What is the narrative point of view in this excerpt from "The Gray Champion" by Nathaniel Hawthorne?
The event was soon to be decided. All this time the roll of the drum had been approaching through Cornhill, louder and deeper, till with reverberations from house to house and the regular tramp of martial footsteps it burst into the street. A double rank of soldiers made their appearance, occupying the whole breadth of the passage, with shouldered matchlocks and matches burning, so as to present a row of fires in the dusk. Their steady march was like the progress of a machine that would roll irresistibly over everything in its way. Next, moving slowly, with a confused clatter of hoofs on the pavement, rode a party of mounted gentlemen, the central figure being Sir Edmund Andros, elderly, but erect and soldier-like. Those around him were his favorite councillors and the bitterest foes of New England. At his right hand rode Edward Randolph, our arch-enemy, that "blasted wretch," as Cotton Mather calls him, who achieved the downfall of our ancient government and was followed with a sensible curse-through life and to his grave. On the other side was Bullivant, scattering jests and mockery as he rode along. Dudley came behind with a downcast look, dreading, as well he might, to meet the indignant gaze of the people, who beheld him, their only countryman by birth, among the oppressors of his native land. The captain of a frigate in the harbor and two or three civil officers under the Crown were also there. But the figure which most attracted the public eye and stirred up the deepest feeling was the Episcopal clergyman of King's Chapel riding haughtily among the magistrates in his priestly vestments, the fitting representative of prelacy and persecution, the union of Church and State, and all those abominations which had driven the Puritans to the wilderness. Another guard of soldiers, in double rank, brought up the rear.
Answers
Answer:
When the people are down-trodden and oppressed by an evil ruler, only one man can stand up for them: The Gray Champion. Read this lesson to review the main events and themes in Hawthorne's patriotic story.
America Hints at Independence
America - a land where the people threw off the oppressive chains of an abusive monarchy and pushed for equal opportunities for all. Americans often take this for granted, but their ancestors had to find a way to stand up against an all-powerful ruler.
Nathanial Hawthorne's short story, ''The Gray Champion'', depicts just this. Written in 1835, this story shows one man standing up for what is right against unbeatable odds.
The year is 1686. King James II is on the throne of England and has converted the country back to Catholicism. Back in America, the king appoints Sir Edmund Andros, the Governor of New England. In doing so, he retracts the old agreements that allowed the new colony to govern itself. The colonists become upset at the continuous abuse of their rights.
By April, 1689, King James has become very unpopular and loses the throne. His daughter and her husband, William Prince of Orange, assume the throne. Hawthorne's story depicts Boston just days before King James loses power in England.
An Oppressive Ruler
The story opens describing the oppressive rule of the governor, Sir Edmund. The people are becoming restless and seem on the verge of revolt. Sir Edmund marches his redcoats through Boston as a show of strength to dissuade a revolution.
The people gather on the streets, afraid of a massacre. The beloved ex-Governor Bradstreet, a 90 year old man, pleads with the crowd. He asks that they ''do nothing rashly. Cry not aloud, but pray for the welfare of New-England.'' The drum roll of the redcoats gets louder as the army approaches.
The Champion Arrives
The soldiers appear, looking like a steady machine. On horseback, Sir Edmund marches in the center of it all, his closest advisors surrounding him. A Catholic clergyman is also with the redcoats. He proudly sits on his horse; a symbol of the persecution that drove the Puritans out of England years before.
One citizen cries out, asking the Lord to ''provide a Champion for thy people!'' An old, bearded man, dressed in old-fashioned, gray clothes, emerges from the crowd - the gray champion. He walks in the center of the street, approaching the redcoats head on. The younger men ask their fathers who this old man is. No one can recall.
Twenty yards away from the soldiers, the bearded man stops and holds his staff before him like a weapon. He stands up straight with great dignity, and yells out one word: ''Stand!'' He is so authoritative that the drums hush, and the advancing line stops.
Sir Edmund and his advisors are appalled that some old man stopped his men. He cries out that they will march on and the old man can ''stand aside or be trampled on!''
An Inspiring Speech
The advisor Bullivant mocks the old man and laughs at him. Sir Edmund asks if he is crazy. The gray champion says he has stopped the march of a British king before. He adds, ''I am here, Sir Governor, because the cry of an oppressed people hath disturbed me in my secret place'' - he has been recalled to take up their cause. Finally, he says that King James is no longer on the throne, and the Governor has no more power.
Upon hearing this speech, the citizens, ''drinking in the words of their champion'', are roused to stand up for themselves. They are unarmed, but look to take stones or anything they can get their hands on to use as weapons.
Sir Edmund sees the wrath of the people and eyes the old man. He orders his soldiers to retreat. That night the people hear that King James is no longer on the throne. Sir Edmund and his men are imprisoned.
Meanwhile, the old man has disappeared. Some say they saw him embrace Governor Bradstreet, and then disappear into thin air.
Themes
The plot of this story seems cut and dry, but the themes run deep in American folklore
Explanation:
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