Literary Analysis Essay
In Young Goodman Brown, Hawthorne makes the reader believe that Goodman Brown has learned the truth about the world and how evil it really is to soon conclude the idea that Goodman Brown, himself is also evil. He is displayed losing his faith in God. Although Goodman Brown thought the town, his family including his wife were good people, he fell for the devil's evil tricks in believing that his family was not as it seemed and gave into sin. 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. Throughout Young Goodman Brown, the main character is evil because of his loss in faith, giving
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As Goodman and the Devil are walking, Goodman comes upon his old catechism teacher, Goody Cloyse, who is headed to the meeting that Goodman is being led to. Goodman is stunned at the sight of her, as he had considered her as one of his role models. This is the beginning of where his faith is going down a downfall. As Goodman continues on, he sees many of the townspeople he had respected and admired so much for their devoted faith in God. His faith was never based on an internal relationship with God but instead, his faith was reflected by the community he revered. As those around him showed their true following, Goodman lost all faith and became empty. He found that his faith had been based on others who had secretly chosen the Devil. James L. Williamson claims that “...the speaker’s attitude toward evil involves Brown’s perception of a dark cloud completely blackening the sky overhead as he moves farther into the forest’s gloom, causing him to doubt that there is even a heaven above” (383). This destroyed his determination, and in this sense, the Devil won his fight against Goodman Brown. Although Goodman does not convert to worship the Devil as the others have, what he chooses is the greater evil. Goodman Brown is later illustrated as, “A stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man…” (Hawthorne 9). By losing everything about his faith, he loses his soul. Goodman’s existence becomes nothingness and empty. What Goodman saw on his errand poisoned his soul, leaving him a bitter, miserable man. Goodman chose isolation rather than turning back to God, and he lived a gloomy life in scorn of what was seen that night on his journey into the
The use of symbolism in "young Goodman Brown" shows that evil is everywhere, which becomes evident in the conclusion of this short story. Hawthorne's works are filled with symbolic elements and allegorical elements. "Young Goodman Brown" deals mostly with conventional allegorical elements, such as Young Goodman Brown and Faith. In writing his short stories or novels he based their depiction of sin on the fact that he feels like his father and grandfather committed great sins. There are two main characters in this short story, Faith and Young Goodman Brown. "Young Goodman Brown is everyman seventeenth-century New England the title as usual giving the clue. He is the son of the Old Adam, and recently wedded to Faith. We must note that every word is significant in the opening sentence: "Young Goodman Brown came forth at sunset into the street of Sale, Village; but put his head back, after crossing the threshold, to exchange a parting kiss with his young w2ife.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” is an allegory. Hawthorne’s moral story is told through the perversion of a religious leader, Goodman Brown. Goodman is a Puritan minister who lets his excessive pride interfere with his relations with the community after he meets with the devil. The result is that Goodman lives the rest of his life in exile within his own community.
...loses control of his whole body, when he enters to convert to the devil.The dark figure declares "Evil is the nature of mankind" (314). Which mean that evil consists in everyone. Suddenly, Goodman Brown regains his consciousness and starts to call his wife, "Faith! Faith! Look up to Heaven and resist the wicked one!" (314). He wants her to regain consciousness. After that, Goodman Brown finds himself in the woods, “amid calm night and solitude, listening to a roar of the wind, which died heavily away through the forest” (314).
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
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.
Unfortunately, Goodman Brown truly has lost his faith. Though his wife appears unchanged and wishes to welcome him with open, loving arms Brown rejects her. The reader is left slightly confused as to why, but perhaps Brown has given up hope that good can win over the enormous amount of sin or evil out there. He is unable to accept Faith now that he is forced to see her in her unclean or imperfect state. Brown can no longer see the good for the evil surrounding him, and has lost all hope. Although Brown tried to resist the devil, in the end he failed in his journey of exploring evil and returning to the side of good.
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.
A specific person in the town that is displaced with the devil and Brown’s loss of innocence is Goody Cloyse. When Goody Cloyse is approached by the devil she accepts him, showing that she is well acquainted with him. When Goodman Brown witnesses this interaction between the devil and Goody Cloyse he says, “That old woman taught me my catechism” (Kelly 195). Brown’s catechism is brought up to represent his childhood and contrast with this loss of innocence. Brown learns that the minister and Deacon Gookin are also heading to the meeting with the devil.
The dialogue, action and motivation revolve about the characters in the story (Abrams 32-33). It is the purpose of this essay to demonstrate the types of characters present in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown,” whether static or dynamic, whether flat or round, and whether protrayed through showing or telling.
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.
...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.
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.
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.
At the beginning of his journey, Goodman Brown’s will and pride were both embedded in the belief that he was a pious man. Goodman’s pride in piety evidently fails him, as he discovers that his faith was based on the principles of individuals who had sworn allegiance to the devil. This deplorable truth destroyed his conviction, and in this sense the devil prevailed against Goodman Brown.