Essay on Faith in Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

700 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Nathaniel Hawthornes view on puritans

Faith in Young Goodman Brown

For those who have not studied the Puritans or their beliefs, Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" is not much more than a story of lost (or maybe just confused) faith. Hawthone, a man of puritan descent, had some oppositions to the ideals that Puritans followed. Some of these ideals are discussed in his "Young Goodman Brown".

The basic impression that most people have of Puritans "describes them as dour, irascible, self-righteous, hypocritical people who hated sex, joy, and life. They dressed in black, they hated nature, they burned witches, and they repressed all natural desires,". This is the view that influences most people when Puritans appear in literature. We see the stereotypical hatred of the forest (the Devil's playground), the fear of Indians (the Devil's spawn) and the extreme fear of the Devil himself run rampant in "Young Goodman Brown". Hawthorne's description of the forest is very disheartening. "He had taken a dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest..." (p 375) This is a rather depressing and f...

... middle of paper ...

... not be so blindly relied upon. However, after a bit more delving, that the story speaks not only of faith and it's hazards, but of the flaws in the puritan system.

1.) Roberts, Trish. Background to the American Puritans. http://www.missouri.edu/~engpat/purs.html. (accessed 2-1-02)

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.

Show More
Related

  • "A Delusion of Satan": Great Insight Into the Past

    1287 Words  | 3 Pages

    Set in the Colonial American village of Salem in Massachusetts around the year of 1692, A Delusion of Satan opens by describing, in depth, the puritan lifestyle. Ranging from the social aspects, to the religious aspects, to the political aspects of puritan living, Frances Hill leaves no stone unturned in giving the most accurate and relatable descriptions of the topics at hand before diving into the trials themselves. I particularly enjoy the depth of description that Hill provides when giving you the background information such as the puritan lifestyle; without setting a strong foundation, certain things may not make sense further into the book.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between The Crucible And The Minister's Black Veil

    883 Words  | 2 Pages

    Miller Edwards,Hawthorne and korning each show how religion was a sin in puritan cultures and affected many people’s lives that punishment will come when you have disgraced your religion that good is against the devil there is a strict form of puritan. Puritans were dedicated to work to save themselves from the sins in the world. Guilt was a great force in the puritans belief. The people in the story are Puritans a religion often depicted because of its rules and severe punishments to those who sin. The puritans left england to avoid religious persecution they established a society in America founded upon religion intolerance, Up surprising result the church dominates the Puritan culture.

    Read More

  • Where Not To Base Your Faith: Nathaniel Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

    1413 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown." Literature Craft & Voice. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 449-55. Print.

    Read More

  • The Influence Of American Identity In Nathaniel Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

    718 Words  | 2 Pages

    The puritan roots that ran in the northeastern part of the country was a way that Hawthorne used to show his underlying messages in many of his works. However, as opposed to the previous works that the country produced, Hawthorne’s used the puritan religion as a means to an end, not as an example or testimony of how to live. A keen example of this is in Hawthorne’s 1835 work, “Young Goodman Brown.” The symbolism is evident as first simply from the title. Hawthorne is attempting to write a story about a young, good man, creating this persona by creating the image of a devout person, first hinting at this through his location, Salem (Hawthorne 87). Salem is the location of the witch trials that Hawthorne’s ancestors were a part of, and from this location Hawthorne is showing that Brown is a puritan, but also that he is a part of a society that can lose sight of their shortcomings. This is something that would not be evident in earlier American writings. Writing about the shortcomings of devout people was not widely recognized as religion to these people was life

    Read More

  • Ambiguity and Uncertainty in Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

    1518 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown." Norton Anthology of American Literature. Vol1. Ed. Nina Baym, et al. New York: Norton, 1994. 1198-1207.

    Read More

  • Evil, Faith, and Redemption in Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown

    1219 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Young Goodman Brown” believed he found his salvation. This is not the actual way to

    Read More

  • Young Goodman Brown's Transformation

    1077 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Julius Caesar

    774 Words  | 2 Pages

    Brutus murdered Caesar with honorable purpose so that the Roman people would not “die all slaves”, but “live [as] freemen” (117). Caesar’s death was believed to be in the best interest of Rome and a necessary loss to the empire. Brutus did not seek glory or power, but stability for Rome (unlike most of the conspirators). The Tragic Hero makes an ethical decision, in which the repercussion of his choice was the bringing forth of his own downfall. Brutus did not seek glory and power because he was dissatisfied with his life — he sought to protect the place he loved. He already held a noble status, and was married to a “true and honorable wife” (71). He had no need to stir up the empire and his own personal life, but he felt obligated to protect the country and i...

