--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's Nathaniel Hawthorne Month in…" description: "\"It's Nathaniel Hawthorne Month in English. Poor Nathaniel. Does he know what they've done to him? We're reading The Scarlet Letter one sentence at a ti..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c5/laurie-halse-anderson-623_blunt_it-s-nathaniel-hawthorne-month-in-englis_2689465.png" --- # It's Nathaniel Hawthorne Month in English. Poor Nathaniel… ![“It's Nathaniel Hawthorne Month in English. Poor Nathaniel. Does he know what they've done to him? We're reading The Scarlet Letter one sentence at a time, tearing it up and chewing on its bones. It's all about SYMBOLISM, says Hairwoman. Every word chosen by Nathaniel, every comma, every paragraph…” quote by Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c5/laurie-halse-anderson-623_blunt_it-s-nathaniel-hawthorne-month-in-englis_2689465.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c5/laurie-halse-anderson-623_blunt_it-s-nathaniel-hawthorne-month-in-englis_2689465.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c5/laurie-halse-anderson-623_blunt_it-s-nathaniel-hawthorne-month-in-englis_2689465.png) > “It's Nathaniel Hawthorne Month in English. Poor Nathaniel. Does he know what they've done to him? We're reading The Scarlet Letter one sentence at a time, tearing it up and chewing on its bones. It's all about SYMBOLISM, says Hairwoman. Every word chosen by Nathaniel, every comma, every paragraph break -- these were all done on purpose. To get a decent grade in her class, we have to figure out what he was really trying to say. Why couldn't he just say what he meant? Would they pin scarlet letters on his chest? B for blunt, S for straightforward?” [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects frustration over overanalyzing a classic text, emphasizing the tension between authorial intent and academic dissection. **In simple terms:** Students feel overwhelmed by deep analysis of a novel. Key Takeaway Balance analysis with appreciation of the story. Themes education literature analysis interpretation Mood frustrated inquisitive Type academic reflective When to use this quote - classroom essays - exam preparation - reading groups Key Concepts symbolism authorial intent critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How does excessive analysis affect your enjoyment of literature? - What is the value of focusing on symbolism versus narrative? A Different Perspective Over‑analysis can obscure the emotional impact of the work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Scarlet Letter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scarlet-letter/) [Symbolism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symbolism/) ## Related quotes > [“All over the gray facade of his father's house in scarlet letters he wrote: ELLIOT SCHAFER. He almost added: "was here" but did not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/all-over-the-gray-facade-of-his-father-s-house-in-scarlet-letters-he/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [“But if Americans chose to pit themselves against Russia, thinking she was feeble and weak, they would be surprised. A student in the class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-matthews/but-if-americans-chose-to-pit-themselves-against-russia-thinking-she/) [Jason Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-matthews/) > [Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that easy reading is damn hard writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/nathaniel-hawthorne-once-said-that-easy-reading-is-damn-hard-writing/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“Lillian was determined that her next role would be Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and assumed she only needed to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cari-beauchamp/lillian-was-determined-that-her-next-role-would-be-hester-prynne-in/) [Cari Beauchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cari-beauchamp/) > [ There is more suspense, more dramatic torque, in one page of \[Nathaniel\] Hawthorne's heart-racked ruminations onthe Christian consciencethaninall Demi Moore's woodland gallops and horizontal… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-lane/there-is-more-suspense-more-dramatic-torque-in-one-page-of-nathaniel/) [Anthony Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-lane/) > [The American, who up to the present day, has evinced, in Literature, the largest brain with the largest heart, that man is Nathaniel Hawthorne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/the-american-who-up-to-the-present-day-has-evinced-in-literature-the/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Goodness! Golly! Good God! Blessed Allah! Zeus and Hera! Mary and Joseph! Nathaniel Hawthorne! Don't touch her! Grab her! Move closer! Run away! Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/goodness-golly-good-god-blessed-allah-zeus-and-hera-mary-and-joseph/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Do you know what the lurid intermixture of complicated emotions produces, according to Nathaniel Hawthorne? That's right, it produces the illuminating blaze of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bachelder/do-you-know-what-the-lurid-intermixture-of-complicated-emotions/) Chris Bachelder > [The actual American childhood is less Norman Rockwell and Walt Disney than Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cheever/the-actual-american-childhood-is-less-norman-rockwell-and-walt-disney/) [Susan Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cheever/) > [My work holds up the mirror to hypocrisy, which puts me in a tradition of American writing that reaches back to Nathaniel Hawthorne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/my-work-holds-up-the-mirror-to-hypocrisy-which-puts-me-in-a-tradition/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [“Nathaniel Hawthorne had placed the w in his name to distance himself from his cruel ancestor, his writing driven by his desire to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/nathaniel-hawthorne-had-placed-the-w-in-his-name-to-distance-himself/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [There is the grand truth about Nathaniel Hawthorne. He says NO! in thunder; but the Devil himself cannot make him say yes. For all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/there-is-the-grand-truth-about-nathaniel-hawthorne-he-says-no-in/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Trying to imagine E. M. Forster, who found Ulysses indecorous, at a London performance of Lenny Bruce—to which in fact he was once taken.