Nathaniel Hawthorne and Literary HumorLesson Plan Three of the Curriculum Unit: American Literary Humor: Mark Twain, George Harris, and Nathaniel HawthorneIntroductionNathaniel Hawthorne' stories are more often associated with dark examinations of complex systems of morality than any sense of conventional comic humor. And yet Hawthorne's subtle satiric wit oftentimes offered equally piercing insights into the human psyche. In this lesson, students read a humorous story by Nathaniel Hawthorne and, as part of a curriculum unit on American literary humor, compare it to other American literary humorists in order to gain perspective on each writer's brand of humor and its significance within the context of American literary tradition. After debating the merits of "moral" humor like Hawthorne's as compared with the "folk" humor of Harris and Twain, students test the possibilities of blending these traditions by recasting a paragraph of Hawthorne's story in dialect style.Guiding Question
Learning ObjectivesAt the end of this lesson students will be able to:
Background Information for the TeacherBorn in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, and a descendant of a judge in the Salem Witch Trials, Nathaniel Hawthorne had an understandable fascination with the Puritan ancestry and history that surrounded him. His collection of stories, Twice-Told Tales, which includes "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment," with its sharp satire and refined narrative style, was published in 1837 to moderate success. His most famous work, The Scarlet Letter, was published in 1850 and, with its strong popular and critical reception, brought Hawthorne considerable and enduring fame. Hawthorne continued to write throughout his life, taking at times employment (usually political appointments, including the American consul at Liverpool, England when his friend Franklin Pierce was elected the 14th president of the United States). Hawthorne lived for a time in England and Italy with his children and wife, Sophie Peabody, whom he married in 1842, before returning to his home in Concord in 1860. By 1864, Hawthorne had fallen ill and died on a trip with his friend Franklin Pierce. He was buried in Sleepy Hollow cemetery in Concord. For a more complete history of Hawthorne's life and literary achievements, visit the following EDSITEment-reviewed websites: Biography of Nathaniel Hawthorne and the interactive Timeline (choose Life & Literary Career). Additional background information is available in the Curriculum Unit Overview. Even if teaching this lesson plan as a single lesson, the material listed in the Overview contains valuable contextual material.Preparing to Teach this Lesson
Suggested Activities1. Setting the Stage2. Narrating the Tale3. Determining the Target1. Setting the StageIntroduce students to Hawthorne's background, using the resources outlined above and in the Curriculum Unit Overview, with specific attention to his biography and the events of his life using the Interactive Timeline (choose Life & Literary Career). Ask students what Hawthorne tales they might have already read, and what the general tone of those stories was. Have them read (or assign the night before) "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment," by Nathaniel Hawthorne, available in the electronic text of Twice-Told Tales at the EDSITEment-reviewed Nathaniel Hawthorne website. Ask students to first consider the story from a broad perspective. What is the tone of "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment"? Is Hawthorne's story scary or amusing? Have them select at least 2 brief passages from the text to explain their answer (either in groups during class, or individually at home during their at-home reading). Answers may range from "moralistic" to "haunting," or from "silly" to "amusing." Whatever their reaction, make sure that students point to specific passages—single lines or several sentences—to back up their claim. Have them read the passage out loud to the class. While Hawthorne, because of his common themes and style, is rarely thought of as a humorist, there are several passages in this story that suggest that Hawthorne's tongue was placed firmly in cheek. Certainly the story carries with it certain clear moral implications, yet he appears to adopt a satiric, rather than strictly gothic, tone for the tale. Students might select something like: But it was well known to be a book of magic; and once, when a chambermaid had lifted it, merely to brush away the dust, the skeleton had rattled in its closet, the picture of the young lady had stepped one foot upon the floor, and several ghastly faces had peeped forth from the mirror; while the brazen head of Hippocrates frowned, and said—"Forbear!" Or Now Dr. Heidegger was a very strange old gentleman, whose eccentricity had become the nucleus for a thousand fantastic stories. Some of these fables, to my shame be it spoken, might possibly be traced back to my own veracious self; and if any passages of the present tale should startle the reader's faith, I must be content to bear the stigma of a fiction monger Regardless if they choose this latter passage, turn to it after a few passages have been discussed and ask students to consider the narrator of the tale. What do we know of the narrator? Who is the narrator? Refer again to the following passage, and have a student read it out loud. Now Dr. Heidegger was a very strange old gentleman, whose eccentricity had become the nucleus for a thousand fantastic stories. Some of these fables, to my shame be it spoken, might possibly be traced back to my own veracious self; and if any passages of the present tale should startle the reader's faith, I must be content to bear the stigma of a fiction monger.If this lesson is taught in conjunction with the other lesson plans in this curriculum unit, ask students how the narration compares to that in the other stories by Mark Twain and George Washington Harris. As students will notice at once, dialect and local color play no clear part in the humor of this story. The story's structure, too, is far removed from the traditions of oral transmission that underlie the structures developed by Twain and Harris. Ask students:
Humorists generally have a target; they make jokes at someone's expense. Ask students: Who is the target in Hawthorne's story? Though a more refined humorist than Harris and Twain, Hawthorne is also targeting an element or aspect of American society for ridicule. But who is Hawthorne's target?
AssessmentHave the class debate:If the class only completed this lesson from the curriculum unit, have one group argue the value of Hawthorne's story as a dark, gothic morality tale, while the other group argues the value of the story as a humorous satire. If the class fulfilled all steps of the curriculum unit, have one group argue that moral humor like Hawthorne's is superior to the often amoral humor of the folk tale and gossip tradition. Have the other group argue that Hawthorne's style of humor pales in comparison to that provided by humorists like Harris and Twain. Extending the LessonConclude this lesson by asking students to translate a passage from Hawthorne's story into dialect. Have them look, for example, at the paragraph beginning, "The fair widow knew, of old, that Colonel Killigrew's compliments were not always measured by sober truth..." Ask them to imagine how Simon Wheeler or Sut Lovingood might portray the scene Hawthorne's narrator describes. In the process of recasting Hawthorne's prose, they will likely discover that he is a more artful stylist than they might at first suppose, and discover too, as Mark Twain discovered, that an equal measure of art is required to achieve such effects in the easy-going accents of a storyteller.Previous Lesson PlanReturn to the Curriculum Unit Overview—American Literary Humor: Mark Twain, George Harris, and Nathaniel HawthorneSelected EDSITEment Websites
Other InformationStandards Alignment
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