referring to the incident of a woman condemned like Hester is to strengthen the author's claim of the authenticity of the story.
Passage I, by Frank Conroy, and passage II, by William Maxwell, are works of literature that deal with the nature of boyhood friendships. Both passages convey to the reader an idea that boyhood friendships are unbiased and are merely based on the fact that young boys appreciate the presence of other boys. The author conveys this idea through the use of figurative language and uses a very simple, innocent tone.
Both passages discuss the nature of boyhood friendships and reveal that boyhood friendships occur just because boys are present near each other and are not based on anything else such as class or background. In passage I, the author reveals that one boy named Frank makes a friendship with another boy named Tobey even though Tobey appears to have less money than Frank. Frank is described as having a new house, a new bike, and a bathing suit, while Tobey does not appear to have any of these facilities, which makes him appear to be less wealthy. Even though, one boy appears to either be wealthier or have a dissimilar upbringing than the other, this does not stop them from playing together and go swimming. Furthermore, the author shows that the boys liked to play in the forest, and which is a...