The Hollow of the Three Hills: Analysis of the Introduction.
Ms. Kim
Njeri Muhia
02 september 2012
The Hollow of the Three Hills: Analysis of the Introduction.
Hawthorne draws in his audience into the dark and mysterious world of the Hollow of the Three Hills by using a descriptive opening that captures the readers’ imagination and creates stunning imagery . The opening of this novel clearly depicts the darkness and decay of the world and the mystery and evil that the audience will be presented with. Through the use of setting, language, and detailed description in the opening of the story, Hawthorne quickly develops the theme and story of darkness, loss, and shame.
The reader is met with powerful imagery of darkness and the lack of life in the opening of the story, and this is done through the words that Hawthorne uses. The diction and language of the first paragraph quickly illustrates the eerie atmosphere of the story. Hawthorne chooses many words that have connection to death, words such as ‘decay’, ‘decrepit’, and ‘hollow’, creates such a strong sense of loss and lifelessness, to not only describe the setting but the old woman as well. The use of such strong dark words strengthens the theme of loss in the story. There is the loss of beauty, which can be seen in the ‘formerly majestic oak’ that now ‘lay mouldering’; everything in this hollow is decaying. This theme of loss is connected later to the young lady, who has lost her husband, her family, and a whole life that she used to know. Through the use of creating such a bleak setting in the opening of the story, it can be seen as a pathetic fallacy for the life of the young woman ‘with an untimely blight’. Furthermore, Hawthorne uses quantitative words, which lend to the great description of the setting. The ‘mathematically circular basin’, the ‘numerous’ dwarf pines on those ‘three hills’. The imagery that Hawthorne creates with his intense detail allows the audience to really delve into and picture this dying world, and feel that there is nothing living among the hollow of the three hills.