Text Version for Understanding Character Video

In "The Ambitious Guest," Hawthorne writes:

The faces of the father and mother had a sober gladness; the children laughed; the eldest daughter was the image of Happiness at seventeen; and the aged grandmother, who sat knitting in the warmest place, was the image of Happiness grown old.

This sentence reveals much about the family.

We know there is a mother and a father and several children, the oldest a girl of 17.

The grandmother lives with them as well.

The words gladness, laughed, happiness and warmness are used in their description.

What does this tell you about the family?

[black and white image of family sitting at a table next to a fireplace]

All of those words are positive, which sends a message of happiness and contentment.

What else can we learn about the family from the opening excerpt?

Look at this section from the opening paragraph.

What is described in these sentences?

These last few lines of the excerpt describe where this family lives.

Let's look at some key words to see what information you can take from this regarding our characters.

The phrases "bleakest spot of all New England;" "the wind was sharp;" "pitilessly cold in the winter;" and "a cold spot and dangerous one," gives the reader detailed information about the setting and surroundings.

[image of cabin in near edge woods appears]

The family in the story lives in a cold and desolate part of New England.

Despite their surroundings, the family is happy with their home and life.

What does that say about the family?