Hawthorne Romanticism
Hawthorne’s Romantic writing ability allures his readers into deep thought of the transforming characters creating himself as a phenomenon. His ability to transform Puritan society in a dark world “attracts readers not only for their storytelling qualities, but also for the moral and theological ambiguities Hawthorne presents so well” (Korb 303). In “Young Goodman Brown” Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Romantic characteristics such as artificiality of the city, escape from reality, and the value of imagination.
Hawthorne’s depiction of artificiality of the city helps develop the Romantic style writing in “Young Goodman Brown.” For example, Goodman Brown enters a quest into
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Betrayal overwhelms him from Goody Cloyse as he learns his catechism from her and now sees wickedness; unsure what to do, Goodman Brown questions his errand into the woods and his journey with the devil. To Goodman Brown the city suffers from moral ambiguity, corruption, and even death. Hathorne masters the art of ambiguity; his characters or objects usually have a underlying meaning that readers are to discover. His wife, Faith, not only appears in the novel but as an ambiguous term reflecting back to his personal faith with God. Furthermore, suffering of the city leads to “a life of gloom, seeing sinners and blasphemers everywhere he looks” for Goodman Brown with his constant obsession with the corruption of people he once trusts (?????). Romanticism in “Young Goodman Brown” appears with his distrust of civilization. Brown’s distrust with the Puritan society overwhelms his character …show more content…
The underlying characteristics allure, suspend, and entice Hawthorne's readers into the journey. Romantic Characteristics such as artificiality of the city, escape from reality, and the value of imagination metamorphosis Hawthorne's writing style of Romanticism in Puritan
The use of symbolism in "young Goodman Brown" shows that evil is everywhere, which becomes evident in the conclusion of this short story. Hawthorne's works are filled with symbolic elements and allegorical elements. "Young Goodman Brown" deals mostly with conventional allegorical elements, such as Young Goodman Brown and Faith. In writing his short stories or novels he based their depiction of sin on the fact that he feels like his father and grandfather committed great sins. There are two main characters in this short story, Faith and Young Goodman Brown. "Young Goodman Brown is everyman seventeenth-century New England the title as usual giving the clue. He is the son of the Old Adam, and recently wedded to Faith. We must note that every word is significant in the opening sentence: "Young Goodman Brown came forth at sunset into the street of Sale, Village; but put his head back, after crossing the threshold, to exchange a parting kiss with his young w2ife.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown." Literature Craft & Voice. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 449-55. Print.
Nathaniel Hawthorne used the writing of Romanticism in describing the life of Puritans. Romanticism appreciate nature, value emotions over reasoning, trust people are good in general but get corrupted by the society, appraise individual rights and believe in supernatural. Nathanial Hawthorne was a Romantic writer born in 1804. As a descendant of Puritan, Hawthorne was fascinated about Puritans culture, so he used Romanticism writing style to describe the life of Puritans (Pierce). Puritans were originated from Great Britain and immigrated to America. They believed that Bible was the only source of their conduct and faith, and in their entire lives, they should maintain devoting their lives to the Christ. Puritans encouraged more preaching, and they wanted the simplicity form of clothing and ceremonies (Havran). Even though “The Minister’s Black Veil” is a story about Puritans, there are still plenty of dedicate depictions in a way of Romanticism.
When he goes into the forest, he believes he is talking to the devil and looks much like his grandfather. The devil is feeding him bad thoughts about everyone he knows, even his own father and his wife, Faith. Next, I believe that Goodman Brown has had a rough past and in order for him to overcome this within himself, he must search for attention. This attention may not be needed from his wife or community members, I believe it is needed from him. He is feeling overwhelmed with obligations from his wife and peers, and he has no time to decide whether this type of life is right for him.
Irving and Hawthorne’s stories are quite similar because of the sinisterness the two share. However, Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” is far better written because it exploits the use of symbolism, character development and theme. Irving fails to use those elements to their full potential by not incorporating or weakly using them. Hawthorne’s exploitation gives the reader a better read and a far superior story.
Hawthorne and Poe showcase a theme of darkness but differ in their approach to the setting. In Young Goodman Brown, the story primarily
In "Young Goodman Brown," Nathaniel Hawthorne, through the use of deceptive imagery, creates a sense of uncertainty that illuminates the theme of man's inability to operate within a framework of moral absolutism. Within every man there is an innate difference between good and evil and Hawthorne's deliberate use of ambiguity mirrors this complexity of human nature. Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown, is misled by believing in the perfectibility of humanity and in the existence of moral absolutes. According to Nancy Bunge, Hawthorne naturally centers his story upon a Puritan protagonist to convey the "self-righteous" that he regards as the "antithesis of wisdom"(4). Consequently, Young Goodman Brown is unable to accept the indefinable vision of betrayal and evil that he encounters in the forest. The uncertainty of this vision, enhanced by Hawthorne's deliberate, yet effective, use of ambiguity, is also seen in the character of Faith, the shadows and darkness of the forest, and the undetectable boundaries that separate nightmarish dreams from reality.
