Nathaniel Hawthorne

Main Street Nathaniel Hawthorne

"Main-Street" is a narrative history of the metamorphosis of a pathway through a primordial, untouched forest barely trodden by moccasined Indians into a busy main-street thoroughfare that winds through a large, bustling town trodden by increasingly sophisticated white settlers. In the story a showman turns the crank of a picture show that captures a 100- year history of a single spot in New England to an audience which includes a critical viewer who mocks the poor workmanship of the cardboard people and buildings while he belittles the story-teller's condensed portrayal of people important to the region.