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Literary analysis on young goodman brown
Use of Symbolism
Literary analysis on young goodman brown
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Innocence lost through Puritanism? 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. A central theme of the loss of innocence can be found throughout the entire story. Even the first two characters introduced both seem as innocent as could be. Take the name Young Goodman Brown for example; innocence is associated with the word "young" as well as the word "good." Hawthorne uses these words to give Brown a naïve persona much like most young Puritans of his time. His newly wed wife, Faith, symbolizes the faith he clings to in his life. Hawthorne must have also used her name as a symbol for not only Brown but for all Puritans. Puritans cling to faith blindly hoping they are the chosen ones entitled an entrance to heaven. The color pink, of the ribbon she wears, is a color associated with childhood innocence and purity. Young, innocent, and pure are all things Brown considers his wife to be at the beginning of the story. After we are introduced to the first characters Brown sets off into the forest where he will eventually learn the truth of things and in doing so lose his innocence. Once on his journey into the forest Hawthorne writes, "He had taken a dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest, which barely stood aside to let the narrow path creep through, and closed immediately behind" (148). Brown is venturing into the unknown; the path closing behind him is symbolic of there being no turning back once he has lost his innocence. Once on his way with the devil, Brown learns of his father's and grandfather's affiliations with him. Once honest people in Brown's eyes, these men now become symbols of how surrounded by evil he actually is.
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.
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
Young Goodman Brown was a man who was naïve to the world around him. Ever since he was a child, he had always practiced a very Godly life. Not only does he believe that everyone around him follows the same path, but he also believes that it is the only path. This naivety and innocence was taken from him by the Devil, who opened his eyes to the world of evil around him. After the pagan ceremony, which Brown attends, the Devil even states “Now are ye undeceived! Evil is the nature of mankind” (Hawthorne 9). By saying this, Hawthorne is trying to say that it is better to know the whole truth than to live a lie. By not knowing the truth about evil existing in Salem village, Brown has essentially been living a life that is not complete or accurate. This perfect and fair world that was found in the Bible is not the real world that surrounds him. When his innocence is stolen from him so abruptly, he begins to lose both his faith and stability in the world.
In “Young Goodman Brown” The woods are characterized as devilish, frightening, and dark as said in the story, “..the traveler knows not who may be concealed by the innumerable trunks and thick boughs overhead, so that, with lonely footsteps, he may yet be passing through an unseen multitude.” (Hawthorne 3) In this Hawthorne shares the point of view of 17th century Puritans, who believed that the New World was something to fear and then dominate. He as well mentions Salem in context to the Salem Witch Trials. For example, Hawthorne uses the names of Goody Cloyse and Martha Carrier. Two of the “witches” killed at Salem, for townspeople in his story. The devil refers to seeing Goodman Brown’s grandfather whipping a Quaker and handing Goodman Brown’s father a flaming torch so that he could set fire to an Indian village during King Philip’s War. Hawthorne usage of this shows that the Salem Puritan town has always had a dark dubious side lurking behind them. His wife Faith, is, of course, symbolic of his faith, and is used as a foil to develop Goodman’s fall into evil. “Faith, as the wife was aptly named, thrust her own pretty head into the street, letting the wind play with the pink ribbons on her caps while she called to Goodman Brown” (Hawthorne 1 ). The pink ribbons that Faith has on her cap represent her purity. The color pink is associated with innocence and ribbons are a modest, innocent decoration Faith is a stand in for the beliefs of his Christian faith. All the evil people he meets in the woods are trying to lead him away from her/it, but he resists. Still, the awful things he sees means that, when he eventually returns, he finds her/it not as comforting as before. Hawthorne also conveys allusion and allegory within his story by the reference of Genesis from the bible. As well as the story
In "Young Goodman Brown," Hawthorne analyzes the Puritans’ consciousness and the hidden wickedness of their nature. He takes a naïve Puritan man and takes him on a journey into the dark forest to meet an old man whom we presume, is the devil. As the naïve Puritan embarks on his journey, his wife "Faith" kisses him good bye. The Puritan has an overwhelming feeling of guilt as he is entering the forest to meet with the Devil. He realized what he is doing was forbidden and none of his forefathers or fellow Puritans would ever commit such a sin. During his meeting with the Devil his naïveté dissolves. He sees Deacon Gookin, his old catechism teacher, and other upstanding members of the community, whom he looked up to and feared, dancing around the Devil’s fire. He is told that the Devil has helped his father and Grandfather in years past. His innocence is completely destroyed when he sees his own wife Faith dancing around the Devils circle . He screams in agony: "My faith is gone. There is no good on earth; and sin is but a ...
For Young Goodman Brown, the tangible object that represents his innocence is his wife Faith. Faith, his wife, with her pink ribbons embodies his purity and innocence, “And Faith, as the wife was aptly named, thrust her own pretty head into the street, letting the wind play with the pink ribbons of her cap while she called to Goodman Brown” (Hawthorne 1). Here Faith seems young, free and innocent as she lets the wind play with her pink ribbons. Faith does not want Young Goodman Brown to leave her alone for the night, yet he does anyway. If he had simply just stayed home as his Faith wanted, he never would have walked with the Devil or almost given up his innocence. An online source entitled “Color Psychology” calls pink a representation of “[...]the sweetness ...
