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An assignment on the character of young goodman brown
An assignment on the character of young goodman brown
Hawthorne's view on sin and evil in the scarlet letter
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Does Young Goodman Brown Achieve Goodness?
Nathaniel Hawthorne often emphasizes the ambiguous nature of sin, that good and evil do not exist in parallel with each other but at many times intersect with each other in his fiction. In "Young Goodman Brown," Hawthorne applies what he believes is the virtue of recognizing cosmic irony of taking into account the contradictions inherent in the human condition, to his portrayal of Young Goodman Brown.
According to Hawthorne's view, Browns failure to recognize the inherent sinfulness in himself as well as the rest of humanity, results, not in a rewarding life of reveling in righteousness, but in isolation and obscurity. Hawthorne juxtaposes the village of Salem, Massachusetts in
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He becomes suspicious of all the members in his community who he deems as completely sinful. As a result of his clinging to the doctrinal viewpoint he becomes "a distrustful, if not desperate man" (75). Brown's only rewards from his rejection of sin are isolation from his community and family. Even at his death Brown is remembered only as a stern man: "they carved no hopeful verse upon his tombstone; for his dying hour was gloom"(75). Hilda from _The Marble Faun_ also loses a sense of her own humanity by clinging too closely to the idea of the mutual exclusivity of virtue and sin. Hilda, in devoting herself to prescribed Puritanical values, forces herself to reject the friendship of her closest confidant, Miriam because she refuses to effectively deal with the ambiguity of sin in the guise of justified murder. Hilda's inability to deal with the ambiguity of sin is made evident in the chapter entitled "Beatrice" in which Hilda and Miriam comment upon the character of Hild'as copied portrait of Beatrice Cenci, a woman who murdered her own father. While Miriam's compassion causes her to remain unsure of Beatrice's sinfulness "it may have been because her nature was too feeble for the fate imposed upon her," Hilda characterizes Beatrice as a woman whose …show more content…
Hilda's cold detachment from the nature of human suffering as a result of sin almost makes her appear as an elevated angelic and inhuman presence that wields cold judgment upon the human beings below. Hilda's insistence to remain above the battle of the human being with the evil within all of human nature by living in her tower, to refuse to see the darkness below the "sunlight on the mountaintops," creates a distance between herself and the humanity around her, in a similar manner to Young Goodman Brown who isolates himself first from his community, then from his family, and finally, from his own humanity (462). Rather than acknowledging one's human nature, both Young Goodman Brown and Hilda internalize a highly Puritanical doctrine in which the lines between a life of goodness and a life of sinfulness are clearly drawn in parallel, and residing on the side of goodness means isolating oneself from the rest of humanity. As a result of their own self-exile, each of their fates lie in ignorance and
In conclusion, Japan tried to isolate themselves, and China tried to compete with them, using their land, and excess of population. Documents one through ten were all about China, and documents eleven through sixteen was about Japan. Documents one, two, three, and seven was talking about if China was prepared for the European countries, and documents five, six, and nine talked about whether or not China compared to the European countries. Documents twelve, fourteen, and sixteen all talked about negative interactions between Japan and the European countries. So, as a total, I think that neither way from both China or Japan will work in the long run, but that they will recover from it.
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 setting of Young Goodman Brown is in Salem, where the Salem witch craft trials were held in the 1600’s. This is the first symbol Hawthorne uses throughout the story as a test of who is innocent at this present time and who is not just as they did during the witch trials. Brown set off to the forest for an unknown ceremony leaving his new wife Faith behind. The name Faith symbolizes his personal faith in his own life and in his spirituality. Faith represents youth and innocence that was carried in his childhood. As we get further into detail the pink ribbons she wore in her hair were of some significance to the tale being conveyed. The pink ribbons exemplify the mix between red and white: red meaning evil and white innoce...
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.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary a hero is an individual who is admired for great bravery or fine qualities. To me a hero is so much more than a person who shows great bravery. When I think of a hero many fine qualities come to mind; intelligence, courage, altruism, compassion and great bravery.
In many ways Hobbes and Locke’s conclusions on man and society create a polarizing argument when held in comparison to each other. For instance the two make wildly conflicting assertions concerning mankind’s capacity to foster and achieve organized society. Hobbes asserts humans cannot be trusted to govern themselves lest they fall into war and chaos; Locke, on the other hand concludes almost the exact opposite. Despite the polarity in each man’s train of thought, both philosophies share a common ancestor: a state defined by total equality where no human is superior or holds dominance over another. Although this is the base of both theories, it is the only similarity between the two. This commonality can be illustrated when tracing each argument deductively from their conclusions, the comparison reveals that the heaviest and most base opposition in each mans philosophy is his assertions regarding the nature of human beings.
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.”
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”, Goodman Brown struggles with staying pure and not giving in to the devil. Hawthorne utilizes allegory and ambiguity to leave unanswered questions for the reader.
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.
Trauma focused treatment is tricky to begin with, but when you add the additional difficulties presented by the foster ...
...Brown, like all humans, sees that everyone can be corrupt and immoral, that it is possible for people to make mistakes. This is extremely disappointing to brown and ruins him. Brown felt that he made the right decision and did not follow the devil, but everyone else around him did. Even his own wife follows the devil. She is supposed to represent holiness and faith, and she is just as corrupt as everyone else. This portrays how even the church, which is supposed to be holy, can be corrupt. The story symbolizes that everyone in society is flawed and no one is perfect. However this idea drives Goodman brown to become insane. He dwells on this fact and loses his ability to see the good in people as well as the bad. Brown couldn't realize that even if people are evil at times, they can still be good people. This is what caused brown to change so drastically.
A hero is a person who is admired because of who they are. They do not have to possess physical strength and power. The strength and power of a hero is in the will to endure, to overcome to the point they inspire and encourage. They don't have to be active. A passive hero speaks abundance when it comes to the essence of a hero. A hero does not have to be famous nor possess abundance of money. A hero makes due with what they have and their status comes by way of being a leader and motivating others to make a positive change in life. A hero has many faces, attributes, and abundance of inspiration.
Webster’s New World dictionary gives one definition of a hero as “the central figure in any important event or period, honored for outstanding qualities.” Anyone you ask can name someone they view as their hero (from a parent, sports figure, fictional superhero, to a movie star) but very few people would actually define the word hero the same. A good general definition of a hero is a person who is idealized or admired for outstanding achievements, courage, bravery, noble qualities, and unselfish acts for others (Goins, 2012).
Ultimately, a hero does many sacrifices. They do sacrifices for many people, actually. A hero just does not have one goal, but they can have any goals that they want to achieve. Some heroes do not do the good. They can be bad at first, but soon make their own way to turn good. A hero can not always do whatever the people please, but they can give it a try. The worse things that they can do are not to care or not even try, at all. Some traits of a hero are different than others, but they all mean the same thing. You can say that a hero is basically your inspiration, and the light in your life to keep moving on.