National University College

Business Administration

ANALIZING A SHORT STORY

The Shaker Bridal

6.1 Assignment
ENGL 1020 – 3050ONL

Natalie Martinez
Student # 1505270311
02/19/2021
a. Title: The Shaker Bridal

b. Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne - American novelist and short-story writer who was

a master of the allegorical and symbolic tale. Born on July 4, 1804, in Salem,

Massachusetts and died May 19, 1864. He was one of the greatest novelists in

American literature, famous for "The Scarlet Letter" (1850) and "Seven Gabled

Houses" (1851).

c. Setting: Time – Past

Place – Shaker settlement at Goshen

Environment – Old, is like a spiritual brotherhood.

d. Characters: Main Character – Adam Colburn

Although he has just reached middle age and his face is

burned from work in the fields, he is intelligent, thoughtful,

and well cared for throughout his life. His appearance is a bit

rough and his entire personality is rigid, which makes him

generally regarded as schoolmaster.

Main Character – Martha Pierson

she is in her early thirties, she was slim and pale, like a

Shaker sister almost invariably is, and not entirely free from

that corpse-like appearance that sorority garb is so fine

calculated to impart.
 Secondary Character – Father Ephraim

He has been the senior president of the Shaker settlement in

Goshen for 40 years. He has gray hair and becomes ill with

age but is exhausted from ongoing illness. Obviously, he will

soon hand over his patriarchy.

e. Plot: Introduction: Is about the process of the transfer Father Ephraim

patriarchal staff to Adam and Martha in the shaker settlement of Goshen.

Rising Action: The action started because Adam and Martha fell in love

before they entered the community, so the elder represented by the

people who were chosen as to lead the shaker had doubts about Adam

and Martha taking the president of the Shaker settlement.

Climax: Adam and Martha were believers in the village, but before they

became friends and lovers. After they decided to get married they decided

to postpone the wedding due to circumstances, Adam proposed to join the

society. Martha, who was loyal to Adam, agreed to go to town with Adam.

Many years later, Adam and Martha were chosen as the father and

mother of Shaker Village. They must stand in front of the elders in the

assembly and be loyal to the society. Adam confidently announced his

willingness to accept this trust. Marta, who possessed the "heart of a

woman," was pale and trembling, turning "like a corpse at a funeral." She

said the right words, but her heart broke and she sank under the feet of

her first lover.

 Falling Action: They have joined hands but not as lovers, but as shaker

brothers committed to running the village.

Resolution: Martha realized that Adam only wanted to gain the confidence

to lead society. Hearing his words, realized that she had to repress her

feelings and accept being Adam's sister in spiritual love and accept the

position of trust to lead, even if that meant that her future in love with him

was not like she expected.

f. Conflict: Is an External conflict.

Person vs. Society - He found himself struggling with his own insecurity,

ambition, fame, power, and hidden feelings, to be part of a spiritual

society. In addition to his insecurity and selfish drive, he recklessly makes

hasty decisions to achieve his desired goals.

g. Theme: The acceptance of the society. In my opinion, the message that this

short story gives is to learn to value ourselves more and not let love make us

make decisions that do not make us happy. What we feel towards another

person is important, but we cannot let society and the person we love make

decisions for us.

h. Point of view. In this story, the narrator is in the third person. The narrator tells

the facts of the story. The narrator describes the characters physically and

describes what the character sees, hears, thinks, and feels in the third person.

He can also narrate events that have not been witnessed by any character.
i. What I liked about the story was Martha's courage to hide her feelings to please

the spiritual society in which they remained. The most revealing moment I

understand was when they accepted the position of leading society, leaving

aside what she feels. In these modern times they no longer give much

importance to that and I understand that they could have led without having to

suppress her feelings. Today's spiritual society is no longer so strict, and they

would have done a great job even being a married couple.