Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, Young Goodman Brown, short story is about a young man who takes a journey into Salem’s Village forest, although he made it farther into the gloomy forest than his past generations did. His wife Faith was begging him to stay home, however against his wife’s wishes he continued, experiencing a twist of betrayal while on his journey to Salem’s dark gloomy forest. Meeting an odd old man who seemed to resemble Goodman Brown, revealing to the secrets of devilish worship that would change his life forever. The author uses characterization, sulky tone, and elevated diction to prove knowledge leads to downfall. Hawthorne used characterization to portray Goodman Browns bond with each other, supporting why knowledge corrupted his …show more content…
life instead of improving. Hawthorne does not directly explain Brown’s character, however the characters action does give important characteristic. The word “young,” (Hawthorne 1) infers Goodman Brown was rather innocent, and had eyes of curiosity. The writer opens with young Goodman Brown’s life great, however he will never be like that again. Brown, mixed with all colors, was “a stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man did he become from the night of that fearful dream,” (7) for he was just a bitter man now. He had a wife who was “aptly,” (1) named faith, representing young Goodman Browns faith for God. Browns faith was strong just like his love for his wife. Strangely enough, having that beautiful passionate bond made it even more aching and resentful knowing the real her. Therefore, his faith descents when as he finds the pink ribbon in the forest for “there is no good on earth, and sin but a name.”(4) Towards the end of Browns journey he cries, “Faith! Faith... look up to heaven, and resist the wicked one.”(7) However Hawthorne creates suspense with the following sentence, “whether faith obeyed he knew not.” (7)The next morning faith was full of joy to see Goodman Brown, but he “looked sternly and sadly into her face, and passed on without a greeting” (7) establishing his faith corrupted, he was now aware of the truth. The author conveys a sulky tone through Goodman Brown’s journey and emotions of witnessing the unvarnished truth. Nathaniel Hawthorne had ancestors who were judges during the Salem witch trials. He finds evil and human nature interesting. Knowing his attitude toward the subject gives an understanding to his theme of knowledge leading to corruption. While Brown meander along “a dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest” (Hawthorne, 1) creating a scene of “lonely footsteps” (1) foreshadowing how Brown will be at the end of the story. “So that with lonely footsteps he may yet be passing through an unseen multitude” (1) conceiving a dark sulky tone of downfall Goodman Brown says to himself, “what if the devil himself should be at my very elbow.” (1) In the forest he reconciled with an old man, who told Brown the horrid things his father and grandfather had done, “with a stare of amazement” (2) giving a surprise tone. As Brown gains more knowledge throughout the story, Hawthorne creates a tone of “amazement” (2) or “astonishment,” (3) whereas Goodman Brown cannot believe the terror. At the climax of the story the sulky tone of resent fills Browns emotions as, “all through the haunted forest there could be nothing more frightful than the figure of Goodman Brown,” (5) with betrayal and demoralization of knowledge, the writer advocates a mournful tone a Brown, “cried out, and his cry was lost to his own ear by its unison with cry of the desert.”(5) His insight of the town people destroys Brown’s soul, when he passed, “they carved no hopeful verse upon his tombstone, for his dying hour was gloom.”(7) Nathaniel Hawthorne elevated diction reveals a dark malicious atmosphere of knowledge.
When talking about Brown’s wife, Hawthorne describes her as “poor little faith,” (Hawthorne, 1) the “poor little” is advocating that she is innocent. He’s being specific with his words on how he is describing her, causing shock of unfaithfulness when the pink ribbon is found in the story. When Goodman Brown threw down the staff at the old women, the author supplementary, “Goodman Brown could not take cognizance,” (3) bearing the fact that he could not grasp the truth. Hawthorne applies, “vexed” (4) as Brown was getting aggravated when he recognized the voices of the minister and Deacon Gookin. By the word choice of vexed, indicates Browns difficult situation on realizing the puritan church was involved with devilish activities. “The blue sky was visible,” (4) sensing Brown still had a little hope, “except directly overhead, where this black mass of cloud was sweeping swiftly northward,” (4) however the darkness of the unbearable truth lingered all over Brown. Goodman Brown’s character experienced a change, describing him as, “you may as well fear him as he fear you.”(5) The statement of “may as well” suggesting that Brown was just as evil as the
forest. Through the literary devices, characterization, sulky tone, and elevated diction completes the theme of knowledge destroying. We may think we want to know the truth, however we will just end up corrupting ourselves. If Goodman Brown had been a different person could it lead into a new truthful 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.
