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Young goodman brown character analysis essay
Symbolism in Young Goodman Brown
Symbolism in Young Goodman Brown
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Leaving his wife for one night only young goodman brown enters the forest with bad intentions. Even more hoping his wife doesnt find out about his secret family history,as he makes along his journey can be oh so tragic. However the setting of the story takes place in salem village along the wilderness and back. While Mr brown continues his trip throughout the forest the scenary of the story becomes darker and darker along the way. Hawron the author uses characters as well as signifacnat objects to give an overall theme of the story good vs evil. Surely the author uses symbolism throughout the story to give fascinating details about whats happening to mr brown after lieing to his wife about agreeing to meeting a man in the woods to attend a …show more content…
Having such a postive name brings upon faith amongst many cultures and religions. All in All mr.brown entering the forest was one of the worst decision he made in his life. As the reuslt of entering the forest he trust was gone from everyone he knew because meeting the devil made him see everyone he encouter as evil. Futhermore he didnt trust his wife who he been married to for three months because he walked away from her as she greeted him back from the forest with open arms. Even more giving up all his faith to the devil becuase he questioned his faith from the strange thing that were taking place inside the woods. The author of goodman brown uses the people that have major influence throughout his childhood and beyond.Following that when he first met the devil he looked just like his father as he walked along his journey to evil. Young goodman brown tells a story of good vs evil as well a questioning mr.browns faith plus religious beliefs he thinks he has in the godly
When he goes into the forest, he believes he is talking to the devil and looks much like his grandfather. The devil is feeding him bad thoughts about everyone he knows, even his own father and his wife, Faith. Next, I believe that Goodman Brown has had a rough past and in order for him to overcome this within himself, he must search for attention. This attention may not be needed from his wife or community members, I believe it is needed from him. He is feeling overwhelmed with obligations from his wife and peers, and he has no time to decide whether this type of life is right for him.
"Why did Goodman Brown leave his wife to fulfill an evil purpose?" "What was his evil purpose?" "Who did he meet in the woods?" "Was it a dream or was it reality?" These are just a few of the questions that ran through my head after reading the short story, Young Goodman Brown. After several nights of reading, rereading, thinking, and debating I've received many revelations of this story; one being the true identity of the "fellow-traveler" mentioned throughout this adventurous tale. You see, he was not just any man, he was the devil himself.
“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
Young Goodman Brown is about a young, newly wedded man who leaves his wife, Faith, and to go on a journey into the forest one night. Young Goodman Brown has an innocent and maybe even naïve soul and was looked upon by townspeople as a “silly fellow” (Hawthorne 83). He is accompanied by a mysterious, older man who is later on revealed to be the devil. As they are walking, Young Goodman Brown tries to turn back several times and at one point succeeds in getting rid of the devil. However, when he sees that even his wife has surrendered to the same evil path that he was on, he stops resisting and continues into the forest. He ends up at a witches’ sabbath where he sees familiar faces of people whom he previously looked up to for spiritual guidance; he also finds Faith there and becomes devastated. In the end, he cries out to resist the devil and then wakes up to find himself alone in the forest.
...to the woods transforms him from an overly trusting, naïve man into a cynical, and corrupted man. Before his life changing journey, goodman Brown is unknowing of all the sin that goes on around him. He believes that everyone he knows is perfect and without sin. This changes when he takes a trip through the forest. His eyes are opened in a sense, but maybe too wide. Goodman Brown becomes paranoid about everyone in the village including his wife, Faith. He also becomes corrupted and unable to focus on his religious activities that he has always done before. Fundamentally, faith is something that Brown gave away freely to anyone but, rather, should be given moderately.
The short story, "Young Goodman Brown" is a fascinating rendition of the battle between good and evil. The reader must delve into the depths of his/her own beliefs to understand what the symbolism is. Nathaniel Hawthorne writes an entire lesson in life as one big symbol using allegory. The various examples are fruitful and will be presented throughout this essay.
