In his short story "The Burial of Roger Malvin", Nathaniel Hawthorne explores fundamental themes such as good, evil, sin, family, pride and penance. However, from the beginning, he warns us: “my story is not a love story” (Hawthorne 25). Rather, it is a story of the depths of the human psyche and an explanation of the horrors of a tortured soul. Hawthorne uses the grieving heart of Reuben Bourne as a medium to promulgate the consequences of disregarding one's own conscience. For from his story we can assume, as he makes it very clear, that the retribution for not following one's innate sense of right and wrong is severe and must be endured intensely. Moreover, it is a sin that must be atoned for. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay To begin to understand Hawthorne's message, it is essential to examine his main vehicle and main character, Reuben Bourne. Bourne is presented to the reader as a playful youth on the verge of being “born” into adulthood. On the way back after the battle, his real journey begins. What at first seems slightly ironic in this section is Hawthorne's description of the surroundings: "The first rays of the sun hovered joyfully over the tops of the trees" (18). This seems unexpected here as he goes on to describe the wounded nature of the soldiers. However, this reflects Bourne's moral state, which is currently innocent and pure. As the story progresses, Bourne, against his better judgment, leaves Malvin to die alone in the forest. Here we get a deeper look at Bourne's character. We know he has a sweetheart at home, Malivn's daughter, and we can see that intrinsically he wants to do what is right for Malvin, "I will dig a grave here by the rock, in which my weakness m 'has overcome, we will rest together" (18). Despite this, he lets Malvin convince him that it would be more reasonable for him to leave. “Do not delay, for folly like this, but hurry, if not for your own good, at least for his who would otherwise be desolate”(20). This is where Bourne's internal conflict begins, as he lets his intellectual reasoning take over his inherent sense of what is right. This is overcome by his “desire for existence and hope for happiness…”(22). As he leaves the forest, it begins to represent isolation and despair. Here, self-isolation, despair in the face of Malvil's death. Hawthorne also continues his meteorological metaphor: "On the second day the clouds gathering densely in the sky prevented the possibility of adjusting its course according to the position of the sun" (23). This is just the beginning of a series of references to light and dark representing good and evil that will allow the reader to gauge Bourne's moral temperature. Back home, Bourne exacerbates his feelings of guilt by avoiding the truth about what happened to Roger Malvin. He does this because “pride, the fear of losing her (Dorcus, his love), affection, the fear of universal contempt forbade him from rectifying this lie” (25). This fear of isolation is paradoxical because by avoiding it, it ends up creating it. The remorse he felt for leaving Malvin, although justifiable, was the driving force behind this cover-up, which made him suffer “the mental horrors which punish the perpetrator of an undiscovered crime” (25). Once again, Hawthorne uses light, which manifests itself as a good thing, as something unbearable to contrast the sinfulness of Bourne's soul, "..., 1987.17-32