It’s Not Black and White
Hypocrisy is “the false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion” (The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 353). Every person is guilty of having double standards, since it is part of our carnal nature to hold others to a higher standard than our own. Even those with good intentions can become a hypocrite. Humans fall short by holding others to a higher standard than their own, but failing to raise a flag when they themselves fall short. In “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, and The Ox-Bow Incident directed by William Wellman, the stories all weave tales about what lies within the heart of human nature: fraud.
The short story, “Young Goodman Brown,” talks of religious crime. The author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, attempts to expose the hypocrisy of the Puritan belief that all of humanity exists in a state of depravity, except for those who are born in a state of grace. The story follows Young Goodman Brown on his journey into self-scrutiny, which results in his loss of virtue and “Faith.” When Goodman Brown follows an elder traveler deep into the woods, his companion tries endlessly to convince Goodman Brown that his family and the religious figures he looks up to are not as “pure” as they seem. The traveller, who represents Satan, tells Goodman Brown that “wickedness or not, [he has] “a very general acquaintance here in England. The deacons of many a church have drunk the communion wine with [him]” (Hawthorne, 98). The devilish traveler implies that the most distinguished and respected members of the religious community associate themselves with Satan, and are unable to escape the grasp of sin. Initially, Goodman Brown r...
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...for justice. However, many of the townspeople had hidden agendas; they were just hungry for something exciting to happen in their lifeless town. Their hearts were not truly set on finding the actual killers of Kinkaid, but were all secretly hoping to see a show. Or like Major Tetley, who desired this for himself and for his son, wanted to prove their manhood and ability to stomach death.
It often seems that humans behave in a way that is the exact opposite of what they believe. A common theme in “Young Goodman Brown,” The Great Gatsby, Heart of Darkness, and The Ox-Bow Incident, is the idea that society and man are inherently hypocritical. Though people may outwardly appear moral, they may bear inward sin. Humanity is not black and white, and often times the people who are considered the most “good” are unable to live up to their reputation behind closed doors.
Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People” explores the consequences of hypocrisy and gullibility. O’Connor shows how this terrible combination of hypocrisy and gullibility can affect average families. She intergrades strict Roman Catholic upbringing into all of her character flaws. Every character in the story believes that they are on a higher moral ground, but none of them leads an ethical life. When in actuality, they are all hypocrites that claim they have the honor and higher moral values than they actually do. Throughout the story, the men illustrate the only receptive hypocrisy that is displayed, and the gullibility that is illustrated is by the women.
One’s self image of morals allows a person to accurately determine what they believe is wrong and vice-versa as is the case with Young Goodman Brown; the protagonist in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story “Young Goodman Brown” who sees a disturbing vision in which all of the supposedly good townsfolk enter into a pact with the devil. In Goodman Brown’s vision, while following the unholy worshippers to their meeting place, he proclaims “With heaven above and fa...
In “Young Goodman Brown” the author Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a story about how Young Goodman Brown, who is a recent Christian man and was going to test his faith against the devil, but the devil was not going to make it easy since he test Young Goodman Brown along the way.
“By the sympathy of your human hearts for sin ye shall scent out all the places--whether in church, bedchamber, street, field, or forest--where crime has been committed, and shall exult to behold the whole earth one stain of guilt, one mighty blood spot” (Hawthorne pg. 21). “Young Goodman Brown”, an American short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, does well to blend together a dark, mysterious storyline with a lesson fixated upon the battle between good and evil. Hawthorne was born into Salem, Massachusetts, a small village whose citizens had once accused and executed each other for being “witches.” During these times, the conflict between good and evil and its effect upon one’s overall happiness took its toll upon the lives of the Puritans of
In "Young Goodman Brown," Hawthorne analyzes the Puritans’ consciousness and the hidden wickedness of their nature. He takes a naïve Puritan man and takes him on a journey into the dark forest to meet an old man whom we presume, is the devil. As the naïve Puritan embarks on his journey, his wife "Faith" kisses him good bye. The Puritan has an overwhelming feeling of guilt as he is entering the forest to meet with the Devil. He realized what he is doing was forbidden and none of his forefathers or fellow Puritans would ever commit such a sin. During his meeting with the Devil his naïveté dissolves. He sees Deacon Gookin, his old catechism teacher, and other upstanding members of the community, whom he looked up to and feared, dancing around the Devil’s fire. He is told that the Devil has helped his father and Grandfather in years past. His innocence is completely destroyed when he sees his own wife Faith dancing around the Devils circle . He screams in agony: "My faith is gone. There is no good on earth; and sin is but a ...
In Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”, the main character, Young Goodman Brown, jumped to the conclusion that everyone in his village was working with the devil after he had a dream about a meeting in the forest. The first piece of evidence that Young Goodman Brown jumped to conclusion is how he treated his wife when he came back from the forest compared to how he treated his wife in the beginning. In the beginning, Faith was “a blessed angel” (“Young Goodman Brown” 1) and he said when he got back he would follow her to heaven. Then afterward, often at mi...
