Prose Question 1994

From Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables

Sample A
In this passage from The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne, we learn a

great deal about Judge Pyncheon’s superficial character, but his past and inner truths remain

unknown. The narrator, with limited knowledge, tells us what he knows, has observed, or has

heard about Judge Pyncheon. Through the narrator’s tone, diction, and selection of details, we

can deduce and draw conclusions about Judge Pyncheon’s character.

The narrator has a sarcastic tone and bias towards Judge Pyncheon. Though his

descriptions reveals a seemingly pious and pure judge, his tone leads the reader to question what

lies behind the Judge’s façade. The narrator begins by explaining that the judge has a mask that

would “paralyze a more active and subtle conscience” (5-6). We learn the Judge is respectable

and his purity “while on the bench” (7) is unquestioned by the town. The selection of details the

narrator uses in his descriptions of the Judge’s façade further the cover-up identity of the Judge.

His zeal as “president of a Bible Study,” treasurer of a widow’s and orphan’s fund, and “benefits

to horticulture,” all reveal a pious and respectable person. His choice of other descriptions are

more cynical and sarcastic toward the Judge; producing two varieties of pears, delaying

forgiveness to his son until the son’s final moments, his polished boots and clean perfectly white

linen and gold headed cane. For the judge to wait until the final moments of his son’s life to

forgive him tells us a great deal about the Judge. Forgiveness is a key virtue, and if the Judge is

honorable enough to work for widow and orphans and run a Bible study, then he should be able

to forgive his son. The Judge’s grudge and the narrator telling this detail reveal the Judge’s true

colors and hypocrisy in life. We know the author is being extreme and over the top with his

descriptions when he refers to the “handsomeness of [the Judge’s] gold-headed cane” (26-7) and

snowy white sheets as key descriptions, but we can still trust the narrator’s descriptions.
 Prose Question 1994
From Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables
A deeper, more substancial level to Judge Pyncheon as the narrator delves into the

Judge’s background and past. When narrator says “this admirable arranged life was what [the

Judge] was conscious of” (38), he peals back the Judge’s character on the bench, and gives us a

glimpse as to the true character of the Judge. Using those words, the narrator expresses why he

was sarcastic in his superficial description of the Judge and transitions into a more serious tone.

The narrator tells what little he knows of the Judge’s reckless and rebellious youth. We learn the

Judge committed some sort of wrong act that he now tries to balance out with his bias life. The

Judge never looks “inward” because he is ashamed of his actions and willing to forget. The

narrator says the act is “half-forgotten” (49) which means the act is half-remembered. While he

may wish to forget his wrongful act, the Judge never can. The narrator’s wording suggests a deep

disappointment and regret that the Judge still and will always feel. The Judge only wants to be

what he sees in the mirror and what other people see him as, but he cannot forget his past action.

The Judge tries to balance his act by living a life of justice, respect, and piety, but the narrator

can see through the Judge’s façade.

Although the narrator is not omnipotent, he is well-informed and knowledgeable about

Judge Pyncheon. He relays to us his feelings and knowledge of the Judge giving us an analysis of

the Judge’s character. Although not complete, we learn enough to form our own opinions about

the Judge’s character.

 Prose Question 1994
From Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables
Sample B

In The House of the Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne tries to manipulate the reader’s

views on Judge Pyncheon and his situation. Throughout the excerpt, Hawthorne praises Judge

Pyncheon and highlights his positive qualities and shows lack of interest in the Judge’s one

irrevocable mistake. Hawthorne selects only certain details from the issue and presents the two

sides of the arguments in different tones in order to evoke support from the reader.

Hawthorne first presents certain traits of Judge Pyncheon in order to bias the reader

before the issue is stated. Hawthorne depicts Pyncheon as a religious man and this “president of

the Bible Society,” a generous, caring man as “treasurer of a Widow’s and Orphan’s fund” and

provider of “benefits to horticulture.” He mentions small, insignificant details such as his

“prayers of morning and evening tide” and “graces at mealtime” to emphasize his piety.

Hawthorne conveys a tone of admiration and awe for the Judge. Hawthorne believes the Judge

“has enough of splendid rubbish in his life to cover up and paralyze a more active and subtle

conscience” than his own. In addition to this praise of the seemingly perfect man, Hawthorne

briefly mentions two understandable flaws to make the judge seem more human. For instance,

the Judge “had frowned upoin and finally cast off an expensive and dissipated son.” The Judge’s

forgiveness at his deathbed evokes pity from the reader. Hawthorne also mentions his alcohol

problem. He chooses this flaw for it is not unusual and, in this case, harms no one other than

himself. Near the end of the detailed description, hawthorn thoroughly depicts his outward

appearance. The Judge is drawn up to be the ideal gentleman. He is courteous in that he gives “a

bow, a lifting of the hat, a nod, or a motion of the hand, to all and sundry his acquaintances, rich

or poor.” The Judge’s fixation with his appearance and thus “studied propriety of his dress and
 Prose Question 1994
From Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables
equipment” hints that the Judge is greatly concerned with how he portrays himself to the

community. He thinks highly of how others think of him.

