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Hawthorne to Faulkner: The Evolution of the Short Story
Nathaniel Hawthorne and William Faulkner’s short stories “Young Goodman Brown” and “A Rose for Emily” use a moral to endorse particular ideals or values. Through their characters examination and evaluation of one another, the author’s lesson is brought forth. The authors’ style of preaching morals is reminiscent of the fables of Aesop and the religious parables of the Old and New Testament. The reader is faced with a life lesson after reading Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown:” you cannot judge other people. A similar moral is presented in Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily.” The use of morals combined with elements of Romantic era writing show the stories of Hawthorne and Faulkner to be descendants both of fables and of Romance literature.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” tells the story of a young man who decides to league himself with the devil. Goodman Brown is a citizen of a typical town with its share of good people and not-so good people. Goodman Brown believed that he knew the inhabitants of the town fairly well. He knew Goody Cloyse, for example, to be “a very pious and exemplary dame, who had taught him his catechism in youth, and was still his moral and spiritual advisor, jointly with the minister and Deacon Gookin” (598). He knew Deacon Gookin was a strict man of the Church and was always “bound to some ordination or ecclesiastical council” (599). However, in his travels through the woods with the old man, Goodman Brown notices Goody Cloyse progressing down the path.
“‘A marvel, truly that Goody Cloyse should be so far in the wilderness at nightfall,’ he [Goodman Brown] said” (598).
Just as he begins to have doubts about the woman’s pureness of heart, he comes across Deacon Gookin in the woods as well. As they are supposedly fine, upstanding citizens of the village, Goodman Brown has to wonder why they are traveling through the woods on the same path that he is taking with the devil. Afterwards, he is astonished to see not only these two upstanding citizens at Satan’s ceremony, but almost everyone else in the town as well. It is through his assumption that his fellow townspeople were good that Goodman Brown learns the story’s most important lesson: namely that you should not judge people at face value; anyone can put on airs, and his encountering of the devil’s ceremony emphasize...
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...b¾that he was not a marrying man” (461).
Later in the story, Faulkner makes reference to Emily’s possible necrophilia, although no direct statement is ever made. Homosexuality and necrophilia would in no way be topics to be discussed in Hawthorne’s time. As a modern writer, Faulkner had a considerable amount of freedom in what he wrote, and this freedom is reflected in his work.
The short story began as fables and parables that evolved into more complex psychological studies of virtues, ideals, and values. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” emphasizes these morals as he examines the inner workings of his main character’s thoughts as he encounters the devil and the townspeople. Faulkner also uses these techniques in his modern style of writing, however he tailors them to fit the more controversial issue of his generation while still maintaining a hold on the past generation he is examining. Over time, values and ideals stay the same, but the manner in which the technique is used evolves with current affairs and modern vocabulary.
Works Cited
Charters, Ann. The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin’s Press, 1995.
"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. What, my sweet, pretty wife, dost thou doubt me already, and we but three months married!"
The first time that Goodman Brown was approached by the Dark figure who is the devil himself in the forest and he told him why he is late, Goodman Brown replies, “Faith kept me back a while”(Hawthorne). Hawthorne once again uses the wife to symbolize young Goodman Brown's own faith, he shows us that Goodman Brown had to compromise it to even start into the forest. Goodman Brown sees many of the characters making their way toward the meeting place and is surprised to see that many of them are people of great stature, both in the religious and governmental society. Here, Hawthorne shows that all people are sinners, no matter how they appear outwardly or what position they hold in society. When Goodman Brown sees Goody Cloyse he was also shocked to see her he states “should be so far in the wilderness at nightfall” (Hawthorne) in contrast to the fact Close is his spiritual adviser who had taught him his catechism, and cannot believe she would be out this late.
Faulkner, William. “A Rose For Emily.” An Introduction to Fiction. 10th ed. Eds: X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. New Yorkk: Pearson Longman, 2007. 29-34.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “Young Goodman Brown” Hawthorne conveys to readers a seemingly highly religious Puritan town. However, this town appears to be holding a devious truth. Throughout his work Hawthorne utilizes symbolism to convey the corrupt and evil truth behind the otherwise highly religious Puritan town. Through his main symbol usage of Faith’s pink ribbons, Faith’s name and appearances throughout the story, and the woods in which the story is set, readers see the façade slowly fade through the story and reveal the truth about the town.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown." Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers. 5th ed. Ed. John Schlib and John Clifford. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2012. 1131-1141. Print.