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-markson/trying-to-imagine-e-m-forster-who-found-ulysses-indecorous-at-a/) [David Markson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-markson/) > [“Another reason Hawthorne set his story in the past (in lies) was 'cause he couldn't say directly all the wild things he wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/another-reason-hawthorne-set-his-story-in-the-past-in-lies-was-cause/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [“Human nature will not flourish, any more than a potato, if it be planted and replanted, for too long a series of generations, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/human-nature-will-not-flourish-any-more-than-a-potato-if-it-be/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) ## More by Laurie Halse Anderson > [“The word ghost sounds like memory. The word therapy means exorcism”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/the-word-ghost-sounds-like-memory-the-word-therapy-means-exorcism/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [Censorship is the child of fear and the father of ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/censorship-is-the-child-of-fear-and-the-father-of-ignorance/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [“I have this halfway place, a rest stop on the road to sleep, where I can stay for hours. I don't even need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/i-have-this-halfway-place-a-rest-stop-on-the-road-to-sleep-where-i/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [I can see us, living in the woods, her wearing that A, me with a S maybe, S for silent, S for stupid, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/i-can-see-us-living-in-the-woods-her-wearing-that-a-me-with-a-s-maybe/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [Eating plain toast will detonate her. "I'll have some honey." When the bread is done I scrape on a microscopic layer of it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/eating-plain-toast-will-detonate-her-i-ll-have-some-honey-when-the/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [Cutting pain was a different flavor of hurt. It made it easier not to think about having my body and my family and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/cutting-pain-was-a-different-flavor-of-hurt-it-made-it-easier-not-to/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [I am learning how to be angry and sad and lonely and joyful and excited and afraid and happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/i-am-learning-how-to-be-angry-and-sad-and-lonely-and-joyful-and/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [“Leaning against my father, the sadness finally broke open inside me, hollowing out my heart and leaving me bleeding. My feet felt rooted in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/leaning-against-my-father-the-sadness-finally-broke-open-inside-me/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [I like cheeseburgers too much to be a model.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/i-like-cheeseburgers-too-much-to-be-a-model/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [I am getting better at smiling when people expect it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/i-am-getting-better-at-smiling-when-people-expect-it/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [“All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings is a lie. Nobody really wants to hear what you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/all-that-crap-you-hear-on-tv-about-communication-and-expressing/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [I doubt trees are ever told to 'be the screwed-up ninth-grader.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/i-doubt-trees-are-ever-told-to-be-the-screwed-up-ninth-grader/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [“It was the most eloquent silence I ever heard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/it-was-the-most-eloquent-silence-i-ever-heard/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [I've dealt with depression my entire life, on and off, which makes me the perfect author for teenage readers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/i-ve-dealt-with-depression-my-entire-life-on-and-off-which-makes-me/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [“What did it feel like to die? Was it a peaceful sleep? Some thought it was full of either trumpet-blowing angels or angry devils.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/what-did-it-feel-like-to-die-was-it-a-peaceful-sleep-some-thought-it/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) [Explore all 437 Laurie Halse Anderson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) ## More Blunt quotes > [Jazz is not something that can be defined through blunt instruments. It is much more poetic than that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/jazz-is-not-something-that-can-be-defined-through-blunt-instruments/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [Local and state governments have outrun the federal government. 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The governor is blunt, brash, and self-consciously authentic, the antithesis to what turns off today's voters:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-fournier/christie-led-the-way-with-a-bulldozer-the-governor-is-blunt-brash-and/) [Ron Fournier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-fournier/) > [The finest edge is made with the blunt whetstone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lyly/the-finest-edge-is-made-with-the-blunt-whetstone/) [John Lyly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lyly/) > [I'm a blunt person, not mean-spirited. I come from a place of love, but I'm interested in being real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-mcmillan/i-m-a-blunt-person-not-mean-spirited-i-come-from-a-place-of-love-but/) [Tracy McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-mcmillan/) > [Emily and I have some funny scenes where we quarrel and it gets quite heated, the mother-daughter relationship. You know, film mothers and daughters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacki-weaver/emily-and-i-have-some-funny-scenes-where-we-quarrel-and-it-gets-quite/) [Jacki Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacki-weaver/) > [Rumour is a pipe Blown by surmises, jealousies, conjectures And of so easy and so plain a stop That the blunt monster with uncounted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/rumour-is-a-pipe-blown-by-surmises-jealousies-conjectures-and-of-so/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt. Chase after money and security and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/fill-your-bowl-to-the-brim-and-it-will-spill-keep-sharpening-your/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Better stop short than fill to the brim. Oversharpen the blade, and the edge will soon blunt. Amass a store of gold and jade,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/better-stop-short-than-fill-to-the-brim-oversharpen-the-blade-and-the/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [There is something discordant about a team of speechwriters and political operatives hammering away to create an image of the 'real, inner' candidate. And,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-greenfield/there-is-something-discordant-about-a-team-of-speechwriters-and/) [Jeff Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-greenfield/) > [I'm too blunt and straightforward for politics, but I'm friends with all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nana-patekar/i-m-too-blunt-and-straightforward-for-politics-but-i-m-friends-with/) [Nana Patekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nana-patekar/) > [I don't get along with many people, especially in studios. I'm quite blunt and I know what I want - and songwriters are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-blue/i-don-t-get-along-with-many-people-especially-in-studios-i-m-quite/) [Jonas Blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-blue/) > [You're afraid of making mistakes. Don't be. Mistakes can be profited by. Man, when I was young I shoved my ignorance in people's faces.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-re-afraid-of-making-mistakes-don-t-be-mistakes-can-be-profited-by/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) Browse all 322 Blunt quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's Nathaniel Hawthorne Month in English. Poor Nathaniel. Does he know what they've done to him? We're reading The Scarlet Letter one sentence at a time, tearing it up and chewing on its bones. It's all about SYMBOLISM, says Hairwoman. 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