Then Hawthorne demonstrates his point of view through exclamations against the

incredulous beliefs of the community. For instance, Hawthorne wonders “what room could

possibly be found for darker traits, in a portrait made up of lineaments like these!” After long

appraisal, Hawthorne subtly mentions the dire error on the Judge’s part. He emphasizes the

Judge’s “early and reckless youth” to excuse the mistake. Whenever the error is mentioned,

comparisons are always made between the “one questionable deed” and the “thousand

praiseworthy, or, at least, blameless ones.” Such a comparison seems to dismiss his wrongdoing.

The syntax is carefully done, so that the reader will have disdain for those who admonish the

“half-forgotten act.” Hawthorne also explains the error as the “one necessary deed.” Hawthorne

chooses not to go in depth on the deed for fear of losing the reader’s appraisal of the Judge. The

many exclamations emphasize Hawthorne’s angry, disbelieving tone.

Hawthorne makes the surrounding community look like the enemy rather than Judge

Pyncheon with emphasis on their unfair and unjust “scale and balance system.”

Hawthorne organizes the details and presents only certain information in such a fashion

as to make the reader share his pity for the mistreated, upstanding Judge Pyncheon.
 Prose Question 1994
From Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables
Sample C

:Nathaniel Hawthorne, in The House of the Seven Gables, goes to great lengths to

describe a man, Judge Pyncheon. Pyncheon, at the surface, seems like a respectable, proper,

socially-standard fellow, but a deeper look reveals the satire and irony with which Hawthorne

describes Pyncheon. Through his first person plural point of view, flattering diction, and

exasperated syntax, Hawthorne paints a picture of a man whose outer image contrasts greatly

with his inner self.

By describing the narrator as “we,” Hawthorne introduces this excerpt in a way that leads

the reader to believe that the narrator is speaking on behalf of the whole community. The narrator

starts off by making a statement about Pyncheon’s lack of troubled conscience. This seems to be

a negative statement about the judge, but the reader quickly forgets about this subtle implication,

as the reader is almost immediately overwhelmed by the countless clauses and descriptions, all

of which serve to flatter the character of Pyncheon. Lines 6 through 36 comprise merely one

sentence, albeit a disorganized one. However, the lack of structure and sense of haste in the

narrator’s tone could suggest that something is not quite right with the way that the community

overwhelmingly flatters Judge Pyncheon’s character. After the exhaustive list of Pyncheon’s

alleged character traits, the narrator opens up a door to irony with asking an ominous rhetorical

question: “What room could possibly be found for darker traits, in a portrait made up of

lineaments like these!” (lines 34-36). This seemingly harmless and ridiculously impossible

suggestion sets the stage for the dark irony and satire that Hawthorne employs for the rest of the

story.

The narrator, in line 37, says that Pyncheon was only conscious of this “admirably

arranged life” that he now lives. This suggests that Pyncheon only sees himself as the community
 Prose Question 1994
From Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables
sees him: just, benevolent, and respectable. In the last paragraph, the narrator vaguely speaks of

“some wrong act” (44) that Ppyncheon might have committed earlier on in his life. However,

Pyncheon brushes this “questionable deed” (46) to the side, convincing himself that no one in the

community would dare point a finger at him, given his otherwise impeccable record. Pyncheon

has used the virtuous image that he exudes so much so that he refuses to look inward, to see his

true self, anymore. He has upgraded public opinion and downgraded self knowledge to the point

of utterly blissful ignorance. Pyncheon, described as a “hard, cold man” by the narrator (54), is

able to forget who he really is under the formal façade, and he whole-heartedly believes that he

truly fits the flattering diction that the narrator employs in the first half of the excerpt.

Hawthorne might actually be making a social comment of sorts through his

characterization of Judge Pyncheon. A judge is expected to exude justice, impartiality and

fairness, and on the surface, Pyncheon seems to fit the bill, according to the adjectives that the

narrator uses to describe him in lines 6 through 36. However, by the end of the excerpt, the

narrator reveals a whole other side of Pyncheon, one that is naïve, self-effacing, and even

delusional. Pyncheon refuses to look inward for his own identity; instead, he takes himself as

others take him. Hawthorne seems to be saying that all individuals in society, to a certain extent,

believe themselves to truly be the image that they put on for others, which is usually not one’s

true self.

Through the narrator’s slow revelation of the character of Judge Pyncheon, Hawthorne

satirically reveals that people are like onions; they are made up of layers, and one’s external layer

might not (and usually does not) match one’s true self. Hawthorne seems to say that everyone is

wearing a mask of sorts, showing oneself as society desires to see that person, just like Judge

Pyncheon was doing. The true danger exists when one refuses to look inward and only believes
 Prose Question 1994
From Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables
in one’s outwardly portrayed image, thereby forgetting one’s true identity, to the point where not

even death will uncover the suppressed identity of one’s own self.