Rip Van Winkkle And Young Goodman Brown Analysis

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“Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving and “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne are both stories of male individuals who leave their community, only to return with their views on life changed forever. This essay will decipher the similarities and differences between these two short stories.
A commonality between the two stories is that the central character returns to his community with his perspective forever transformed. Although Rip Van Winkle is gone for 20 years and Young Goodman Brown only for a night, the effect is irreversible. Upon returning, Rip Van Winkle discovers that his world has changed considerably. He now lives in a world of politics and voting; kings and Britain’s rule are a thing of the past. In a similar way, Young Goodman Brown leaves with a pure mind; one that sees the good in people and in his community. After the meeting in the forest, he is skeptical of all and dies an old, distrustful, seemingly miserable man.
One major theme present in both stories is liberty/freedom. In “Rip Van Winkle,” Irving depicts the main character as a person who only wish...

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