Kaitlyn Sisk
Seminar in Composition
Dr. Johns
9 September 2008
As one finishes the last few pages of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s House of the Seven Gables, it may seem like the Pyncheon curse has been lifted and life has changed for the family. But really, change is not possible in this book. Instead, life seems to go in cycles, and no real change ever occurs. Hawthorne seems to take the side throughout the whole book that change will never happen for the Pyncheon’s, but then at the very end, life seems to have turned around for them and it seems they have a chance at happiness. All that change so quickly could not possibly stick. Even though they abandoned the house with the seven gables, the past will always haunt them, and their lives and will remain miserable.
The narrative opens with a description of Hepzibah and all her miserable qualities. Her permanent scowl ruins her chance of ever seeming happy on the outside. Hepzibah has devoted her life to her brother, Clifford, but Clifford has been unjustly imprisoned for many years and she has been left alone. When he returns, he cannot even stand to be around her. Hepzibah, in hopes to make some change in her secluded life, makes the suggestion to Clifford that they attend church. They make it past the threshold of the door, but immediately shrink back into the house. Clifford then says, “We are ghosts! We have no rights as human beings- no right anywhere but in this old house, which has a curse on it, and which therefore, we are doomed to haunt!”(117). They are not imprisoned by the house- they are their own jailers. Hawthorne writes, “For, what dungeon is so dark as one’s own heart! What jailer so inexorable as one’s self!”(117). Therefore, leaving the house cannot help them.
Clifford was made for beautiful things. He found joy in simple things such as hummingbirds, flowers, and Phoebe, but unfortunately he spent most of his life in prison away from any form of beauty. He could have led a simple, happy life, but that chance was ruined with prison. Hawthorne states that, “After such wrong as he had suffered, there is no reparation”(220). Throughout the book, after Clifford returns from prison, he seems to try to regress back to childhood. Clifford enjoyed watching the children on the street from his window and blowing bubbles. He is going back, but will never be able to progress.
There is a hint of change in Jaffrey Pyncheon when he comes to Hepzibah the last time. He wants to see Clifford and gives a speech, which “grew even to tearful pathos as he proceeded”(158). Hawthorne even states, “a daily guilt might have been acted by him”(159). But as soon as he is finished with his speech, Hepzibah stands up to him, and he reveals his true purpose for being there: he thinks Clifford knows of some land of their uncle’s that he can recover. Therefore, Jaffrey will never be happy with all the wealth he has and will never have a relationship with his family. He wanted to obtain political power for so long, and ironically, the day he dies is the day he was going to be offered the title of governor of Massachusetts. Jaffrey is left constantly unsatisfied.
Hepzibah receives joy from Clifford. All she wants to is to make him happy, but she only makes him unhappy because her dreadful appearance. Clifford receives joy from associating with Phoebe, but joyful Phoebe becomes less happy being with him and living in the dark, old house. It is like a cycle, where no one can ever be truly happy. Hawthorne shows this in the Italian boy with the organ music, a monkey, and a diorama. The diorama depicts people going about their daily occupations such as a milkmaid milking a cow and a scholar reading a book. Once the music stops though, the characters have achieved nothing and “Saddest of all, moreover, the lover was none the happier for the maiden’s granted kiss!”(113). They are no happier and they have not changed- they are just moving in a cycle. The same applies to real people, especially the Pyncheon family. Although Clifford is made happier when he is with Phoebe, he still has fits of sadness and is left miserable again when she leaves. The Pyncheon’s can never leave this cycle and they can never change. Hawthorne has shown much reasoning that the Pyncheon’s are a doomed and cursed family. Every moment of happiness for them follows by something dreadful and the cycle repeats again and again.
3 comments:
Katie,
Your introduction is very focused and you clearly state your thesis: true change is not possible in "The House of the Seven Gables." Even though you provide a counterargument in your introduction by saying that change does seem possible at the very end of the book, you don't elaborate on this counterargument in the rest of your paper (which was a part of the assignment). You may want to expand on your ideas of how the Pyncheon's might be able to now find happiness and whether or not some change is possible.
Your organization of your paragraphs by breaking them down by characters is a very good idea and helps to keep the reader focused on what you're saying. The two quotes you incorporated into your paragraph on Hepzibah really illustrate that she and Clifford are trapped in the house and cannot suddenly change their daily lives.
You may wish to further develop your paragraph on Clifford's character by stating how he regressed back to childhood and why changing his state of mind will never be possible. You can use the examples of prison to say how they affected his psychical and mental self. Also, nice incorporation of using the example of dramatic irony about Jaffrey dying on the day he was to become governor.
Your conclusion paragraph needs a transition or introductory statement because I feel it didn't flow as easily with the rest of your paper. I liked the parallelism between Hepzibah receiving joy from Clifford and Clifford receiving joy from Phoebe, and the negative results each situation has. My one final suggestion is that you didn’t really respond to the last part of the prompt which said “you should give some indication as to why, as readers, we should care about the answer you give and how it affects our understanding of the book as a whole.” Maybe add one or two more sentences to your conclusion showing how all of this affects our comprehension of the book.
Overall, you have a well-written paper that gives many examples from the text that show why change is not possible. Just try integrating the two questions from the prompt to make your paper even better.
