Hawthorne: Author and Narrator
Introduction
In fiction, the first-person narrator
is usually distinct from the author. Understanding the differences,
subtle or pronounced, between an author and the narrator he
or she creates is essential to understanding a work of fiction.
Learning Objectives
To recognize the difference between
a narrator and an author; to explore the impact of an author's
personal history on his or her creative life, particularly
in the context of American society.
Suggested Activities
1
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.
2
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,
Elizabeth Cady Stanton,
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?
Extending the Lesson
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 WebsitesAcademy
of American PoetsRalph
Waldo Emerson Walt
Whitman
Africans
in America Fredrick
Douglass
The
American President Abraham
Lincoln
The
Internet Public Library Louis
May Acott Henry
David Thoreau Margaret
Fuller
The
Life and Works of Herman Melville Herman
Melville
Nathanial
Hawthorne The
Scarlett Letter
Women
and Social Movements in United States, 1820-1940 Elizabeth
Cady Stanton
Standards Alignment
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