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an extraordinary writer, who used real life experiences in every one of his stories. However, growing up in a Puritan society during a reformation gave Hawthorne a distorted view on God’s character. Hawthorne was intelligent, but by no means a people person, which created a pathway for him to become an author. There were a few key points in his life growing in a religion zealous society that lead him to abandon his faith. Hence, the short story of “Young Goodman Brown” representing that humans are cynical and evil, and the dangers of losing your faith in God.
During Goodman Brown’s journey, he recognized Goody Cloyse, his catechism teacher, the preacher, and Deacon Gookin is going to the devil’s meeting. However, after seeing his church members at the devil’s meeting, Goodman says, “My Faith is gone! and There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come devil! for to thee is this world given” (Hawthorne 27). “But, where is Faith?”, asked Goodman Brown (Hawthorne 29). As hope came into his heart, he trembled when he found the pink ribbon of his wife, Faith, in the forest. At that moment, Goodman Brown lost his faith in his family and church members. Goodman becomes unforgiving of others and believes only evil can be created from evil and there is nothing that anyone can do to change it. Here, Hawthorne demonstrates that a naive faith in our family, friends, and church member’s righteousness could lead to distrust. While, “Young Goodman Brown” lives a long life with Faith, he never loses his meanness toward humanity and the evil in the world, “for his dying hour was gloom” (Hawthorne
This allegory is a strong image of man’s relentless battle between good and evil. Mankind’s personal and social quarrels through different dealings can result in good consequences and/or bad consequences. There are many symbols throughout Young Goodman Brown that exemplify Puritan ideology relate to modern times, such as faith, the staff and the forest. Additionally, Nathanial Hawthorne’s ancestral tie to the Salem Witch Trial is a great example of how a man can be tainted by social influences. However, it is up to each person to choose their own path, guided by their perception of faith, no matter their religion. “Depending upon one another's hearts, ye had still hoped that virtue were not all a dream. Now are ye undeceived. Evil is the nature of mankind. (pgs. 325-337)”
As long as civilized societies have existed, hypocrisy and discrimination have been an unassailable piece of each of them. A punishment for an offense has always been determined by the severity of the action, which inherently depends on the culture of the people. However, the presence of some level of judgement of others has remained inevitable. Many would like to ask the question “Why does this feeling of entitlement to pass judgement exist when everything is subjective to each person’s own morals?” One might ponder that very enigmatic phenomenon. However, this essay will focus on why and how a person should overcome the inevitable mistakes they will make in their lifetime. The word itself seems much too cliche, but as these literary
Nathaniel Hawthorne's famous Young Goodman Brown is one of the most interesting, yet creepy short stories written. Within this beautifully structured story of the 19th century, is a man whose curiosity started the fight between good and evil inside each individual human being. In addition, the story tells the tragic relationship between the main character Young Goodman, and his young wife. Throughout the story, Goodman's character development is affected by the experiences he goes through. At the beginning, Goodman is a good young man with faith in everyone's "pure intentions." He innocently believes in the good in everyone, but towards the end of the story, he's view on the world changes. He ends up having a dark perspective and finds himself unable to trust those around him.
In a society surrounded by corruption, racism, and cruelty it is rare to find purity. Innocence is constantly being destroyed. For this reason, the harmless citizens need to be treasured and protected. Harper Lee 's classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird portrays the injustices of the 1930 's that expose the innocent to the mal of the society’s intentions. Some characters in the novel are characterized as harmless and pure and are symbolized by mockingbirds. It is then stated that killing a mockingbird is a sin, therefore meaning that killing innocent people is also sin. Lee’s eye-opening novel reminds the reader that one should protect the beauty of the innocence by not allowing
“Young Goodman Brown”, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, delves into the classic battle between good and evil; taking the protagonist, Goodman Brown, on a journey to test the resolve of his faith. Goodman ventures out on his expedition deep into the sinister forest, in order to repudiate the attempt of the devil to sway him from Christianity; a test he believes his devout faith is prepared to confront. Goodman Brown is forever altered in ways unforeseeable by taking a stroll with the ultimate antagonist, the devil himself. The prevailing theme in this literary work, which is common in Hawthorne’s gothic writing, is the realization that evil can infect people who seem perfectly respectable. Throughout the course of his journey, Goodman Brown discovers that even highly reputable people of Salem are vulnerable to the forces of darkness.
All members of society are subject to sociological rules and regulations that are often hypocritical. These hypocrisies, both concrete and unspoken, are the subject of criticism by authors the world over, utilizing various methods and styles to ridicule society's many fables.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "Young Goodman Brown,” the author uses danger and mystery to represent the struggle of good versus evil. Young Goodman Brown journeys into the night and comes to realize an unforgiving truth. Everyone is in danger of abandoning their faith or is inherently evil. Nathaniel Hawthorne has filled this story symbolism, after reading this story the reader may have questions about Young Goodman Browns’ determination to journey towards his evil purpose. Nathaniel Hawthorne implies strong faith can endure but when that faith is destroyed, what view does a person have towards mankind? Let us take a look at Nathaniel Hawthorne’s use of significant symbols throughout “Young Goodman Brown.”