arbitrary nature, where death and poor fortune can arrive at any time.

This story centers around a family living an isolated existence out in New England, as they host a traveler passing through. This traveler is described as highly ambitious (a quality that is reflected in the story's title), and he seems to have spent his entire life looking forwards towards the future. However, for all of his ambitions, he has yet to make his mark upon the world.

That being said, as Hawthorne establishes early on in the story, this family lives a highly precarious existence, given the dangers of their environment. This is reflected in the story's ending with the rock-slide. Expecting the house to be destroyed, they end up fleeing into the path of destruction. The house to be spared, but the characters are killed.

With that in mind, when discussing a question such as the one you ask, it might be worth thinking about a different question first: what did the young traveler's ambitions ultimately amount to? There is a tragic irony in this story, given that he has spent so much of his life thinking upon his future, only for that future to never come. This does not necessarily mean that dreams are a bad thing or should be discouraged (I don't think Hawthorne goes that far). Rather, I think Hawthorne is suggesting that people need to be aware of the brevity of life (and the arbitrary nature of existence) and that they should take the time to enjoy life while they can, rather than living entirely in the future.