Young Goodman Brown goes into the forest at first with only a small expectation of what he is going to experience. Of his fellow Puritan society he sees the bad seeds as well as supposed men and women of the utmost regard. He sees virgin girls filled with reverence and innocence, and even members of the church present at the devil’s ceremony. This causes Young Goodman Brown to question his entire upbringing and trust in his society. It creates...
First of all, the tale involves the common motif of a journey in quest of something. The young Goodman Brown, at the beginning of the story, takes leave of his wife, Faith, in order to journey into the woods where he keeps an appointment with the devil: "My love and my Faith," replied young Goodman Brown, "of all nights in the year, this one night must I tarry away from thee. My journey, as thou callest it, forth and back again, must needs be done 'twixt now and sunrise.”
The use of dark imagery throughout the story gives you a sense of fear of the unknown that lies ahead of Goodman Brown on his journey. The beginning sentence of the story illustrates an image of a sunset and the approaching of night as Goodman Brown sets off on his mission. ?Young Goodman Brown came forth, at sunset, into the street of Salem village, but put his head back, after crossing the threshold.? (196) Here, the light of the sun represents the knowledge that Goodman Brown already has. The imagery of darkness setting in is the unknown knowledge Goodman Brown is out to discover. Goodman Brown must first travel through the darkness of the unknown before he reaches the light of enlightenment and truth that is why he is embarking on his journey throughout the night hours. ?My journey, as thou callest it, forth and back again, must needs be done ?twist now and sunrise.? (197)
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.
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.
Young Goodman Brown encounters many evils when traveling through the woods alone. Being set in a Puritan setting and having Young Goodman Brown be from a Puritan town, he is innocent and afraid of the influence of the devil. However, he continues past all of these evil influencers until he finally meets the devil himself. Goodman Brown eventually escapes this encounter and it changes him. Young Goodman Brown becomes angry and distrustful of everyone around him and keeps to himself. He even snatches a child away from the supposed witch, Goody Cloyse, because he had seen her talking to the devil in the woods and saying, “The devil! … Ah, forsooth, and it is your worship, indeed?” (393) Steven Olsen who wrote an article titled “A History of the American Mind: ‘Young Goodman Brown.’” goes as far to say that for Young Goodman Brown, “He needs to hide himself, his own evil, from them, and he needs to shield himself from the fact that there might be evil in them. In effect, in this complex and conflicting psychological state Brown must isolate himself from his community and hide himself from himself.” (Olsen) This is a big contrast from the Goodman Brown that is during the beginning of the short story who was outgoing
“‘With heaven above, and Faith below, I will yet stand firm against the devil!’” (Hawthorne 639). The strict value of religious devoutness as encompassed by Puritan tenets is revealed along with the plausible consequences when the ideology of one is demoralized. Nathaniel Hawthorne depicts this faithful regime through his short story “Young Goodman Brown.” However, Goodman Brown, originally an exemplary advocate, tests these ideals as he fraternizes with the evil incarnate himself as he undertakes an adventure that he describes as an “evil purpose.” The author utilizes several literary techniques, the most prominent being satire, in order to depict the similarities between Goodman Brown’s psychological state and the increasingly obscure forest
Between Goodman representing an average man and the forest representing the devil’s territory, the story can be interpreted as man’s inevitable journey into evil. As well since the readers know that Hawthorne enjoys the duplicity of literal and metaphorical interpretations within “Young Goodman Brown”, nature can be seen as human nature where the evil that lies in the forest as well lies within every man and woman. This is best seen by how the “protagonist [is placed] in a haunted forest representing the hero’s troubled state of mind” Citation, wherein the character is confused to the his and other’s intentions and whether
Late one night he finds himself in the middle of the woods with the Devil, on his way to a meeting of the Devil's followers. After seeing respected townsfolk at the Devil's meeting, including his minister and his wife, Faith, he loses hope in humanity and all that he had known to be true or real. Goodman Brown wakes up in his bed immediately following the Devil's meeting and wonders if what had happened was reality or simply just a dream. Despite his confusion about the events that took place, he was unable to forget what had happened and lost faith in religion and his com... ...