Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804, and he was called "the most valuable example of American genius" by author Henry James in 1879. (Baym) This n That was not an understatement on Mr. James' part. means. In fact, Hawthorne was best known for including large amounts of symbolism in his writings. Clearly, this was an intriguing method of writing; because symbolism can be defined as “anything that represents something beyond itself”. (Wiehardt) Needless to say, Hawthorne was a very talented writer. It is for this reason that we will now explore the visionary symbolism in three of his famous works - My Kinsman, Major Molineux, Young Goodman Brown and The May-Pole of Merry Mount. In this story, My Kinsman, Major Molineux, the reader finds himself lost in a sea of ​​emotions as the main character, Robin, travels the city in search of Major Molineux. Now, it doesn't take the reader long before they begin to wonder if the main symbol of this story could very well be the story itself - that it symbolizes Hell. When Robin first comes to town, he is treated quite roughly. The first person being the old man walking down the street who threatened Robin "your feet will be made aware of the stock, by daylight, tomorrow morning!". (Baym, my relative, Major Molineux) Therefore, the mistreatment could symbolize the evil found in hell. The next symbol we see seems to symbolize a man of dark and evil nature who, most likely, could be the devil himself with "one side of his face blazing an intense red, while the other was black as midnight" . (Hawthorne, my relative, Major Molineux) Furthermore, it is quite clear that this place was full of evil and sin. An example is the wanton woman who tries to deceive Robin in his...... middle of paper ......e Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York: WW Norton & Company Inc., 2008. 621. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “The May Pole of the Merry Mountain”. Baym, Nina. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York: WW Norton & Company Inc., 2008. 616. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “Young Goodman Brown.” Baym, Nina. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York: WW Norton & Company Inc., 2008. 607. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “Young Goodman Brown.” Baym, Nina. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York: WW Norton & Company Inc., 2008. 611. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “Young Goodman Brown.” Baym, Nina. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York: WW Norton & Company Inc., 2008. 612. Wiehardt, Ginny. Symbol – Definition of symbol for creative writers. November 10 2011.