In "Young Goodman Brown", the theme of good versus evil within man is present in Goodman Brown himself. He has to make tough decisions when in the forest, to be good or to follow along with the evil ceremony. Though, he questions everything after he discovers who all was in attendance in the forest. Hawthorne uses this to demonstrate the hypocrisy he saw in the Puritan religion, the most dignified and respected members of the town are shown associating with the devil. Goodman Brown begs the question, “Wither, then, could these holy men be journeying, so deep into the heathen wilderness?” (Hawthorne 624). Since the Puritan society was based on integrity and
The ambiguity surrounding Young Goodman Brown's wife, Faith, immediately becomes apparent at the story's beginning. As Young Goodman Brown is leaving his comfortable and reverent Puritan home to embark upon this mysterious journey, Faith unexpectedly plunges her "pretty head into the street" allowing the wind to tousle and "play with the pink ribbons of her cap"(1199). Hawthorne uses natural imagery, such as the image of the wind "playing" with Faith's pink ribbons, to convey Faith's attachment to nature; the dark and mysterious part of life that is somewhere outside the constraints of Puritan society. In fact, the image...
In “Young Goodman Brown” Hawthorne uses the hypocritical nature of Young Goodman Browns neighbors and friends to show the hypocritical nature of the puritan people. In the story, Young Goodman Brown is led by the devil to a witching party in the woods. At the witching party he sees all the people he thought to be honorable and pious. He sees his minister, and Goody Cloyse, the woman who taught him his catechisms, meeting with the devil. He even sees his wife about to join the commune but doesn’t see whether she does or not because he resists the devil and wakes up by a tree. After witnessing these things in the woods Young Goodman Brown can’t look at the people he loved and looked up to in the same way anymore. He becomes a bitter and distrustful old man because of their hypocr...
Hawthorne, born in Salem, had an ancestor who was a judge known for his harsh sentencing, and that man’s son also became a judge, during the infamous Salem Witch Trials. Nathaniel Hawthorne added the ‘w’ to his name to distance himself from these relations. In his story Young Goodman Brown Hawthorne criticized the strictness of the puritan way of life and demonstrated that no one is as perfect and pious as they seem to be. A focus of the story is Goodman Brown’s young wife, named Faith. At First it seems that if anyone at all is a pious and good as they seemed to be, then it must be innocent Faith, his wife, who is waiting for him at home. However, at the end, Goodman Brown finds faith in the forest with the other sinners, and when he calls out to her to resist the Devil, he finds that he is alone. Goodman Brown begins the story associating his wife, Faith, with all things good and pure, and believing that she and many other people are good, and so he should be too. However, the story shows that puritanism is hypocritical and everyone is sinful. This revelation devastates Goodman Brown and makes him question his faith, and his wife, Faith. Goodman Brown’s view of his wife as a perfect and innocent person, the ideal puritan woman, is shattered, and this shatters his worldview entirely, leaving him bitter and mistrustful for the rest of his
Hawthorne creates a serious and somber tone throughout much of the story. From the start, the audience gets a sense that Brown will go through relentless agony from the devilish stranger. His diction in the opening paragraphs is a good indicator of this. He uses words such as “melancholy”, “evil”, “dreary”, and “grave” to evoke a certain mood in the reader. There is little relief from this seriousness that would suggest that Hawthorne’s attitude about the story be hopeful. Brown’s attitude and actions portray a negative view of Salem and its people. He ponders the hypocrisy of the town as well as that of the Puritans. He examines the possibility that evil and corruption exist in a town that is supposedly characterized by piety and devout faith.
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.”
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s "Young Goodman Brown" is a dark story written in the form of an allegory. In the story, Brown believed his community was true in their devotion to God. Additionally, Brown believed he had a strong Puritan faith. However, the journey we were taken on, through the dark gloomy woods of Salem, in time, showed the reader that Brown was not as strong in his faith as he thought himself to be. Moreover, the respectable people of the town were not who Brown assumed them to be. Brown was confronted with temptation, in which he would have several chances to turn back, but his curiosity eventually got the best of him. "Young Goodman Brown" is a story representing people being confronted with everyday temptations. Nathaniel Hawthorne used setting, internal conflict and symbolism to describe the struggle between Brown’s feeling of uncertainty and the evil trying to pull him in.
To begin to understand the mind of Nathaniel Hawthorne you must first know a little about the magnificent man. Nathaniel Hawthorn was born in Salem Massachusetts during the time of the Salem witch trials. His father and grandfather took an active role in these trials. His interest in the parallel between sin and evil is very evident in the tale of “Young Goodman Brown”. Nathaniel Hawthorne is said to be first American writer who was conscience of the failure of mankind. “Young Goodman Brown” is said to be the one of the best works of Nathaniel Hawthorne. The use of his vivid symbolism and implanting his Puritan beliefs made the tale not only one of love but of disappointment in mankind as well. “Few of Hawthorne’s tales have elicited a wider range of interpretations than “Young Goodman Brown.” (Press)
Characters lose their innocence throughout American literature. What exactly does “losing their innocence” mean? Losing one’s innocence can be seen as a character maturing. A character may lose his/her innocence in ways including viewing of traumatic event, especially one that will scar his/her life forever. Losing one’s innocence can also be caused by losing one’s trust in someone whom he/she once trusted, catching a glimpse into the “real world”, or performing an immoral act. The recurring theme of loss of innocence, as seen throughout American literature and reality, can affect a person and the people around him/her both negatively and positively. As a result, the audience can see the characters mature through losing hope of dreams, becoming an outcast of society, gaining a new perspective of ideas, or gaining confidence. Negative and positive effects, falling onto characters as a result of a loss of innocence, can be found in works such as The Scarlet Letter, The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, and The Hunger Games; this theme can also be seen in real life through the effects of children exposed to violent video games.