Young Goodman Brown is a story written by a well known Dark Romanticism writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne is known for his unique symbolism and dark writing.Part of Nathaniel Hawthorne's influence in writing Dark Romanticism is Hawthorns embarrassment of his family and the ways of his ancestor.While on one's journey towards faith and religion, they have to face it themselves and understand what they are doing. In Young Goodman Brown there was many symbolisms including Goodman Brown's wife, the snake staff,the forest and Faiths pink ribbon Although Goodman brown did not want to go on this journey he knew it was something he had to do. Brown had many reason why he wanted to stay back and one was his wife.The fact that Brown and Faith where newlyweds made this journey a tough one on Faith. ( PUT QUOTE HERE ).Goodman brown made sure his wife understand that this was something he had to do and he could not get out of it.(PUT QUOTE HERE ).Even though Brown made sure his wife was okay he still didn't want to leave and continued to look back and watch her. While on this journey Goodman Brown didn't feel safe, he felt as though there was always someone or something there that was supposed to be his temptation. Brown could feel the darkness in the forest …show more content…
and the secrets it held, but he still continued into the forest because he knew he had to. “ He had taken a dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest,”(page 1, paragraph). While on this journey Brown met with a man who was there to lead him down this dark path. There was many things of Brown's history that he was unaware and naive to, that he learned of in this journey . (PUT QUOTE HERE).With this information Brown made himself out as a bad person. During the darkness of this journey Goodman Brown thought of the innocence and purity of his wife, Faith.Many times throughout this journey the ‘Devil’ continued to tempt Goodman Brown, but he always thought about Faith and how she would feel about it.( PUT QUOTE HERE).
Even though he kept thinking of faith he still continued on.Although Faith was the name of Goodman Brown's wife name, Hawthorne used it to signify brown's struggle towards his faith.When Brown was long into his journey and he seen Faith's pink ribbon with no sign of faith he broke down and said,(PUT QUOTE HERE). Faith's pink ribbon showed all the innocence of the world and when Brown seen it without Faith all things he thought were good
faded. With Brown's faith being at a rocky place the ‘Devil’ used that as a way to keep Goodman Brown to keep walking.The ‘devil’ tried many different times to keep Brown on this path,he offered his staff as a guide to keep Goodman Brown going.(PUT QUOTE HERE).The staff was a way that kept Brown close to the devil and let the devil know he had hold of him. Although the devil kept enticing Goodman Brown, he still always went back to faith. It seemed as faith was something that he could never go too far from.Even when the lady in the woods was telling him the things he did when he was younger, he still had faith on his mind.(PUT QUOTE HERE). Throught all the struggles Goodman Brown faced he was still able to get through it.With the devil leading Goodman Brown on this journey he changed his view on things. Many things within this story have to be greatly thought on like use of snake as a staff and Faith's pink ribbon being used to describe the innocence of this world.
Does this request signify a lack of trust in her husband? If anything, it illustrates a lack of self confidence in himself as well as a lack of trust in her. In addition, after departing his wife, Goodman Brown states to the mysterious man he meets in the forest, that "Faith kept [him] back awhile." This means that although both his wife, Faith, and his own faith delay him, they cannot stop him and thus aren't more important than committing this deed.
Hawthorne skillfully uses Goodman Brown’s wife’s name, Faith, as a symbol of Goodman Brown’s strong faith when Brown’s reassuring response to Faith imply that his faith cannot be weakened: “Amen!’ cried Goodman Brown, “Say thy prayers, dear Faith, and go to bed at dusk, and no harm will come to thee” (Hawthorne 22). Brown leaves Faith; whom he describes as a “blessed angel on earth,” and journeys to the forest (Hawthorne 22). Taking the dark, dreary road into the forest symbolizes his act of jumping into the path leading to despair. The forest represents sin, and the evil grows stronger and stronger as Goodman walks further into the
The fantastic spirit of Young Goodman's travel is revealed at the story's outset, when he holds an appointment with a mysterious individual and must leave his wife, Faith, behind for the adventure. When he departs, his "Faith" protests: "pray thee, put off your journey," she pleads, fearing the possibility that he may not return. This is the first element of the metaphor: Brown's spiritual, Christian self risks being overwhelmed on this errand, revealing the journey's introspective nature. Author Hawthorne later reemphasizes this idea when Brown meets with his older self, who asks why Brown is late for their rendezvous. "Faith kept me back awhile," he responds, admitting his initial hesitation.
