Question

Colonel Pyncheon in The House of Seven Gables can be described as:

a. an old man who lives in the past
b. a fearful, cautious man without answers
c. a shrewd businessman with energy and purpose

Answer 1

In 'The House of Seven Gables,' Colonel Pyncheon is depicted as a shrewd businessman with energy and purpose, a character highlighting the morality and consequences of ambition in American gothic literature.

Step-by-step explanation:

Colonel Pyncheon in Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The House of Seven Gables can be best described as a shrewd businessman with energy and purpose. This character is typical of Hawthorne's darker portrayals of the consequences of ambition and the sins of progenitors visited upon successive generations. Pyncheon's staunch pursuit of wealth and status, driving the plot and the curse that surrounds the Pyncheon family, represents a cautionary figure in American gothic literature.