Comparison Between the Representations of Nature in the Works of Hawthorne and Twain

Comparison between the Representations of Nature

in the Works of Hawthorne and Twain

This following essay is aimed to study the representation of nature in literature, most importantly in the works of Mark Twain and Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Nature has been seen and represented throughout literature for a long time. Aristotle was not the first nor the last to talk about the mysteries of Nature. This fascination caused by Nature has appeared in literary work from different periods. In the 19th century Nature became a central motif in literature, but rather from being a type to be followed, every writer within the period understood its concept in their own different, unique way.  It could mean something different from individual to individual and this is surely true to Mark Twain and Nathaniel Hawthorne. The two writer shows two very different representations of nature as in a place. In Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, nature is portrayed as a safe-place that has many potentials of adventures, while in Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown nature is a scary place, where people’s true identities are shown.

Before the above listed works could be analysed, we have to understand what does nature really mean. According to the Cambridge Dictionary the word ‘nature’ has three meanings:

• nature noun (LIFE) : [ U ] all the animals, plants, rocks, etc. in the world and all the features, forces, and processes that happen or exist independently of people, such as the weather, the sea, mountains, the production of young animals or plants, and growth (Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus)
• nature noun (TYPE)C : [ S or U ] the type or main characteristic of something (Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus)
• nature noun (CHARACTER) : [ C or U ] a person's character (Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus)

The intimate connection between a person and the naturel world firstly occurred in Romantic Poetry. This connection brings one closer to creativity, imagination and intuition of philosophical truths. One of the most significant characteristics of the romantic poets and the two works this essay is about, is the idea that someone can go into nature and get in touch with their inner selves and discover such concepts as good and evil, bad or right, or similarities to human nature.

Nathaniel Hawthorne typically used common themes in his short stories for example the exploration of evil and sin, the idea of self-isolation, humanities internal struggles. He wrote stories that explored the evil in man and the short story ‘Young Goodman Brown’ provides excellent example of this. In this literary work, nature must be understood in two ways. There is the nature of place and there is human nature. Hawthorne uses the forest to represent the wild fearful world of nature and uses the threshold Goodman Brown shares with his wife, Faith, as a barrier between the safety of the town and the haunted realm of the forest into which he is headed. Home equals safety while the forest represents the home of evil and the devil himself.
When Goodman enters the forest he meets the devil there and is lured deeper and deeper into the woods by him. This can also represent how he is descending into the arms of the devil and breaks from his faithful legacy.

Trees are symbols of sin, hiding spots for the devil and Indian ‘savages’.

‘The whole forest was peopled with frightful sounds; the creaking of the trees, the howling of wild beasts, and the yell of Indians; while, sometimes, the wind tolled like a distant church-bell, and sometimes gave a broad roar around the traveller, as if all Nature were laughing him to scorn. But he was himself the chief horror of the scene, and shrank not from its other horrors.’ (Hawthorne, 98.)

The pejorative depiction of Indians was characteristic of the early colonial days as they were associated with wildness and savagery. However, it is the people from the village who truly embody evil in this story. At first Goodman Brown thinks that the evil is ‘out there’ in the depth of nature or exists as some potential in the world. However, after seeing his many of his good neighbours, who are also all religious, engaging in rituals with the devil, his perspective on evil changes. He discovers that evil is no longer ‘out there’ but was always inside each person, a part of human nature.

Goodman Brown experiences a literal darkness – the story play form sunset to sunrise- and figuratively as he moves from the angelic light of his blissful newlywed life with Faith to the dark hell of the forest and a rendezvous with the devil himself.

Unlike Hawthorne, Mark Twain knew from the beginning that the evil and bad nature comes from society .In his novel, nature offers peace and adventures. The theme of nature in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is pervasive throughout the novel. Descriptions of the relationship of nature to the human being in general and to Huck in particular are shown . The Mississippi river, the storm and the stars are the major themes of natural environments in this novel. To what do these descriptions refer? It has been said that Huck Finn is fleeing from hypocrisy, the law and the monotony of society. He finds refuge with his friend, Jim, in nature.