Little Daffydowndilly

Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 1804-1864Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 14K words
Chapters: 2

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Little Daffydowndilly by Nathaniel HawthorneAuthor: Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 1804-1864,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Nov 1, 2005

Editor's review

This short story by Hawthorne is brief yet showcases his skill in allegorical narrative: a child's journey frames reflections on obedience, temptation, and self-restraint, in plain language with clear imagery, bearing the moral-educational tone of nineteenth-century American children's literature. As a public-domain e-text, it works best as supplementary material for understanding Hawthorne's range—after the heavy themes of sin and punishment in The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables, readers can return to such minor works and see how the same author handles similar ethical questions in a lighter frame. The barrier to entry is low; the English sentences are not complex, making it suitable for close reading of a short story or as supplementary reading in English and American literature courses. Note that the didacticism is pronounced and the plot serves the allegory rather than character development, so readers seeking strong drama may find it flat. Approach it through the allegorical tradition, the history of children's literature, or Hawthorne's short fiction rather than as light entertainment.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English and American literature students seeking a sample of Hawthorne's short fiction
Readers studying nineteenth-century children's literature and moral allegory
Intermediate English learners looking for short texts with clear sentence structure
Writers interested in allegorical narrative structure

Not a good fit for

General fiction readers expecting complex plots and character arcs
Young adult readers accustomed to fast-paced contemporary storytelling
Readers averse to moralizing

Reading tips

Read through once for the main storyline, then revisit the allegory and how character names correspond to it.
Read alongside other Hawthorne short stories and compare how he handles moral themes differently.
Read the English original aloud, noting how commas and semicolons shape the rhythm of nineteenth-century sentences.
Write a hundred-word response recording your view of how the allegorical ending is handled.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this story suitable for English beginners to read in the original?

It suits intermediate readers. Sentences are generally short and the vocabulary is everyday and typical of moral allegory, but nineteenth-century punctuation habits and some abstract expressions take getting used to. Read a synopsis or translation first for the plot, then the original; for long sentences, separate subject and predicate before working out the modifiers.

How does it relate to Hawthorne's novels?

Thematically they are linked: both concern the tension between obedience and temptation, inner restraint and external norms. But genre and length differ markedly—this is a light allegorical short story with a simple plot and explicit moral. Read it as an entry point before tackling the more complex narratives of sin and redemption in Hawthorne's novels.

What should I watch for when reading the public-domain e-text?

Public-domain texts usually preserve the original typesetting and spelling, and may use old-style punctuation and paragraphing. Use reading software with adjustable font size; for unfamiliar archaic expressions, infer from context rather than checking every word. If quoting, verify the specific edition information.

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About the author

Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 1804-1864 Author

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864) was an American novelist known for his engagement with Puritan tradition and moral allegory. He wrote about sin, guilt, confession, and social prejudice in a restrained style with vivid imagery, often using historical settings and legendary tales to reveal the subtleties of human nature. The collection here holds 98 of his works, including the frequently translated novel The Scarlet Letter, the short-story collection Twice-Told Tales, and children's books drawn from myth and legend such as A Wonder Book for Girls & Boys, Tanglewood Tales, The Gorgon's Head, and The Three Golden Apples, showing his dual interest in New England history and classical myth. His writing has had a lasting influence on American literature's treatment of conscience and identity. Publicly available details of his life are limited, so they are not elaborated here.