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Hawthorne's Irony In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

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While Hawthorne was describing the custom-house he included the General. This old retired General, who is the collector in the custom-house, seems very stern, respectable, and intimidating. However, this is not actually how he acts. Contrary to his looks, he is very sweet and gentle. This paragraph describes the irony of the masculine general enjoying flowers. I do not believe that anything was omitted at all, if anything this is a bit too much information. Although it is quite amazing descriptive language, I do not believe that the “All merely graceful attributes are usually the most evanescent; nor does nature adorn the human ruin with blossoms of new beauty, that have their roots and proper nutriment only in the chinks and crevices of decay,

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