Theme of Alienation in Literature

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Theme of Alienation in Literature

A common theme among the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne is alienation.

Alienation is defined as emotional isolation or dissociation from

others. In Hawthorne's novels and short stories, characters are

consistently alienated and experience isolation from society. These

characters are separated from their loved ones both physically and

psychologically. The harsh judgmental conditions of Puritan society

are the cause of isolation for these characters and eventually lead to

their damnation. The literary works written by Hawthorne, such as

"Young Goodman Brown," "The Minister's Black Veil," and The Scarlet

Letter, all contain characters that face these types of conditions.

Goodman Brown, Minister Hooper, and Hester Pryne are isolated from

society because of their guilty consciences, and desire to hide their

shame. Eventually, each character is given a chance to redeem

themselves and avoid damnation.

In the short story, "Young Goodman Brown," the character of Goodman

Brown has an experience that changes his entire perspective on life.

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...

... middle of paper ...

...e all contain the

common theme of damnation caused by alienation. Goodman Brown from

"Young Goodman Brown" loses faith in all of humanity and removes

himself from society which leads to his damnation. Mr. Hooper from

"The Minister's Black Veil" dies a gloomy death after living a

mysterious life behind a black veil, which hides his secret sins and

alienates him from the rest of society. Hester Pryne from The Scarlet

Letter is alienated after she sins, but redeems herself by accepting

her identity and reuniting with the rest of society. Hawthorne uses

these characters to teach two different lessons. The first is of the

damnation that is the result of alienation and isolation from society

and humanity. The second is that reuniting with society can prevent

damnation and put an end to alienation and isolation from humanity.

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