This study elaborates the tragic life of a family caused by bad impact of the
past wrongdoing, as depicted in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables
using symbolism approach. The aim of this study is to find the core idea as well as
message in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables by analyzing the
symbols in his novel.
This study belongs to qualitative study. In this method, there are two types of
data source used by the researcher, namely primary and secondary data sources. The
primary data source and the object of the study is the novel The House of the Seven
Gables itself, meanwhile the secondary data source are some information about The
House of the Seven Gables, the author’s biography, some books and articles related to the
subject. The researcher collects the data from primary and secondary data sources in a
sort of document as evidence. The study uses the library research to collect the data. The
collected data are analyzed by means of descriptive analysis.
Having analyzing this novel, the writer draws conclusions as follows: first, a
literary work involves the response of the author toward the experiences of their life.
Second, Nathaniel Hawthorne criticizes that every people’s bad action will get
punishment and the wrongdoing itself not only will bring bad impact for them but also
for the others
