A Short Review

I have been reading short stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In college, I had to read My Kinsman Major Molineux and remeber it being quite graphic. About a month ago, I found a collection of his short stories in my classroom, inherited from a previous teacher. My first thought was "This can't be appropriate reading for Jr. High students." I decided to read some of the stories and see for myself.

I still think it isn't age appropriate, but I discovered that Hawthorne was actually a decent writer. His stories deal with some pretty dark themes (satanic worship, sick scientific experiments) and are pretty densely written. They are not light reading. But the characters are unique if not a little one-sided. The themes Hawthorne explores are more complex as are his plots.

In short, while I wouldn't recommend these stories to my students, I would recommend them for readers who are looking for an unusual perspective. Now I guess I have to read The Scarlet Letter.