... blunder onwards, must try to synthesize into sense. In addition to a subtle stylistic undermining of certainty, Hawthorne also challenges certainty blatantly in his descriptions of suspenseful scenes by using intentionally vague language. Late one night, Phoebe hears "the murmur of an unknown voice" which is "strangely indistinct" and resembles "unshaped sound" (95). Her inability to ... define the voice and attach a form to it is frustrating, as this description, for all its many words, tells us nothing about the voice in the end other than that it ... is unclear. Indeed, when the voi...

• Word Count: 1547
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Graduate