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For my project in lit, we need to look back on our sophomore year and write a short, well-written summary about a book written by an American author. I chose the house of the seven gables by nathaniel hawthorne. Tell me what you think. 
Greed, treachery, mesmerism, and murder are just some of the bricks Hawthorne uses to build The House of the Seven Gables. Generations before the present story begins, wealthy Colonel Pyncheon covets Matthew Maule's land. When Maule is hanged for witchcraft, he puts a curse on the Colonel - and all his descendants. Now the menacing Judge Pyncheon continues the family tradition of hiding cruelty under a dazzling smile, while his scowling niece, Hepzibah, and half-mad nephew, Clifford, are reduced to poverty by his machinations. But the younger generation, embodied in their distant cousin Phoebe, becomes a ray of hope penetrating the dark house.
Though Hawthorne openly discusses his book's "moral" in it's preface, The House of the Seven Gables is no dry sermon. In fact, a strong stream of poetic fantasy runs thrugh it, which the author acknowledges by calling it a "romance," rather than a novel. Like his other great works, The Hous of the Seven Gables reflects Hawthorne's rich understanding of complex motives, and of individuals caught in the unending struggle between highest aspirations and basest desires.
Greed, treachery, mesmerism, and murder are just some of the bricks Hawthorne uses to build The House of the Seven Gables. Generations before the present story begins, wealthy Colonel Pyncheon covets Matthew Maule's land. When Maule is hanged for witchcraft, he puts a curse on the Colonel - and all his descendants. Now the menacing Judge Pyncheon continues the family tradition of hiding cruelty under a dazzling smile, while his scowling niece, Hepzibah, and half-mad nephew, Clifford, are reduced to poverty by his machinations. But the younger generation, embodied in their distant cousin Phoebe, becomes a ray of hope penetrating the dark house.
Though Hawthorne openly discusses his book's "moral" in it's preface, The House of the Seven Gables is no dry sermon. In fact, a strong stream of poetic fantasy runs thrugh it, which the author acknowledges by calling it a "romance," rather than a novel. Like his other great works, The Hous of the Seven Gables reflects Hawthorne's rich understanding of complex motives, and of individuals caught in the unending struggle between highest aspirations and basest desires.
