Paranoia is a strange mental disorder, involving intense anxious or fearful feelings and thoughts often related to persecution, threat, or conspiracy. Our prehistoric ancestors faced a brutal, unforgiving world where misjudging a threat could be fatal. Long after the survival threat to homo sapiens became less critical, the paranoid tendency remained. Whether it is triggered by environmental or genetic factors, it causes abnormal suspiciousness and delusions of danger or affliction. Many authors, artists, and film-makers have been fascinated by the atypical behavior present in paranoia. Nathanial Hawthorne, the author of “Young Goodman Brown,” did not set out to directly address the impact of paranoia. Long after its early 1845 publication, the story has retained its appeal because it …show more content…
The “devil’s staff,” encircled by a carved serpent, draws a direct biblical symbol of the serpent as an evil demon. In the Book of Genesis, the serpent tempts Eve to taste the fruit from the forbidden tree, defying God’s will and bringing his wrath upon humanity. When the devil tells Goodman Brown to use the staff to travel faster, Goodman Brown takes him up on the offer and, like Eve, is ultimately condemned for his weakness by losing his innocence. Besides representing Eve’s temptation, the serpent represents her curiosity, which leads her to that temptation. Goodman Brown’s decision to come into the forest is motivated by curiosity, as was Eve’s decision to eat forbidden fruit. The staff makes it clear that the old man is more demon than human and that Goodman Brown, when he takes the staff himself, is on the path toward evil as well. Brown companion says “Betake you to the woods, and let me keep the path,” (313) referring to the “straight path” leading to Heaven. However, he is paranoid with this concept throughout the story saying “Faith! Faith!...Look up to heaven, and resist the wicked one.”
McCabe, Michael E. “The Consequences of Puritan Depravity and Distrust as Historical Context for Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”.”
Another sign that upholds the fact that the traveler is the devil is the staff that he carries. It bears "the likeness of a great black snake" and it seems at times to move "like a living serpent" (Hawthorne 384). Ever since the beginning of time, serpents have been an accepted symbol of evil. In the Garden of Eden, Eve was tempted by the devil in the form of a snake; and when she gave into the temptation, she caused all of humanity to fall into the bondage of sin. In the same way, the fellow-traveler tempts Goodman Brown by constantly persuading him onward into the forest, which in turn would crush his Faith.
Paranoia is a very strange “Mental condition in which a person has long-term pattern of distrust and suspicion of others” (U.S. National Library of Medicine). Our prehistoric ancestors faced a ferocious world where misjudgment could be fatal. In adapting to this rigid way of life, man had adopted the idea of paranoia and embraced it. By constantly observing their surroundings and trusting only those they knew, homo sapiens were able to survive in these barbaric times. Later on, man became much more knowledgeable and gained skills that enabled him to build shelter and store food. However, it almost seems like this trait of paranoia was handed down through the new generations, causing people in our society to seem “abnormal.” Many writers
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.
When Goodman Brown meets with the Devil , he realizes that the Devil’s staff "bore the l...
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.
“Lead me not into temptation. I can find the way myself,” Rita Mae Brown once remarked. Temptation is all around, no matter where one might be, there is no use in going out and looking for it. For some individuals, the enticement is so strong that it has caused them to break away from the ties that once bound them to their upbringing, such as faith, but for others, it has brought them even closer to their faith. There is no questioning whether or not one would be strong enough to deny the temptation in order to remain pure, but, rather one’s faith is strong enough to go through the test that has been taking place since the very beginning when Adam and Eve were tempted in the Garden of Eden. Tone and symbolism throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne’s
When Brown is approached by another traveler with a large staff that looks like a snake; the devil’s staff was encircled by a carved serpent. This comes from the biblical symbol of the serpent as an evil demon. In the Book of Genesis, the serpent tempts Eve into eating the forbidden fruit from the forbidden tree; which defied God’s will. When the devil tells Brown to use the staff travel quicker, Brown takes his advice, just as Eve, he is ...
