Nathaniel Hawthorne An Author that Influenced and...

America is a melting pot. Our leaders, immigrants from other countries, successes, and tragedies, are constantly changing this nation. American food, music, and ideals are also constantly being modified. American literature is no exception. Many great writers have influenced and reshaped our literature, and Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of them. He faced his problems and moved on. He was and is one of the most influential American writers, and he is more than a writer. Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804, in Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel and Elizabeth Hawthorne. His original last name was Hathorne, but he added the w when he started writing to avoid confusion with his great-grandfather John Hathorne, a Salem Witch Trial judge.†¦show more content†¦Between 1825 and 1837, he traversed New England. He based his first book, Seven Tales of My Native Land (1826), on his early travels. After the publisher refused it, Nathaniel became mad and burned the copies. Convinced of his lack of talent, he did not write anything for a while. In 1828, he decided to write a novel, which was titled Fanshawe. He paid for it and circulated the copies. After a while, he became embarrassed and tried to destroy every copy. In 1829, he tried again, despite his early failures, and wrote Provincial Tales. Even though this one succeeded, it was published anonymously, so he barely earned any money from it. He was also horrified to find it in a low quality f iction catalog. Around this time, he also wrote The Story Teller. Samuel Goodrich, the publisher he sold it to, took the stories apart and sold off some of them. Nathaniel was appalled to see the stories put out of context. Then things started getting better. At this point, Nathaniel was discouraged, but his college friend Horatio Bridge convinced him to send the manuscript for his next book, Twice Told Tales (1837), to the publisher under his own name. Horatio then secretly paid all the expenses. Twice Told Tales was his first great success. In 1838, Nathaniel met Elizabeth Peabody, an education reformer. He soon also met her sister, Sophia Amelia Peabody, and they fell in love, but he was too poor at that point to marry her. In