Nathaniel Hawthorne
1804–1864
Salem; Concord; Lenox
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, where family history and the town's colonial past influenced his imagination. He wrote short stories and novels that explored guilt, secrets, responsibility, and the pressure of community judgment. His work at Salem's Custom House helped support him before The Scarlet Letter made him widely known. He also lived in Concord and the Berkshires, among a network of writers and thinkers. Hawthorne turned familiar places and difficult history into fiction. His books ask readers to think carefully about the difference between a person's public reputation and inner life.
You can use your device’s reading tools or read with a partner.
Find a detail. Build an idea.
- What did this person or group do? Point to a detail in the reading.
- How could this person’s words change the way a reader thinks?
- What would you like to find out next? Which kind of source could help?
“Nathaniel Hawthorne mattered because ___. A detail that supports my idea is ___.”
Grades 6–8: dig deeper
How can a fictional story help readers examine questions about history and community judgment?
Follow the evidence.
This short reading is an original classroom summary. Open the source with your teacher to check details and learn more.
Read the source: National Park Service ↗Ask: Who made this source? What can it tell us? What might it leave out?