Homework on “The Custom House:”
Choose TWO of the prompts below to focus your attention on, responding to each one as thoroughly and thoughtfully as possible, using direct quotes from the text when appropriate to support your claims:
a. Choose one sentence that you found particularly difficult to read, and make a strong effort to explain what exactly made it difficult to read, how you productively handled that difficulty, and how grasping this sentence helped you to grasp some larger impact you feel Hawthorne was trying to have on his reader.
b. What is the stated purpose(s) of “The Custom House”? Answer this question as much as possible by quoting directly from the piece. After having read the entire piece, discuss some specific unstated purpose that you believe is also evident in Hawthorne’s choices. Would you judge the piece a success in achieving either or both of these purposes? Explain your response carefully and thoroughly, through direct references to the text.
c. Choose one passage from the piece that you found humorous, or at least, light in tone (in other words, intended to be humorous). Make some close observations about how the author generates the light tone required for humor, how the humor in the passage affects your view of either the narrator or the character being described or both, and how the intended humor of the passage serves the larger purpose of the piece as you perceive it.
d. Choose one pattern of imagery that appears at least three separate times in the piece. Discuss how this pattern of imagery is employed by the narrator to generate meaning or emotion or both. Interpret each individual passage and the overall pattern of imagery as well.
e. Discuss Hawthorne’s portrayal of Puritans and Puritanism in this sketch. What impact have his Puritan ancestors had on him? What are the main strengths and weaknesses of Puritanism, according to him? In what ways do you see Puritanism (specifically, the sort of Puritanism depicted by Hawthorne in this text) continuing to have an impact on American society today?
Suggested Blog Post on “The Custom House:”
(post the night before the reading’s due, at the latest)
In the beginning of “The Custom House,” Hawthorne discusses his relationship with the town of Salem. Discuss your own relationship with your community, and/or with your ancestors. What are the advantages/disadvantages of having deep roots in a single community? Or of moving frequently? Of having a strong sense of family history? Or of being separated on some level from one’s family background? Interpret “community” broadly, but consider some specific larger group of people outside your family who give you some sense of what the best way to live your life is—it might be the town you live in, a religious institution you belong to, a sports team, a club, or even an online community—but it should be some group whose values impact you.