Hawthorne: Author and Narrator

During the early decades of this century, the British critic A. Richards conducted a famous series of experiments in reading that he reported in his book Practical Criticism. Interested primarily in the ways poems affect a reader, he regularly gave his students a selection of anonymous poems and asked for a commentary on each. The exercise led him to propose a step-by-step process for interpreting poetry, which formed the basis for the discipline we now call "close reading." Begin this lesson by explaining to your students that they will recreate the Richards experiment, using the unfiltered poetry available on the Internet as their raw material.

Activity 1. Understanding point of view of a narrator and an author

Help students understand how the point of view of the narrator and the point of view of the author are not the same. How does the author represent the narrator? Do they necessarily share common opinions, beliefs, or characteristics? Have students write a short description of the narrator of "The Scarlet Letter," drawing evidence from the introductory chapter and elsewhere in the book. Or you might have students write a short description of school life in the style of the novel's narrator. Another way to understand narrative perspective is to think about how "The Scarlet Letter" would be different if one of the other characters, such as Hester, Dimmsdale, or Pearl, were the narrator. Have students write a passage from the story from the perspective of one of these other characters.

Activity 2. Hawthorne, a contemporary of his times

Help students to see Hawthorne in the context of his times, as a contemporary of Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Louisa May Alcott, Frederick Douglass, Herman Melville, Margaret Fuller, Walt Whitman, and Abraham Lincoln. To what extent was he engaged by the transforming political and technological forces at work in his society, and to what extent was he (like the narrator of The Scarlet Letter) estranged from his times by an overriding attachment to the American past?

To complete this study of Hawthorne's literary and literal lives, have small groups of students each read a Hawthorne short story from different periods in his later life. (Students can find appropriate stories on the Nathaniel Hawthorne website or in the library.) Ask each group to report on the narrative point of view represented in their story, citing passages from the text to support their views. Compare narrators from The Scarlet Letter and a short story. What is the point of view of each narrator? Why did Hawthorne choose these narrators?

Selected EDSITEment Websites

Academy of American Poets

• Ralph Waldo Emerson
• Walt Whitman

Africans in America

• Fredrick Douglass

The American President

• Abraham Lincoln

The Internet Public Library

• Louis May Acott
• Margaret Fuller

The Life and Works of Herman Melville

• Herman Melville

Nathanial Hawthorne

• The Scarlet Letter