In The House of Seven Gables, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the literary term tone, is frequently used by the author, which adds to description of the Puritan values important to Hawthorne. He also uses tone to enhance descriptions using dialogue. Further, Hawthorne uses tone to describe the theme of maturation. First, Hawthorne uses tone as a way to explain Puritan values. For example, Hawthorne writes “A man of sturdy understanding, like Judge Pyncheon, cares no more …showed first 75 words of 1456 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1456 total…the rights and wrongs of the Puritan society. To enhance description to include all of the five senses, Hawthorne uses a tone that is cynical and humorous, while being very descriptive, and sometimes even finds himself talking through oxymoron’s to provide comic relief from serious points in the novel. And finally, to develop the theme, Hawthorne uses a frank tone to flat out say what the theme of the novel is, which is maturation.