Compare and Contrast Two young men, two journeys, and two instances that evil discovers victory. Young Goodman Brown, along with My Kinsman, Major Molinuex, lay out a story of a gentleman setting out on an adventure, facing numerous obstacles along his path. Meeting face to face with Satan, as well as his temptations, the men fight a majority off; however in the end, the battle is lost. Young Goodman Brown and Robin share many similarities in their decisions, despite the fact that the two hold unique characteristics to themselves. The audience can identify these resemblances through the shared archetypes of Haven vs. Wilderness, The Journey being taken, and the battle of good and evil amongst the two. Hawthorne achieves these through the …show more content…
This young man at the age of eighteen is introduced as one with, “and eager eye,” always looking for positivity despite the negativity he found in the townspeople of Salem. This hunger for excitement and adventure acts as Robin's good. He begins his journey as a boy of high spirits, yet as he stands, witnessing the torture of his dear Kinsman, “Robin’s knees shook, and his hair bristled with a mixture of pity and terror.” Fear begins to nibble at his surface of goodness, finally breaking through as Robin joins in on the ridicule. His fall is evident as he believes the Major, “scarce desire to see [his] face again” (Hawthorne 254). Robin, while as a person honestly feels pity for the Major, surrendered his soul the moment he joined into the malicious judgement in the streets; concluding the story with a gain on the Devil's side. Additionally,The Bedeviling of Young Goodman Brown leaves nothing to the imagination while sharing his beliefs on the placement of Brown’s soul. The author states quite clearly, “ Young Goodman Brown moves from a state of belief, in which the good and the naive side of his nature predominates, to a state of despair, in which the good side becomes submerged in the dark side, symbolized by the Devil” (Walsh 334). This article further reasons that his soul has been, “submerged,” or taken captive by Satan in the town of Salem. In order for Robin to return back to his previous state of belief he must return back to his Haven across the
In Hawthorne’s stories “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Great Stone Face”, Goodman Brown and Ernest both struggle with their faith throughout their stories. In “Young Goodman Brown”, Goodman Brown had made the decision to go to a ceremony, and on his journey, he was met by the devil that corrupted everything Goodman Brown knew and believed. The devil said he knew Goodman Brown’s father, grandfather, and wife, and stated that they were all corrupted. With that being said, Goodman Brown suffered from knowing what about his faith was good and evil. In “The Great Stone Face”, Ernest was hard-working and honest from childhood to adulthood. Throughout his life there were many people claiming to be the Great Stone Face, but Ernest knew they were imposters
...oom" (pg. 100). His life was changed so drastically during that one night that he could never forget it. Through the Hero's journey, Hawthorne shows the development of Young Goodman Brown as he discovers his true nature as evil. He comes to terms with the reality that humans are evil creatures, no matter how honorable or innocent they may seem.
“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
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown,” and Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” utilize character responsibilities to create a sinister plot. For Hawthorne, protagonist Young Goodman Brown must leave his wife at home while he partakes in a night journey. For Poe, ancillary Fortunato covets a pretentious manner towards his wine tasting skills, and after being ‘challenged’ decides to prove his expertise by sampling Amontillado. Hawthorne and Poe showcase a theme of darkness but differ in their approach to the setting, characters, and fate of entrapment.
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
Young Goodman Brown undergoes the hero’s journey in the story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The hero’s journey is a common guideline of events that many writers use in stories to show the physical, mental, and/or emotional transformation the main character or protagonist undergoes throughout the story. It starts with a call to adventure and a supernatural aid. It is then followed by a road of trials and a symbolic death. In the end, the character has a moment of epiphany or realization and then a return. Hawthorne uses all of these in order to show the loss of innocence in Young Goodman Brown as he experiences the hero’s journey.
When reading Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” or Herman Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener,” the audience might notice how they are stories of men who become detached from the society after a notable change in how they act towards the world. However, while Bartleby’s disconnection stems from work-related changes, Young Goodman Brown’s disconnection is caused by a “spiritual” experience. I want to focus on how many things these characters have in common, to show what may have caused their change of view in the societies around them.
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.
Goodman Brown in the short story “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne goes on a journey into the woods to meet a stranger which ultimately changes his life. His blind faith in his religion makes him believe that all people are good. Goodman Brown is a trusting, naive man in the beginning if the story but witnesses a witch ceremony that changes his personality drastically. Seeing his family and his neighbors taking part in the sinful act changes his outlook on life and his outlook on their personalities as well. Brown’s blind faith in people and his naivety make the shock of what he sees in the woods turn him into an untrusting, paranoid man.
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.”
Taking this path that closes behind him represents Young Goodman’s decent into the unconscious and his loss of innocence. On this journey he soon meets a man who is a condensation of several different factors. The man represents the devil, as well as Brown unconscious
Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes symbolism throughout his short story Young Goodman Brown to impact and clarify the theme of good people sometimes doing bad things. Hawthorne uses a variety of light and dark imagery, names, and people to illustrate irony and different translations. Young Goodman Brown is a story about a man who comes to terms with the reality that people are imperfect and flawed and then dies a bitter death from the enlightenment of his journey through the woods. Images of darkness, symbolic representations of names and people and the journey through the woods all attribute to Hawthorne's theme of good people sometimes doing bad things.
“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.
...kness to illustrate the notions of sin and death in “Young Goodman Brown”. The power of evil is evident as the protagonist never recovers from what he experienced or returns to what he knew. Although the symbols of each character are not necessarily identified explicitly, Hawthorne’s symbolically paints a vivid image of the path young Goodman Brown follows. The tone, gothic imagery, and symbolism, are flowing from the shining light of good, slowly unraveling to a climax of evil, with no apparent chance of returning, as temptation, curiosity and ultimately sin take over and destroy the spirit and soul of young Goodman Brown for the rest of his existence.
“Young Goodman Brown” is written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a story based on human nature and the temptation to evil. During Goodman Brown’s journey into the woods with evil, he is repulsed by immortality, and becomes unaware of his involvement. Brown dreams about being encountered by evil because unconsciously he is scared of his own capabilities of evil like his forefathers. Goodman Brown engages in a defense mechanism, projection because he is paranoid of the evil he can conjure. From a psychoanalytic perspective Young Goodman Brown is a story about searching for self, which leads to gain and losses to the young seeker in the story.