Part one of term paper
In some way or another, our past, the traditions passed down through our ancestors, and the values instilled in us by our parents, affect our own minds and perceptions of the world. We may choose to pass on these traditions or reject them for new ones, but the past always influences us. Nathaniel Hawthorne was no different than the rest of ...

Part two of term paper
... hub of Puritan activity--Salem--he grew up indoctrinated with Christian values, but soon experimented with the philosophical ideas put forth in his lifetime. Perhaps wrestling with Puritanical mores, Hawthorne not only incorporates the new philosophy into his writing, he gives his readers the chance to evaluate for themselves the possibilities of other beliefs. What seems most imteresting in Hawthorne’s texts is the wrestling between two belief systems. On the one hand, Puritanism bestows doc ...