As one finishes the last few pages of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables, it may seem like the Pyncheon curse has been lifted and life has changed for the family. But really, change is not possible in this book. Instead, life seems to go in cycles, and no real change ever occurs. Hawthorne seems to take the side throughout the whole book that change will never happen for the Pyncheon’s, but then at the very end, life seems to have turned around for them and it seems they have a chance at happiness. All that change so quickly could not possibly stick. Even though they abandoned the house with the seven gables, the past will always haunt them, and their lives and will remain miserable.
The narrative opens with a description of Hepzibah and all her miserable qualities. Her permanent scowl ruins her chance of ever seeming happy on the outside. Hepzibah has devoted her life to her brother, Clifford, but Clifford has been unjustly imprisoned for many years and she has been left alone. When he returns, he cannot even stand to be around her. Hepzibah, in hopes to make some change in her secluded life, makes the suggestion to Clifford that they attend church. They make it past the threshold of the door, but immediately shrink back into the house. Clifford then says, “We are ghosts! We have no rights as human beings- no right anywhere but in this old house, which has a curse on it, and which therefore, we are doomed to haunt!”(117). They are not imprisoned by the house- they are their own jailers. Hawthorne writes, “For, what dungeon is so dark as one’s own heart! What jailer so inexorable as one’s self!”(117). Therefore, leaving the house cannot help them.
Clifford was made for beautiful things. He found joy in simple things such as hummingbirds, flowers, and Phoebe, but unfortunately he spent most of his life in prison away from any form of beauty. He could have led a simple, happy life, but that chance was ruined with prison. Hawthorne states that, “After such wrong as he had suffered, there is no reparation”(220). Throughout the book, after Clifford returns from prison, he seems to try to regress back to childhood. At times, he even seems confused about whether he really has gone back. He questions himself, “Am I young? Either this remembrance is singularly distinct, or this consciousness strangely dim”(76). Clifford also enjoyed watching the children on the street from his window and blowing bubbles. But Clifford is not young. He has deteriorated mentally and physically in prison. He is attempting to return to childhood, and will never be able to progress.
There is a hint of change in Jaffrey Pyncheon when he comes to Hepzibah the last time. He wants to see Clifford and gives a speech, which “grew even to tearful pathos as he proceeded”(158). Hawthorne even states, “a daily guilt might have been acted by him”(159). But as soon as he is finished with his speech, Hepzibah stands up to him, and he reveals his true purpose for being there: he thinks Clifford knows of some land of their uncle’s that he can recover. Therefore, Jaffrey will never be happy with all the wealth he has and will never have a relationship with his family. He wanted to obtain political power for so long, and ironically, the day he dies is the day he was going to be offered the title of governor of Massachusetts. Jaffrey is left constantly unsatisfied.
The characters in The House of the Seven Gables are all searching for happiness. Hepzibah receives joy from Clifford. All she wants to is to make him happy, but she only makes him unhappy because her dreadful appearance. Clifford receives joy from associating with Phoebe, but joyful Phoebe becomes less happy being with him and living in the dark, old house. It is like a cycle, where no one can ever be truly happy. Hawthorne symbolizes a cycle in the Italian boy with the organ music, a monkey, and a diorama. The diorama depicts people going about their daily occupations, such as a milkmaid milking a cow and a scholar reading a book. Once the music stops though, the characters have achieved nothing and “Saddest of all, moreover, the lover was none the happier for the maiden’s granted kiss!”(113). The same applies to real people, especially the Pyncheon family. Although Clifford is made happier when he is with Phoebe, he still has fits of sadness and is left miserable again when she leaves. They are no happier and they have not changed- they are just moving in circles.
True happiness is not possible for the Pyncheon’s and the change at the end of the book will be short-lived. The Pyncheon’s can never leave this cycle and they can never change. Hawthorne has shown much reasoning that the Pyncheon’s are a doomed and cursed family. Every moment of happiness for them follows by something dreadful and the cycle repeats again and again. So when finishing The House of the Seven Gables, be sure to think about the reality of the happy ending and how true it could possibly be considering the theme of the impossibility of happiness for the family throughout the rest of the book.
Lauren - this is a good response. It was especially good at the beginning, where you focused on her argument as a whole, although your individual comments also seemed worthwhile.
Kate- By chance, your paper is the last one on my list, and it comes as a breath of fresh air, because you actually *pay attention to the end of the book*, starting at the beginning. This makes your introduction feel more natural than some others have, and it bodes well for the rest of the paper.
The rest of the paper is well-written, but for several paragraphs it is only slightly removed from plot summary. It isn't bad, but your direction isn't clear.
What really catches my attention is your argument about happiness and, although you don't use the word, desire. Everyone is driven by the desire for something; that desire keeps the cycle turning. Anyway, that's how I see your argument (although I see it as not being entirely fleshed out).
What doesn't work for me is the ending. You haven't really seriously asked the question, or posed the counterargument, of whether people *have* achieved their desires at the end, and that therefore things have fundamentally changed. If people are seeking happiness through the attainment of desire, and if they attain the objects of their desire, then hasn't change happened? Maybe not - but you don't focus on the question; instead, your semi-summary of several paragraphs filled the space you might have devoted to this analysis.
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