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Nathaniel Hawthorne, "My Kinsman, Major Molineux," 1831, pub. 1832/1851
Published the same year as Jackson's veto message. Robin, "a youth of barely eighteen" and a second son with no hope of inheriting the farm, arrives in town after dark to seek his kinsman Major Molineux, who, he is sure, will help establish him in the world. He wanders the town, unable to locate the major, until the end of the story when a mob introduces him to his relative. By 1832 the American Revolution was over half a century old. The founding generation had passed from the scene, and a new generation was trying to figure out what kind of country the United States would be. They were, in effect, taking an adolescent nation into adulthood. In this story the initiation of a young man reflects the coming of age of a young nation. Could be used with students. 13 pages.
Discussion questions
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Although the story is set before the American Revolution, to what extent is Hawthorne writing about the 1830s?
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How would you characterize the society depicted in the story? |
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In what ways is this a distinctly American initiation story? |
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What is the significance of the story's urban setting? |
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What does Robin have to learn about maneuvering in the new world in which he finds himself? |
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What is Hawthorne's attitude toward the common man? |
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Note the different cultural groupings Robin encounters. Where does he fit in? |
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What is Hawthorne's attitude toward the mob that marches through the town at the story's conclusion? |
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What seems to be ascendant in the storya growing sense of national identity or a sense of national fragmentation?
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Reading highlights
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Note how much society is in flux. |
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Note the interplay of honor and shame and the way this culture uses them to make one join it. |
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Compare Hawthorne's mob with Twain's circus crowd/mob in Huckleberry Finn. |
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Compare this story to the Election Day scene in The Scarlet Letter.
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