The traveler’s identitybecomes known to the reader by the description of his cane that he carries, “… which bore thelikeness of a great black snake, so curiously wrought that it might almost be seen to twist andwriggle itself like a living serpent.” (1034) Many would recall the serpent from the first book inthe Bible, Genesis. The serpent is a symbol of chaos and evil power. The serpent that convincedEve to eat from the forbidden tree; resulting in man’s fall from grace. Here too in our story,similar to Eve, Young Goodman Brown is confused which results in his travelling down thewrong path resulting in a fall from the grace of God.Nevertheless, Goodman Brown, states that he wants to return to the village for his wife,Faith’s sake. Shortly the two travelers come upon an old woman hobbling through the woods.She is a member of the village known to be a pious and respected woman, Goody Cloyse.Shamed to be seen with the man, Goodman Brown hides from her. The man taps Goody Cloyseon the shoulder and is identified by her as the devil and she reveals herself to be a witch, on herway to the devil’s evil forest ceremony. Despite this revelation, Goodman Brown tells the manthat he still intends to turn back, for his wife, Faith’s sake. The man says that Goodman Brownshould rest. Before disappearing, he gives Goodman Brown his staff, telling him that he can useit for transport to the ceremony if he changes his mind.Shortly Goodman Brown hears voices which he recognizes as the church minister andDeacon Gookin, both on their way to the ceremony. This alarms Goodman Brown. He begins toquestion all he knows, wondering if everyone has gone to the devil. He decides to stay true toGod if only for his wife’s sake. But his faith is tested as all of our faiths must be tested; he hearsFaith’s voice coming from the ceremony. He screams her name, and a pink ribbon from her capflutters down from the
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “Young Goodman Brown” manifests a duality of conflict – both an external conflict and an internal conflict. It is the purpose of this essay to explore both types of conflict as manifested in the story.
In order to survive infancy and advance into adulthood, a healthy plant must first develop roots. These roots provide the nutrients that the plant needs to grow bigger and stronger, and, they allow the plant to weather any storm that may pass its way. There is a lesson to be learned from the plant, and Young Goodman Brown, a character from the allegorical short story bearing the same name by Nathaniel Hawthorne, could very much use this lesson. This tale details Young Goodman Brown’s struggle against his life of sin, his attempts to cling to his wife, Faith, and his horror at the swift decline of a society he believed to be holy into that of depravity and devilry. This journey leads him to a depressed and hopeless life, believing within him that all the world is lost to sin. He finds no resolution and dies a lonely man. Why did this happen? Goodman Brown was a righteous, christian man of faith, what spiritual flaw must he have possessed that he might not experience spiritual restoration? The answer is that he, like the plant, needs roots to weather the storm. The fatal flaw of Young Goodman Brown was that his borrowed faith was not enough to carry him through the loss of his mentors, and it became meaningless.
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.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story of Young Goodman Brown is very interesting. It provides a question of what is reality and what is made up in the mind. Young Goodman Brown, being in the time period he is in, gives the knowledge that religion has a large impact on his life. That being said, having the devil be something that is presented, whether in dreams or in real life, is something that isn’t taken lightly. Stories like this can have an impact on how the story is perceived at the end depending on the the reader.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown, an array of characters who are characterized throughout the story as being “two-faced.” By this, I refer to the existence of having a personality contrary to one that most people would assume to be the true self. The main character whose name is also concurrently the title of this work, Young Goodman Brown, is a perfect example of a character with the existence of dichotomy in characterization. Young Goodman Brown is introduced at the beginning of the story as a being of “good,” with even his name being linked to the very word. He is seen as being a version of good by means of connections made with religion, relaying to his wife Faith religiously implied messages, such as referencing to prayers, angels, heaven and so on in the beginning of the work.
Although this short story -- one of the greatest in American Literature -- was published almost a century before Sigmund Freud, a renowned psychologist and psychoanalyst, published his works, Young Goodman Brown almost explicitly illustrates how Freudian psychology works. A lot of aspects of psychology are depicted in this short story.