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Character of young goodman brown
Character of young goodman brown
Nathaniel hawthorne young goodman brown analyzed
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"Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the story of a man that is tempted by evil. He discovers that sometimes evil triumphs over good, and this makes a dramatic impact on his future. Brown lets his excessive pride in himself interfere with his relations with his family and community after he meets with the devil, which causes him to live the life of an exile in his own community.
"Young Goodman Brown" begins in the street at Salem village where Goodman Brown will soon leave to begin his journey. Faith, Brown's wife, does not want him to go on this journey as she says to him, “ ‘prithee put off your journey until sunrise and sleep in your own bed tonight’ ” (Hawthorne 310-311). Goodman Brown replies, “ ‘of all nights in the year, this one night must I tarry away from thee’ ” (311). The couple part and Goodman Brown sets forth on his journey. He is venturing into the woods to meet with the devil. This makes him feel guilty and he tries to justify the reason for his journey and lessen his guilt by saying, “ ‘After this one night I‘ll cling to her skirts and follow her to heaven’ ” (311).
Goodman Brown heads down a “dreary road...” (311). He is then approached by his fellow traveler, who happens to be the devil. The devil had with him “a staff that bore the likeness of a great black snake" (312). The devil tries to convince Goodman
Brown to continue down the path with him, but Goodman Brown declares that he kept his meeting with the devil and no longer wishes to continue on. He says, “ ‘My father never went into the woods on such an errand, nor his father before him. We have been a race of honest men and good Christians’ ” (312). The devil is quick to point out, however, that it was he that was with Brown’s father and grandfather when they “set fire to an Indian village” and “lashed the Quaker women” (312). These acts show that he does not come from a family of "good Christians" (312). When Goodman Brown's first excuse not to carry on with the errand proves to be unconvincing, he says he can't go because of his wife, " ‘Faith. It would break her little heart; and I’d rather break my own’ ” (313). At this point the devil agrees with him and tells him to turn back and then points to a figure of a woman on the path.
First, we will start with Goodman Brown. He is the main character in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story titled “Young Goodman Brown”. “Hawthorne could not escape the influence of Puritan society” (McCabe). I think that Hawthorne’s own past is and complications are reveled in his story about Goodman Brown. I believe that Goodman Brown has had a rough past and is trying to reach beyond his past in order to reach heaven. Goodman has some major problems with his wife, Faith, and everyone else in his community. I think that he is seeing everyone as perfect people, but he is having impure thoughts about himself and his past. In order to deal with these problems within himself, he is making up that everyone has this awful bad side. When he goes into the forest, he believes he is talking to the devil with 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 that he has no time to decide whether this type of life is right for him. So, in search for the answer to his questions about life, he turns to the devil and takes his...
"Why did Goodman Brown leave his wife to fulfill an evil purpose?" "What was his evil purpose?" "Who did he meet in the woods?" "Was it a dream or was it reality?" These are just a few of the questions that ran through my head after reading the short story, Young Goodman Brown. After several nights of reading, rereading, thinking, and debating I've received many revelations of this story; one being the true identity of the "fellow-traveler" mentioned throughout this adventurous tale. You see, he was not just any man, he was the devil himself.
The Devil had with him a staff that "bore the likeness of a great black snake". The staff which looked like a snake is a reference to the snake in the story of Adam and Eve. The snake led Adam and Eve to their destruction by leading them to the Tree of Knowledge. The Adam and Eve story is similar to Goodman Brown in that they are both seeking unfathomable amounts of knowledge. Once Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge they were expelled from their paradise. The Devil's staff eventually leads Goodman Brown to the Devil's ceremony which destroys Goodman Brown's faith in his fellow man, therefore expelling him from his utopia.
The biggest symbol in Young Goodman Brown is the idea of faith. Before he goes on his “errand,” he is talking to his wife, promising he will come back, but in actuality he is talking to his faith, as in religion. He subconsciously knows he is going against his faith on this errand, but will return. “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…” When Brown says later in the story “I am losing my Faith”, he is not only about his wife, (which is shown through her pink ribbon in the tree), but more about his religion, which is flashing before his eyes. This errand was a test of Goodman Brown’s faith. When Brown hears people singing hymns in swears, it is a symbol of the corruption of the church. The name Goodman Brown I think is very ironic. Is he a good man after this errand?
