House of Seven Gables.

Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author of The House of Seven Gables, was born in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1804. His father, who was also Nathaniel Hathorne, was a descendant of John Hathorne, who was a judge in Salem during the witch trials of 1692. Nathaniel later changed his last name, adding the “w” in Hathorne to be separated from his relatives, such as John Hathorne and his great grandfather who were both involved with the witch trials. His ancestors were some of the first Puritans to settle in the New England area, and from the guilt he had from his relatives’ deeds, it inspired him the theme for many of his stories, including The House of Seven Gables.


The House of Seven Gables is located in Salem, like told in the book. In the book, Colonel Pyncheon fought Matthew Maul over land, who then “won” by the death of Maul. Colonel claimed Maul was doing witchcraft and was sentenced to hang. Puritans in the Salem area were a little overboard with the witchcraft trials. A few factors that influenced the trials were religion, family feuds, economics, imagination and fear from the people. 


Religion was a huge role in Puritans’ lives. Puritans believed they were building a society that God wanted, living the way they believed God wanted. They thought they were better than others, and they were a model for others to follow their rules. Today in our society, the government thinks along the same lines. We’re the “better” country than the others; we’re a first world country, not a third. We have “freedom” and apparently the model country for others to follow. In my opinion, Puritans were obsessed, and they weren’t a good model for others. However, American is obsessed as well, not with religion, but with wealth. Which isn’t a good model for others either. Puritan roots are hard to recognize in today’s society but they’re still there.

The Moment I Knew I Was an American.

What is an American? Someone born in America, and living in America. But is there a more concrete definition of an American? Are there certain rules you have to follow to portray an "American"? 

I do not agree that an American is a descendant from Europe born in America. There are so many more races than just white, which are American.

In America, you can choose what religion you want to believe in, what sexual orientation you choose to have, the language you choose speak (besides English), what job/career you want to do, what you choose to wear, what traditions you want to celebrate, etc. America provides all these different opportunities. So is being American mean being who you are? Without living/visiting in another country, or not knowing much about the world, how can you compare these differences? Say for example, someone from France was a tourist in Chicago; you could not tell if they were French or American from just looking at them. When they start talking, yes, you probably can tell then.

The only time I realize I am American is when I travel outside the country. When my family and I have to ask a pedestrian for directions, they ask (nine times out of ten), are you from America? That's when I know I am American. I see being American when you're different from everyone else who do not necessarily have the choice to make decisions for how they live. 

Us vs. Them...Us & Them.

I didn’t completely understand the “Us vs Them…Us and Them” topic, so I’m going to hope I have the right idea.

Everybody likes to be the right person in any situation. People have stupid excuses that motivate them to keep to their point which causes terrible outcomes. The worst part is when disagreements end with death, and because people don’t think about both sides of the story.

People usually don’t think about what they say until after they have said it. People don’t see the consequences of their choice of words, or what the other person’s views are. I have heard so many stories about young adults who have committed suicide because of what other people have done to them over the internet, or any bullying in general. It makes me feel disgusted that we people act in this way, and then no one does anything to stop it. Others are losing loved ones because someone else wanted to have everything go their way. That should not be a reason why someone should lose their life.

A great example is the Crucible. I cannot stand reading that book knowing Abigail and the girls are ruining people’s lives to cover up what they did and for what they want, and everyone else is in lala land believing in witches. The sad thing is the higher power people are usually the wrong ones, so the good people are defeated.

When we have these books/novels that show us how we can act differently, we don’t change anything to make everything become better. There are still wars, suicides, arguments. Why can’t people understand the fact they won’t always have their own way, that other people can be right at some point? Even in drama, the girls don’t like admitting that they are wrong, but is it worth being right then losing a friendship?