DIY Homeschooler

“The Great Stone Face” is a classic short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. You can find the story in a free eBook collection.

In the story, a young man grows up in the shadow of an outcropping in the rock locals call “Great Stone Face.” There is a legend about the rock face. It is said that one day the town would recognize a man as the face in the rock and consider him the greatest and most noble man.

The Great Stone Face, then, was a work of Nature in her mood of majestie playfulness, formed on the perpendicular side of a mountain by some immense rocks, which had been thrown together in such a position as, when viewed at a proper distance, precisely to resemble the features of the human countenance. It seemed as if an enormous giant, or a Titan, had sculptured his own likeness on the precipice. There was the broad arch of the forehead, a hundred feet in height; the nose, with its long bridge; and the vast lips, which, if they could have spoken, would have rolled their thunder accents from one end of the valley to the other. True it is, that if the spectator approached too near, he lost the outline of the gigantic visage, and could discern only a heap of ponderous and gigantic rocks, piled in chaotic ruin one upon another. Retracing his steps, however, the wondrous features would again be seen; and the farther he withdrew from them, the more like a human face, with all its original divinity intact, did they appear; until, as it grew dim in the distance, with the clouds and glorified vapor of the mountains clustering about it, the Great Stone Face seemed positively to be alive.

The young man grows up, always looking for the Great Stone Face, but is always disappointed. Eventually the young man assumes his appearing will not be in his generation. Those that visit who are initially presumed to be the likeness always fall short.

This is a great story to read aloud. There are many lessons that can be taught through the story. But it can also simply stand on its own.

Free eBook

• Read online
• PDF
• Various formats (EPUB, Kindle)
• Audio (Podcast from Notgrass History)

Suggestions

Have your students do one or more of the following:

• Narrate the story.
• Draw an illustration of the Great Stone Face.
• Create a sequence of events.
• What characteristics would define the Great Stone Face? Make a list.
• Create a character study of Mr. Gathergold.
• Compare and contrast Mr. Gathergold with the character traits expected for the real Great Stone Face.
• The Great Stone Face was a natural stone outcropping. Learn more about cutting faces into rock by studying Mount Rushmore.
• Many suggest Hawthorne’s Great Stone Face was based on Old Man of the Mountain in New Hampshire. What do you think? (The outcropping has since crumbled.)
• Hawthorne said “the Great Stone Face seemed positively to be alive.” What words did he use to convey that statement? (See passage quoted above.)
• What does it mean that we become like what we admire? What do you admire? Is this consistent with what you wish to become?
• Write a character essay about a person you admire.
• Learn more about Nathaniel Hawthorne.
• Create an author page for Nathaniel Hawthorne.

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Additional Resources

Old Man of the Mountain
Prints for view or notebook.

Free Nature Studies: A Story of the Rocks
Learn more about the different type of rocks and how they are formed.

The Great Stone Face
Study guide from CummingsStudyGuides.net.

100 Best Books for Children ~ Hawthorne
Numbers five and six on The Hundred Best Books for Children list are classic retellings of the Greek myths by Hawthorne.