The ambiguity surrounding Young Goodman Brown's wife, Faith, immediately becomes apparent at the story's beginning. As Young Goodman Brown is leaving his comfortable and reverent Puritan home to embark upon this mysterious journey, Faith unexpectedly plunges her "pretty head into the street" allowing the wind to tousle and "play with the pink ribbons of her cap"(1199). Hawthorne uses natural imagery, such as the image of the wind "playing" with Faith's pink ribbons, to convey Faith's attachment to nature; the dark and mysterious part of life that is somewhere outside the constraints of Puritan society. In fact, the image...
In Young Goodman Brown, Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the tale of a man and his discovery of evil. Hawthorne’s primary concern is with evil and how it affects Young Goodman Brown. Through the use of tone and setting, Hawthorne portrays the nature of evil and the psychological effects it can have on man. He shows how discovering the existence of evil brings Brown to view the world in a cynical way. Brown learns the nature of evil and, therefore, feels surrounded by its presence constantly.
From the beginning of Hawthorne’s story a test of faith prevails. From the moment that Young Goodman Brown parts with his wife, Faith, to when they meet again at the heart of the forest, the very manner Young Goodman Brown has been taught his entire life is at stake. Yet it is not so much Goodman Brown’s faith in God that is the concern but whether or not Goodman Brown feels he can trust anyone or anything he has ever come to know and believe in. Society has preconditioned him to think a certain way, thus through this journey Young Goodman Brown cannot deal with the new Puritan life he witnesses. Since he is unsure of what his society is truly like Goodman Brown is now incapable of knowing his place in society and knowing whom he really is.
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.
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.
Faith plays a major role in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “Young Goodman Brown”. From the start of his journey to his arrival back home, Faith is always in the back of head, making him question his surroundings and own thoughts. It’s hard to determine when he’s speaking of his lovely wife Faith or his Faith in his God and religion. Through his many
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.
Goodman Brown, a young man who was only married for three months, left his home and his wife, Faith, to go into the forest and spend the night on some mission that he will not explain. Even though Faith has strong feelings about his journey and begs him not to leave, Brown has made his decision and leaves everything behind. Faith is appropriately named, because she represents Browns faith and what he believes in. The name is genuine, religious and hopeful. It represents the good side of Brown and his hope for life. He feels bad for leaving her because he knows what he is about to do is evil and goes against his faith. Brown swears that after this night he will be good and not do anything evil again and vow his life to Faith. Brown is upset about leaving her because he knows that what he is about to do in the forest is evil and goes against his Faith. Hawthorne describes Browns journey as "crossing the threshold", meaning that he is going from one part of his life to another, he is leaving the genuine good side to go to the bad evil side.
In 'Young Goodman Brown,'; Hawthorne makes the reader believe that Goodman Brown has learned that truth about the world and how evil it really is. In the story the accounts of Goodman Brown let you believe that he has truly seen the evil in the world and knows what lurks behind everybody masks. He makes you realize that even though the person may look holy and religious that evilness is all around us and most people will never ever find out the truth. The character Young Goodman Brown written by Nathaniel Hawthorne finds many issues of evil concerning the town's people in which he lives, about himself, and the reality behind the evil.
Given Nathaniel Hawthorne's background, it is not a stretch of the imagination to say that Young Goodman Brown is a critique of Puritanism. Hawthorne lived in the deeply scarred New England area, separated from puritanism by only one generation. His grandfather had been one the judges who presided over the Salem Witch trials. Some of the principle motifs that run through Hawthorne's works are hidden sin, the supernatural, and the influence of evil. Ironically enough, puritanism is also a part of those tales. What then is the moral/ philosophical import of Young Goodman Brown? It suggests, in an allegorical sense, that puritanism is a deceptive religion that creates a false reality; one to which it is not righteous to belong.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story or tale, “Young Goodman Brown,” is an interesting example of the multi-faceted style of the author, which will be discussed in this essay.
There is much symbolism throughout this story. First of all, the fact that goodman Brown's wife is names Faith is extremely ironic since it appears that goodman Brown has none. Faith seems to represent the good that remains on earth. As goodman Brown states, `she's a blessed angel on earth; and after this one night, I'll cling to her skirts and follow her to heaven.' The fact that goodman Brown claims that she is an angel put here on this earth demonstrates the fact that he doesn't want to associate Faith with the evil he may see in mankind. He uses Faith throughout the story in ironic ways. For example, `Faith kept me back a while' can be taken to mean that goodman Brown is late meeting Satan because of his wife or because of his actual faith in the good in himself and mankind. This happens again when goodman Brown cries out, `Faith! My Faith is gone!'. He could be referring to his wife's encounter with Satan or he could be indicating that he has lost his faith in God or in mankind.