The Custom House

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The Scarlet Letter By: Nathaniel Hawthorne (pg. 1-17)

In this first section of The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne is setting the scene. He goes into great detail to describe the town of Salem and its extensive History. He describes the power of the town of Salem and how regardless the distance and time he spends away from it he always seem to be drawn back to the town of his birth and family history.
The town of Salem is described as less of what is was in its glory day with dilapidated buildings, wharves, and deconstructed ports. The center of the town at this time is the Custom House, which itself is not in good condition. After the description of the town the Custom House become the center of the story. Hawthorne tells of how he had three years of experience in such a Custom House. He was put in charge of this Custom House via a President's Commission to be Chief Executive Officer of the Custom House.
As Chief Executive Officer of the Custom House Hawthorne is in charge of the men who work there. Hawthorne describes these men as elderly and procrastinates, trying to avoid doing their work. Though he states the workers gave him a hard time in the beginning of his term he describes that they had believed that he would fire them and hire younger workers. Hawthorne explains he eventually grew fond of the men and goes into detail to describe each one individually.
The purpose of this first section of The Scarlet Letter is to set the scene. Hawthorne describes everything with immense detail and uses imagery to describe his position in the setting of this story.