Young Goodman Brown was a sweet, innocent individual who lived his life carefree. He believed everyone was good and with thoughts of his loving wife, Faith, he avoided all evil. In Goodman’s eyes, Faith was the “purest soul.” Without realizing the bad intentions Goodman’s journey holds, he leaves home unable to tell Faith why. Goodman uses the excuse that he would “cling to her skirts and follow her to heaven" (Hawthorne) one he came home from his journey. While traveling through a dark forest, Goodman observed what was going on around him and could feel the fear within him. “What if the devil himself should be at my very elbow!” (Hawthorne) On his journey, Goodman meets a middle aged man, walking through a narrow path. After a greeting, they decided to continue the journey through the forest. The middle aged man wore plain attire and carried a staff shaped similar to a realistic serpent, which moved. The middle aged man begins to talk about Goodman’s anc...
One particularly noticeable theme in Hawthorne’s work is that of secret sin (Newman 338). In the “Young Goodman Brown”, this theme is evident when young Mr. Brown dreams that he is led by the devil to a witching party. There he sees all of the honorable and pious members of society, including his minister and the woman who taught him his catechisms, communing with the prince of darkness. Upon awakening, the hypocritical nature of his once admired neighbors and the realization of his own secret sin causes him to become terribly disillusioned (Colacurcio 396).
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.
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.
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.
Faulkner, William. "A Rose for Emily." The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Shorter 5th ed. Ed. R.V.Cassill. New York: W.W. Norton & Comp., 1995.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s allegorical story “Young Goodman Brown” is set in Salem, Massachusetts during the late sixteen hundreds in a time of religious hysteria and only a few generations after the infamous witch trials. Although "Young Goodman Brown" is a fictional tale, it is based on the cynical environment of Salem during this time period. The short story is filled with many literary elements, leading you to question what did exactly happen to the main character at the conclusion. When analyzing a story like "Young Goodman Brown", one must recognize that the story is at whole symbolic. In the text, symbols are used to uncover the truth of the characters. The role of Faith as both a character and a spiritual element are crucial to both the story and the character of Young Goodman Brown.
Young Goodman Brown is a short story where the main purpose is to show the social issue of religion during the Puritan time. Although the author Nathaniel Hawthorne had not being living in that time, he came from a long line of Puritans. He wrote Young Goodman Brown to show the flaws of the Puritans’ view of religion. They made God seem heartless and mean spirited, someone who just used humans for entertainment. The short story Young Goodman Brown demonstrates that people should test their faith of their religious beliefs and even people considered upright can fall short of their own religious faiths from temptations and imperfections. In addition, the story shows that there is some degree of evil nature in everyone because of the freewill to choose right or wrong.
In the beginning of the story Hawthorne uses the name Faith for Young Goodman Browns’ wife. Faith is a symbol of her husband’s strong faith in God. Young Goodman Browns’ own name is a symbol for the innocence of young, good men, and the journey represents the loss of their innocence. Faith urges him to stay and not journey into the forest, but Goodman Brown reassures her by saying “Say thy prayers, dear Faith, and go to bed at dusk, and no harm will come to thee”(cite) Goodman Brown believes his faith will help him overcome what the devil has to offer and while still maintaining his puritan faith. Puritans believe the forest to be inhabited by the devil and the woods in "Young Goodman Brown" are an obvious symbol of his journey into sin and darkness. Even Goodman Brown supports this idea when he says to himself as he is walking along, "There may be a devilish Indian behind every tree... What if the devil himself should be at my very elbow!" As Goodman Brown enters the forest he meets a traveler who is waiting there for ...
In the story 'Young Goodman Brown'; Goodman Brown learns about evil in the towns people and how what he thought was the truth is really not. When Goodman Brown starts his voyage he knew what he was going in the woods to do, what he didn't realize is that the same reason he went to the woods was the same reason as the towns people. When Goodman encounters Goody Cloyse in the woods he is shocked that he sees her out there 'A marvel, truly, that Goody Cloyse should be so far in the wilderness at night fall.';(Hawthorne 98) When he learns of her travels and of how she is acquainted with the old man he is in disbelieve that a women that taught him religion is evil. When Goody asks the old man for a hand to take her to a communion he offers her cane and throws it down when it hits the ground it turns alive and Goody Close disappears. Leading you to believe that she is just an imagination to get Brown to believe in the evil. Goodman Brown also sees other town's members in the woods such as highly respected people such as Deacon Gookin, and even his wife Faith. When Brown learns of Faith participating in this gathering in the woods he is distraught he loses his mind and goes crazy. Goodman brown learns valuable lessons in the woods about his town and the people and about the world. His journey changed the way he looked at things when he awoke from that night his feelings towards the people changed he believed that everybody is evil.