In the 17th century the Puritans had divided into the separatists and non-separatists, the separatist Puritans established ideal Christian communities which the story “Young Goodman Brown” is to take place. Salem Village was recovering from the Witch Trail scandal, but the rest of the Puritan communities were still involved in witchery. Brown is oblivious to how involved his community is in Witchcraft. However, Brown is aware of the events in Salem, and has gained a great deal of curiosity towards learning about Witchcraft. This curiosity is the foundation of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story "Young Goodman Brown" where it presents the corruption in Puritan society, loss of innocence, and overwhelming fear of nature. History paints a quant picturesque view of Puritans living a quiet, simplistic, and pure life surrounded by family, community and, religion. “Puritans were expected to live by a rigid moral code, they believed that all sins-from sleeping in church to stealing food- should be punished” (Life in Salem 1692) Puritans however, were not always as pure as we are led to believe. Many actions of Puritans, although religious based, is a contradiction of what their religion taught. During the time of Puritans there were several recognized periods of unorthodox methods of reprimand. In 1692 the Salem Witchcraft Trials were tearing the community apart. The Puritan society that relied so profoundly on support from the community had begun to turn on one another at an unprecedented level.. The reasons for the Salem Witch Trials vary based on misconceptions, illogical values, and misconstrued information. In “Young Goodman Brown” the devil suggests himself as being responsible in different dark times of Puritan record, “I helped your g... ... middle of paper ... ...Works Cited Cochran, R. W. (1962, November 1). How Young Goodman Brown Became Old Badman Brown: Reply. Retrieved November 25, 2011, from National Councile of Teachers of English: http://www.jstor.org/stable/373757 . Cook, R. (1970, September 1). The Forest of Goodman Brown's Night: A Reading of Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown". Retrieved November 25, 2011, from The New England Quarterly, Inc: http://www.jstor.org/stable/363309 Hawthorne, N. (2008). Young Goodman Brown. In S. Belasco, & L. Johnson, The Bedford Anthology of American Literature (pp. 987-996). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's . Life in Salem 1692. (n.d.). Retrieved Nov 25, 2011, from Discovery Education: http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/salemwitchtrials/resources.html McKeithan, D. (1952). Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown": An Interpretation. Modern Language Notes , 67 (2), 93-96.
Nathaniel Hawthorne, "Young Goodman Brown," in Literature: Reading and Writing the Human Experience, eds. Richard Abcarian, Marvin Klotz, Peter Richardson, 7th ed. (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998), p.62.
McCabe, Michael E. “The Consequences of Puritan Depravity and Distrust as Historical Context for Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”.”
Easterly, Joan Elizabeth. "Lachrymal Imagery in Hawthorne's 'Young Goodman Brown.' " Studies in Short Fiction. 28 (1991): 339
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
2.) Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown". printed in: A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature: Fourth Edition. Editors Wilfred L. Guerin, Earle Labor, Lee Morgan, Jeanne C. Reesman, John R. Willingham. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 1999.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown." Norton Anthology of American Literature. Vol1. Ed. Nina Baym, et al. New York: Norton, 1994. 1198-1207.
The story of Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne, chronicles the dreams and visons of a young man struggling with his beliefs in 17th Century Puritan society. In the dream, Goodman Brown is compelled to evaluate and reflect on the evils that exist in the world. He is shown to be completely disillusioned. The story relies heavily on the reader’s interpretation of the meaning of Goodman Brown’s encounter in the woods (Trevelyan 1983, pp.35). The story also explores Brown’s introspection and questions his morality and belief.
---. "Young Goodman Brown." The Complete Novels and Selected Tales of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Ed. Norman Holmes Pearson. New York: Random House, Inc., 1937. 1033-42.
It is impossible to fairly analyze Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, "Young Goodman Brown" around a single literary approach. American novelist, essayist, and poet, Herman Melville, once wrote about Hawthorn's short story that it over time, like wine, it only improves in flavor and body (The Life and Works of Herman Melville). Hawthorne's short story continues to get better with age, and carries today's readers into a world filled with a plethora of meanings for them to pick from its symbolism. Modern readers have interpreted the meaning of Goodman Brown's experience in many ways, but to pigeon hole the story into one view would destroy its veracity.
To truly comprehend the themes in "Young Goodman Brown" you must first understand the influences on Nathaniel Hawthorne's writing. According to the website Hawthorneinsalem.org, Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts, son of also a Nathaniel Hawthorne, was actually a descendant of John Hathorne, one of the judges who oversaw the Salem Witch Trials. Because of Hawthorne's Puritan upbringing, much of writings are moral allegories set in colonial New England. Hawthorne returns again to Salem in "Young Goodman Brown" and deals with the theme of the loss of innocence. This theme works to argue the benefits and consequences of Goodman Brown's beliefs before and after his encounter with the devil as well as the beliefs of the Puritans as a whole.
The story is set in the forest of Salem, Massachusetts, around the time of the witch trials. Goodman Brown is a Puritan, and Salem is a Puritan village appears to be a good Christian community in the beginning of the story. Hawthorne once again criticizes a Puritan community or the religious community of his time through this short story. In this short story, Hawthorne criticizes the Puritans who take the words of Bible without interpretation, and who believe they are pure but inside the evil resides just as in the people they persecute.
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.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown illustrates vividly how society and culture can very much influence a person’s sense of identity and belonging, or in the case of Young Goodman Brown the lack thereof. Being a Puritan man in a society that scorned the ways of witches and the devil, Young Goodman Brown grew up with a very pious outlook on life. Yet when it occurs to him to look at life a little bit differently, Young Goodman Brown receives more than he has bargained for. The journey he embarks on sheds a whole new light on his society that not only creates a struggle between himself and his fellow men but also one within himself.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “Young Goodman Brown.” The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. 2186-95.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown." Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. Ed. Thomas R. Arp and Greg Johnson. Harcourt College Publishers: Fort Worth, 2002. 316-328.