how does hawthorne use setting and description of that setting to establish the mood for his tale? why are these choices appropriate?
Puritanism was a very important part of Hawthorne's background, a part that he often questioned throughout his stories; many of Hawthorne's stories take place in Puritan settings. They are decidedly rural type settings in close-knit Puritan communities. This allows for the conjecture and hypocrisy of Puritan village life to flow freely. There is a gothic-like foreboding that permeates his stories as well as the isolation of his protagonists. These add a sense of the forbidden metaphysical to his plot, characters, and conflicts.