Hawthorn, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown" The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Vol. I. Shorter Seventh Edition. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 2008. 620-629. Print.
In conclusion, it is obvious that there is a proliferation of familiar literary motifs in “Young Goodman Brown.”
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown." 1835. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter et al. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Lexington: Heath, 1944. 2129-38.
To begin, the introduction to Goodman Brown begins with introducing characters that seem to exemplify youthfulness, earnestness, and innocence. Interactions between Goodman and Faith, such as the "parting kiss" (Hawthorne 239), and even the description of Faith, whose cap contains pink ribbons that the wind plays with contains a sense of whimsy and playfulness that sets the reader up thinking of the young couple in positive terms. However, Goodman changes this quickly with his discussion of leaving, as well as his parting. At this point, we see the conflict within the characterization of Goodman Brown emerge, referring to himself as "a wretch...to leave her on such an errand" (239), a contrast to the initial idea presented of him. This is the beginning of what interested me so much, as the appearance of Goodman Brown was presented ambiguously and painted to be "good" by his interactions with Faith, who was described in a bit more detail.
In the concluding paragraph of "Young Goodman Brown," Hawthorne uses the forest experience to its fullest effect, moving Brown through another series of separations to the ultimate separation, from life itself. To some critics, in fact, the concluding paragraph itself has seemed a separation, breaking the neat circularity of Hawthorne's plot, moving in linear fashion through time from Brown's figurative death at the threshold of his house to his literal death at the threshold of the grave. Yet I agree wholeheartedly with Richard Abcarian, though for different reasons, that the paragraph is not anticlimactic, a digression, an example solely of Hawthorne's penchant for heavy moralizing, or a violation of the neatly unified circular form [Abacarian, "The Ending of 'Young Goodman Brown'," Studies in Short Fiction III, No. 3, Spring 1966].
Goodman Brown embarks on his journey into the forest with the fervent belief that his potent dedication is indomitably ironclad, and thus will be able to overcome even the most tempting persuasions of the devil. As Goodman and the devil continue sauntering along the serpentine path, they encounter Goodman’s old catechism teacher, Goody Cloyse, and it is eventually revealed that she is heading to the satanic occult meeting at the core of the forest. Goodman is absolutely confounded at the sight of her, as he had always considered Cloyse as a moral and spiritual guide in his life. Goody Cloyse’s appearance is the first moment where Goodman begins to question his faith. Brown's illusions about the purity of his society are finally obliterated when he discovers that many of his fellow townspeople, including religious leaders and his wife (aptly named Faith), are attending a Black Mass or “witch-meeting”. At the end of the story, it is not clear whether Brown's experience was a nightmare or biting reality, but the results are nonetheless the same. Brown is unable to forgive the possibility of evil in his loved ones, and as a result spends the rest of his life in desperate loneliness and gloom.
Lastly, the immense allusions to evil make it a norm in Goodman Brown’s environment, and rather than being able to fight temptation, he gives into it in the end. Since he was so faithful to the good of Christian figures around him, he was blindsided to the evil within people, which made the witch meeting shocking and traumatic. Even though he was still willing to resist the Devil, it wasn’t until his precious Faith was captured that he started to go wild. Symbolically, his wife Faith
During the early to mid-nineteenth century, the romantic movement, an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement, emerged as a reaction to the Age of Reason, or Enlightenment era. This movement turned the emphasis from science, facts, and logic; instead it emphasized emotions, the individual, and imagination. Some literature from the period fell under a sub-category of Romanticism, called dark Romanticism, which centered around the occult. “The Minister’s Black Veil” and “Young Goodman Brown” are both short dark Romantic stories written by dark Romantic, Nathaniel Hawthorne, that explore secret sins and corruption in the Puritan society. “The Minister’s Black Veil” revolves around Mr. Hooper, a Reverend in the town of Milford who puts on a black veil in order to remind the townspeople of their own secret sins. “Young Goodman Brown” follows Goodman Brown through his journey of losing his faith. One night, he leaves his wife, Faith, behind and goes into the woods to meet with the devil, and finds that many others from his community, including his wife, are at this same meeting. Although these two stories compare in their display of symbolism of colors, they differ in their Romantic characteristics, with “Young Goodman Brown” being more reminiscent of the typical dark Romantic story.