Robin’s Condemning Cudgel kalista pouget College

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “My Kinsman, Major Molineux,” the main character Robin bears a wooden weapon called a cudgel. Throughout the short story, the cudgel comes to define Robin’s relation to the conflict between his expectations and the reality of his journey. Robin assumes that he only needs the mention of Molineux and the cudgel in order to be successful in the unnamed town where his great-uncle Molineux resides. However, in this essay I argue that similar to flaunting his relation to Molineux, the cudgel actually prevents Robin from winning the welcome of the townspeople. Further, the cudgel not only reflects Robin’s expectations, but also represents Robin’s reliance on his family. Through allusions to the cudgel when Robin thinks of home, Hawthorne reinforces the cudgel as a physical representation of an archaic dependance on familial roots. Interpreting the cudgel as a symbol in “My Kinsman, Major Molineux” ultimately aids in the understanding of the pre-Revolutionary War political climate of the American colonies.

The opening paragraph of the narrative informs the reader that monarch-appointed authority figures like Major Molineux “were seldom met with ... approbation” in communities like the one Robin travels to...