Earth's Holocaust (from "mosses from an Old Manse")
1846
In a future America, humanity decides to burn away everything worthless - coats of arms, swords, alcohol, even the skull that once held Shakespeare's thoughts. Hawthorne's savage allegory follows one observer to the great bonfire on the Western prairie, where crowds gather to watch centuries of accumulated 'trumpery' go up in flames. Priests cast away their ecclesiastical trappings, reformers throw in their banners, scholars sacrifice their books - each group convinced they're purging the world of corruption. But Hawthorne's devastating twist lies in what happens when someone proposes burning the human heart itself: the fire dies. With surgical precision, Hawthorne dismantles the comforting notion that external reform can fix internal corruption. Written in 1846, this remains startlingly relevant - a scalding reminder that we cannot destroy our flaws by destroying their symbols. For readers who love allegorical satire and stories that refuse easy redemption.