    Read More

  • Julius Caesar

    2436 Words  | 5 Pages

    ... he died, it is amazing to think of all that he accomplished in his life. Also it is amazing to think of all that he could have accomplished if he had lived. His legacy lived on through Octavius, who named himself emperor of Rome and like all roman emperors that followed he took the name of Caesar. If he had stayed alive the Roman Empire could have conquered all of the Eastern Hemisphere. Rome defiantly benefited from him. Rome was the most powerful nation at the time and would have stayed that way for much longer if Julius Caesar had not been murdered.

    Read More

  • Symbolism in Nathaniel Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

    1272 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Hawthorne On Puritanism

    1312 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nathaniel Hawthorne's knowledge of Puritanism and his close relationship with the religion has impacted his views on those in the society. Hawthorne is critical of the Puritans and he thinks that they are hypocrites for having rules and morals that they do not follow. He sees the underlying sin that others may not. Through his many writings he makes known to his readers that everyone is guilty of sin. The Puritan's main goal was to save themselves from the sin in the world, but Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays their morals and society as troublesome through his works, "Young Goodman Brown," "The Minister's Black Veil," and The Scarlet Letter.

    Read More

  • Beethoven

    882 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beethoven was born on December 17, 1770 in Bann, Germany. From a young age Beethoven was involved with music because he came from three generations of musicians. He received instruction from his father on the piano and violin. One of his earliest concerts was in front of his father’s peers against his will. Beethoven had a fiery temper and was somewhat introverted in his school years. Beethoven went to school until the age of ten. At this time his family’s finances prevented his family from affording the education that he needed. In July of 1787, Beethoven’s life was further thrown into disarray with the death of his mother. Despite Beethoven’s misfortune he would still achieve monumental amounts of success while in Vienna. His success can be attributed to the fact that he crafted relatio...

    Read More

  • Ludwig Van Beethoven

    587 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ludwig van Beethoven, a German composer, generally considered one of the greatest composers in the Western tradition. Born in Bonn, Beethoven was reared in to the capricious discipline of his father, a singer in the court chapel. In1789, because of his father's alcoholism, the young Beethoven became a court musician in order to support his family. His early compositions under the tutelage of German composer Christian Gottlob Neefe, particularly the funeral on the death of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph || in1790, signaled an important talent, and it was planned that Beethoven study in Vienna, Australia, with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Although Mozart's death in 1791 prevented this, Beethoven went to Vienna in 1792, and he became a pupil of an Australian composer named Joseph Haydn.

    Read More

  • Julius Caesar

    389 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Third idea was what he had done for Rome and how he gave all his money to the people of Rome and also how he had a perception that if it was his time to die then he would die. This shows that Caesar believes in what is meant to happen should happen and that you can’t change was is meant to happen. But also Caesar could have prevented his death and could have more time to contribute to the history of Rome.

    Read More

  • The Life of Ludwig Van Beethoven

    793 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ludwig van Beethoven, a German composer and a pianist, He remains one of the most famous and influential of all time. Beethoven had 9 best-known symphonies, 5 concertos for piano, 32 piano sonatas, and 16 string quartets; Beethoven also composed other music, choral works, and songs too. Beethoven was born in Bonn. Beethoven had musical talents at an early age and his first music teacher was his father. Beethoven lived in Vienna until he died. Around the by the last years of his life he was almost totally deaf, so he gave up conducting and performing but still composed music. Beethoven was also marriage in Bonn. Although there is no authentic record of the date of his birth, the registry of his baptism, in a Roman Catholic Parish of St. Regius was on December 17, 1770. Beethoven’s parents had seven kids, but Beethoven was only the second-born. Beethoven began his studies with Christian Gottlob Neefe in 1779. Neefe taught Beethoven composition, and by March 1783 helped him write his first published composition.

    Read More

More about Essay on Faith in Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

Open Document