Anne Bradstreet: Poems

ethan brand by nathaniel hawthorne

discuss the connections in character, setting, theme or style between ethan brand and the other hawthorne tales. Focus your response on one of these aspects of the tale.

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The quest to find the "unpardonable sin" characterizes the way Brand has lived his life.  He, like Mr. Hooper, in "The Minister's Black Veil" focuses on sin above all else.  Both characters have a strong effect on those around them; they make the people believe that they understand the nature of sin.  Yet, at the end, neither dies a happy death; Brand has actually hardened his heart so that when he commits suicide by jumping into the lime kiln, his heart is a simple chunk of lime.