The Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter, although difficult to read more than a few pages without putting it down, clearly shows the ideas of the American Renaissance. Specifically, it focuses on Romanticism. This novel even contains Transcendentalism, a branch of Romanticism, and some of it's ideas within the text. Although the novel takes place in Puritan times, Hawthorne still manages to express his Romantic ideas to the audience.
Romanticism focused on emotion and morality, and transcendentalism also focused on human connection to nature. This new way of thinking was much different from other period in American history. Before Romanticism, writing focused on religion and then science. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne used good and evil to show the contrast in different ideas, and even to criticize the old American ways. This criticism is important because it shows the Romantic ideas of change or reform.
Romanticism focused on emotion and morality, and transcendentalism also focused on human connection to nature. This new way of thinking was much different from other period in American history. Before Romanticism, writing focused on religion and then science. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne used good and evil to show the contrast in different ideas, and even to criticize the old American ways. This criticism is important because it shows the Romantic ideas of change or reform.
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