Dustie Robeson said, “Hawthorne’s ambiguous representation of the two classes and his imagery of the procession suggest that his disdain and admiration is not for one class or the other, but rather for all humanity” (“The House of the Seven Gables” 72). Nathaniel was born on Independence Day in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts. His family originated from New England and were Puritans at heart. Hawthorne attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. His uncle grew up during the Salem Witch Trials, which influenced many of Hawthorne’s dark, mysterious and guilty pleasure stories. Although Nathaniel Hawthorne’s family never had much money, he was able save up, to get an education, become a great author of The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven …show more content…
Hawthorne had some inspiration for writing. As J. Sydney Jones says, one of his inspirations for writing was Anthony Trollope because he wrote stories that Nathaniel was able to connect to and stay interested in. Another inspiration was his New England heritage and his Puritan history from his uncle growing up during the Salem Witch Trials. Lastly he was inspired to write after going on multiple summer road trips with his family as a child (134-136). Hawthorne shows that he was affected by his family history and childhood in his novels and short stories. J. Sydney Jones states, “Hawthorne truly was a child of his age: he was deeply affected by his New England roots, both geographical and ancestral” (142). Hawthorne also had his reasons for becoming a writer. As J. Sydney Jones says, one reason was that he read and studied English and Latin during college. Hawthorne also began writing tales in college as a hobby and later became determined that he wanted to become an author. Lastly his college friends said he was good enough and should become an author. (135). Hawthorne later went on to write the Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven