Van Kirk - CliffsNotes on Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter

By Susan Van Kirk, M.A.

In This Book

Learn about the Life and Background of the Author

Preview an Introduction to the Novel

Explore themes, literary devices, and character development in the Critical Commentaries

Examine in-depth Character Analyses

Reinforce what you learn with CliffsNotes Review

Reinforce what you learn with CliffsNotes Review

Find additional information to further your study in CliffsNotes Resource Center and online at www.cliffsnotes.com

About the Author

Susan Van Kirk has taught high school English in Monmouth, Illinois, for 30 years.

Publishers Acknowledgments

Editorial

Project Editor: Tracy Barr

Acquisitions Editor: Greg Tubach

Editorial Assistant: Michelle Hacker

Glossary Editors: Websters New World Dictionaries

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CliffsNotes The Scarlet Letter

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Copyright 2000 Wiley Publishing, Inc., New York, New York

ISBN: 978-0-7645-8605-7

Printed in the United States of America

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Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Hoboken, NJ

Published simultaneously in Canada

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Van Kirk, Susan, 1946-

CliffsNotes on Hawthornes The scarlet letter / by Susan Van Kirk.

p. cm.

Includes biliographical references.

ISBN 978-0-7645-8605-7 (alk. paper)

1. Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 1804-1864. Scarlet letter--Examinations--Study guides. I. Title: On Hawthornes The scarlet letter. II. Title.

PS1868.V36 2000

813.3--dc21 00035105

CIP

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A Note to the Reader

READ THE ENTIRE LITERARY WORK. THESE NOTES ARE NOT INTENDED AND HAVE NOT BEEN PREPARED TO SERVE AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR THE TEXT ITSELF OR FOR THE CLASSROOM DISCUSSION OF THE TEXT. STUDENTS WHO ATTEMPT TO USE THE NOTES AS SUCH ARE DENYING THEMSELVES THE VERY EDUCATION THEY ARE PRESUMABLY GIVING THEIR MOST VITAL YEARS TO ACHIEVE.

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Life And Background Of The Author

The following abbreviated biography of Nathaniel Hawthorne is provided so that you might become more familiar with his life and the historical times that possibly influenced his writing. Read this Life and Background of the Author section and recall it when reading Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter, thinking of any thematic relationship between Hawthornes work and his life.

Early/Formative Years

Born July 4, 1804, Nathaniel Hathorne was the only son of Captain Nathaniel Hathorne and Elizabeth Clarke Manning Hathorne. (Hawthorne added the w to his name after he graduated from college.) Following the death of Captain Hathorne in 1808, Nathaniel, his mother, and his two sisters were forced to move in with Mrs. Hathornes relatives, the Mannings. Here Nathaniel Hawthorn grew up in the company of women without a strong male role model; this environment may account for what biographers call his shyness and introverted personality.