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Character of young goodman brown
Character of young goodman brown
Young goodman brown character analysis essay
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Few, if any, women in Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” are truly good. Even the seemingly best ones are involved in devil-worship – at least, and maybe much more. This essay intends to explore this subject of bad women in the tale.
Randall Stewart in “Hawthorne’s Female Characters” states that there are three types of female characters in Hawthorne’s writings: (1) “the wholesome New England girl, bright, sensible and self-reliant;” (2) “the frail, sylph-like creature, easily swayed by a stronger personality;” and (3) “the woman with an exotic richness in her nature” (98), and that “Young Goodman Brown” has in Faith “cheerfulness, prettiness, and a simple-minded domesticity” (99). So this categorizes her under type (1). Goody Cloyse may be a type (2). In “Young Goodman Brown” the references to abortion and euthanasia refer to types (1) and (2) in my judgment.
In Salem village that fateful night when the young Puritan husband was departing home for the night, he exchanged “a parting kiss with his young wife.” From this we can conclude that he had a basic respect for her feelings(?) The wind was playing with “the pink ribbons of her cap.” Literary critic Wagenknecht surveys some of the critical interpretation relative to these ribbons:
Mathews finds the pastel of infancy in pink, but since pink is a color intermediate between red and white, William V. Davis prefers to take it as suggesting “neither total depravity nor innocence” but “the tainted innocence, the spiritual imperfection of mankind,” a view shared, up to a point, by Robinson. . . . (62).
So the critics would have us believe that the author is making a statement here: that seemingly good Faith is not all that good, based on...
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Complete Short Stories of Nathaniel Hawthorne. New York: Doubleday and Co., Inc.,1959. 247-56.
Lang, H.J.. “How Ambiguous is Hawthorne?” In Hawthorne – A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.
Leavis, Q.D. “Hawthorne as Poet.” In Hawthorne – A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.
Martin, Terence “Six Tales.” In Nathaniel Hawthorne. New York: Twayne Publishers Inc., 1965.
Stewart, Randall. “Hawthorne’s Female Characters.” In Readings on Nathaniel Hawthorne, edited by Clarice Swisher. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1996.
Wagenknecht, Edward. Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Man, His Tales and Romances. New York: Continuum Publishing Co., 1989.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Enriched Classic ed. New York City: Simon & Schuster, 2004. Print.
...rtant physical fitness is for just an "activity." The fact that major injuries occur, even with proper training is incredible. The risks involved in cheerleading make this sport important and impossible to ignore.
The story is set in seventeenth-century Salem, a time and place where sin and evil were greatly analyzed and feared. The townspeople, in their Puritan beliefs, were obsessed with the nature of sin and with finding ways to be rid of it altogether through purification of the soul. At times, people were thought to be possessed by the devil and to practice witchcraft. As punishment for these crimes, some were subjected to torturous acts or even horrible deaths. Thus, Hawthorne’s choice of setting is instrumental in the development of theme.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” is an allegory. Hawthorne’s moral story is told through the perversion of a religious leader, Goodman Brown. Goodman is a Puritan minister who lets his excessive pride interfere with his relations with the community after he meets with the devil. The result is that Goodman lives the rest of his life in exile within his own community.
III. Comparable aspects of Hawthorne's characterization in The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables
Nathaniel Hawthorne uses different people as symbols throughout "Young Goodman Brown." The largest symbolic roles in the story are goodman Brown and his wife Faith. Both of the characters' names are symbolic and representative of their personalities. "'With Heaven above and Faith below, I will stand firm against the devil!' cried goodman Brown," is just one of many quotes that directly relates goodman Brown's personality with his name (189). Goodman Brown is truly a good man. Faith, goodman Brown's wife, also has a name that is indicative of her nature. The story directly supports this point in the phrase "Faith, as the wife was aptly named . . . " (184). Faith is persistent in trying to keep goodman Brown off the path of sin in the first part of the story: " . . . pr'y thee, put off your journey until sunrise, and sleep in your own bed to-night" (184). Hawthorne does an excellent job of turning the main characters into symbols that are prominent throughout the story.
Edmund Fuller and B. Jo Kinnick in “Stories Derived from New England Living” state: “’Young Goodman Brown’ uses the background of witchcraft to explore uncertainties of belief that trouble a man’s heart and mind” (31). It is on that one night of the year when witches have their coven in the deepest woods that the young husbandman, Goodman Brown, takes leave of his wife, Faith: “YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN came forth at sunset, into the street of Salem village, but put his head back, after crossing the threshold, to exchange a parting kiss with his young wife.” The reader receives a premonition of the impending evil intrigue with Faith’s staement of her foreboding, troublesome dreams:
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”, Goodman Brown struggles with staying pure and not giving in to the devil. Hawthorne utilizes allegory and ambiguity to leave unanswered questions for the reader.
Since ours is an age that has found irony, ambiguity, and paradox to be central not only in literature but in life, it is not surprising that Hawthorne has seemed to us one of the most modern of nineteenth century American writers. The bulk and general excellence of the great outburst of Hawthorne criticism of the past decade attest to his relevance for us (54).
In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, George, one of the main characters, showed significant growth from beginning to end. At the start of the novel he had a different way of living and outlook on life than he did towards the end. At the start of the novel he was an idealist, and had been motivated, antisocial, short tempered, and much more.
On the other hand, women have proven that they can perform firefighting work, including nearly all of the physical work, as effectively as men. They have not disrupted the bonding and mutual dependence required for a firefighting unit to work effectively and professionally. While women have overcome these objections to prove that they could perform firefighting work, women nonetheless continue to face indirect forms of discrimination. While women may find it easier than men to get a job as a firefighter because of their higher test scores, they continue to face subtle forms of resentment and discrimination. As a result, discourages larger numbers of women from entering the field. This causes some to develop stress and give up on their desire to take firefighting up as a career.
In 'Young Goodman Brown,'; Hawthorne makes the reader believe that Goodman Brown has learned that truth about the world and how evil it really is. In the story the accounts of Goodman Brown let you believe that he has truly seen the evil in the world and knows what lurks behind everybody masks. He makes you realize that even though the person may look holy and religious that evilness is all around us and most people will never ever find out the truth. The character Young Goodman Brown written by Nathaniel Hawthorne finds many issues of evil concerning the town's people in which he lives, about himself, and the reality behind the evil.
As an education major at State College, I’ve decided to become a teacher for several reasons. As I progressed through elementary, middle, and high school, many of my teachers were great role models for me. This has inspired me to become a role model for someone in the near future. My love for science and math has also influenced my desire to teach and make a difference in a child’s life. I want to teach students the subjects that I love so much. I want the feeling that I helped a child accomplish or learn something they couldn’t understand. One of the main reasons I want to become an educator is because I feel education has really lost teachers who truly love teaching and those who truly love teaching and those who have the desire to make a difference. I feel I can really help make a difference in the education world and bring back the love to teach.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Prentice Hall Literature, The American Experience. New Jersey: Oscar F. Bluemner, 1915. 266-67.
Becoming a teacher has been the ultimate aspiration for myself since the first day I walked into kindergarten. As a very timid student, it was a difficult task transitioning from being with my mother everyday, to being part of a classroom environment full of strangers. However, my kindergarten teacher helped me through this transition smoothly, and adequately. I very quickly learned to love school. Soon after, I knew I would aspire to become a teacher. I would spend countless hours at home with a blackboard, acting as a teacher to my imaginary students throughout my elementary school years.