Faith is accepting what you are taught or told without trying to prove or disprove it, rather than discovering it through experience. Those who believe in God have faith. It has not been proven that God exists; similarly, it has not been proven that humans are kind, honest, and good by nature. Young Goodman Brown is a character in "Young Goodman Brown," who leaves his known world in Salem village and travels an unknown road in a dark forest in the middle of the night, a common motif in literature better known as the Hero's journey, and is faced with obstacles. He must decide if he will carry his journey out till the end, or turn back and not learn the truth about himself and other humans.
“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
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.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, Young Goodman Brown, illustrates the extensive impact and lifelong results that a supposed dream had on the main character. In this dream, Young Goodman Brown essentially meets the devil in the forest and plans to take communion with him at his evil ceremony. However, along his journey, Brown meets religious leaders from his community and the devil states that in previous years, he had met with Brown’s forefathers as well. Though Brown is surprised to hear this, he is most taken aback when he later sees his wife, Faith, at the same ceremony with the devil because she was the most important and noteworthy Christian in his life. While at the ceremony, just as they were about to take part in communion, Brown
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown." Norton Anthology of American Literature. Vol1. Ed. Nina Baym, et al. New York: Norton, 1994. 1198-1207.
Goodman Brown in the short story “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne goes on a journey into the woods to meet a stranger which ultimately changes his life. His blind faith in his religion makes him believe that all people are good. Goodman Brown is a trusting, naive man in the beginning if the story but witnesses a witch ceremony that changes his personality drastically. Seeing his family and his neighbors taking part in the sinful act changes his outlook on life and his outlook on their personalities as well. Brown’s blind faith in people and his naivety make the shock of what he sees in the woods turn him into an untrusting, paranoid man.
Lang, H.J. “How Ambiguous is Hawthorne?” In Hawthorne – A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.
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 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.
Symbolism, something that figuratively represents something else, is prominent in many literary works. One piece of literature that stands out as a perfect example of symbolism is Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown." This story is completely symbolic, and provides a good example of an allegory, or a story in which concrete items or characters represent abstract ideas. Hawthorne uses both objects and people as symbols to better support the allegorical tones throughout "Young Goodman Brown."
In the story "Young Goodman Brown", Nathaniel Hawthorne uses a dream to illustrate a young man’s loss of innocence, understanding of religion and his community. Through this dream, the main character Young Goodman realizes that the people that he surrounds himself with are not who he believes them to be. The story of “Young Goodman Brown” focuses on the unconscious mind. The characters in this short-story are able to represent the struggle of Young Goodman’s superego, ego, and id.
It is impossible to fairly analyze Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, "Young Goodman Brown" around a single literary approach. American novelist, essayist, and poet, Herman Melville, once wrote about Hawthorn's short story that it over time, like wine, it only improves in flavor and body (The Life and Works of Herman Melville). Hawthorne's short story continues to get better with age, and carries today's readers into a world filled with a plethora of meanings for them to pick from its symbolism. Modern readers have interpreted the meaning of Goodman Brown's experience in many ways, but to pigeon hole the story into one view would destroy its veracity.
“Young Goodman Brown”, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, delves into the classic battle between good and evil; taking the protagonist, Goodman Brown, on a journey to test the resolve of his faith. Goodman ventures out on his expedition deep into the sinister forest, in order to repudiate the attempt of the devil to sway him from Christianity; a test he believes his devout faith is prepared to confront. Goodman Brown is forever altered in ways unforeseeable by taking a stroll with the ultimate antagonist, the devil himself. The prevailing theme in this literary work, which is common in Hawthorne’s gothic writing, is the realization that evil can infect people who seem perfectly respectable. Throughout the course of his journey, Goodman Brown discovers that even highly reputable people of Salem are vulnerable to the forces of darkness.
The terror and suspense in the Hawthorne story function as integral parts of the allegory that defines the story's theme. In allegory (a narrative containing a meaning beneath the surface one), there is usually a one-to-one relationship; that is, one idea or object in the narrative stands for only one idea or object allegorically. A story from the Old Testament illustrates this. The pharaoh of Egypt dreamed that seven fat cows were devoured by seven lean cows. Joseph interpreted this dream as meaning that seven years of plenty (good crops) would be followed by seven years of famine. "Young Goodman Brown" clearly functions on this level of allegory (while at times becoming richly symbolic). Brown is not just one Salem citizen of the late seventeenth century, but rather seems to typify mankind, to be in a sense Everyman, in that what he does and the reason he does it appear very familiar to most people, based on their knowledge of others and on honest appraisal of their own behavior.