Young Goodman Brown is about a young, newly wedded man who leaves his wife, Faith, and to go on a journey into the forest one night. Young Goodman Brown has an innocent and maybe even naïve soul and was looked upon by townspeople as a “silly fellow” (Hawthorne 83). He is accompanied by a mysterious, older man who is later on revealed to be the devil. As they are walking, Young Goodman Brown tries to turn back several times and at one point succeeds in getting rid of the devil. However, when he sees that even his wife has surrendered to the same evil path that he was on, he stops resisting and continues into the forest. He ends up at a witches’ sabbath where he sees familiar faces of people whom he previously looked up to for spiritual guidance; he also finds Faith there and becomes devastated. In the end, he cries out to resist the devil and then wakes up to find himself alone in the forest.
Young Goodman Brown goes from being overly trusting to becoming a paranoid, untrusting man. Once Goodman Brown arrives at the destination and walks with the stranger, they start talking about Goodman Brown's family and how they had traveled down the very same road he is now, however Goodman Brown refuses to believe the traveler: “‘I marvel they never spoke of these matters. Or, verily, I marvel not, […] We are people of prayer” (621). Goodman Brown says he “marvels” at what the stranger has said and insists that his family is a family of prayer and holiness. He later says that he “marvels not’ expressing his disbelief ion the strangers statement. Young Goodman Brown's faith in his religion and that his family are loyal to his religion lead Goodman Brown to believe that they can do no wrong. He has this same reaction when he sees the minister and deacon of his village in the woods, discussing the meeting they are going to: “'besides several Indian powows, who, after their fashion, know almost as much deviltry as the best of us’ […] Young Goodman Brown caught hold of a tree for suppo...
...dman Brown cries out “My Faith is gone! There is no good on earth and sin is but a name. Come devil! For to thee is this world given”(cite). This where he begins to believe there is only sin in the world and his faith in humanity is completely destroyed. He still vows to stand firm against the devil, however he has doubts that heaven exists at all. With his loss of humanity he can no longer look at his fellow neighbors, which he had once held with high esteem, he now views as sinful and hypocritical. The faith that did shine in his heart the darkness of the world has tainted the idea that life is good and pure. Goodman Brown is completely consumed by his doubts and he is a distrustful and unable to have any sympathy or love to others. He never recovers his faith and even after death his family had nothing to say good about him, “for his dying hour was gloom”(cite).
Goodman Brown heads into the forest for an undetermined journey. Which is assumed that he is going out to do one last act of sin then come back and stay faithful to his wife Faith. Goodman Brown 's wife Faith is a symbol for his religious faith. Before his voyage he is held up by Faith. " 'pr 'y thee, put off your journey until sunrise, and sleep in your own bed to-night. A lone women is troubled with such dreams and such thoughts, that she 's afeard of herself, sometimes. Pray, tarry with me this night, dear husband, of all nights in the year!" ' (Hawthorne ). Goodman Brown goes on his journey in the woods and when he talks to the man that he comes across in the forest he says that he knows Goodman Brown 's family. " 'Well said, Goodman Brown! I have been as wee acquainted with your family as with ever a one among the Puritans; and that 's no trifle to say. I helped your grandfather, the constable, when he lashed the Quaker women so smartly through the streets of Salem. And it was I that brought your father a pitch-pine knot, kindled at my own hearth, to set fire to an Indian village, In King Philip 's War. They were my good friends, both; and many a pleasant walk have we had along this path, and returned merrily after midnight. I would fain be friends with you, for their sake. '" (Hawthorne ). Goodman Brown then begins to see all of the
Brown begins the journey believing that his forefathers are innocent, good men, but the devil tells Brown that he has been, "…well acquainted with your family as with ever a one among the Puritans; and that’s no trifle to say" (Kelly, 192). Brown's forefathers become equated with the devil. The people of the town are also displaced as the devil. The devil tells Brown, "I have a very general acquaintance here in New England. The deacons of many a church have drunk the communion wince with me; the selectmen of divers towns make me their chairman; and a majority of the Great and General Court are firm supporters of my interest, The governor and I, too----But these are state secrets" (Kelly, 192-93).
Young Goodman Brown embarks on a midnight journey through a dark and foreboding forest, on his way to fulfill his “present evil purpose.” He leaves his wife Faith behind, this being the type of errand he doesn’t wish to expose her to. Faith in Goodman Brown’s eyes is a good woman and “a blessed angel on Earth.” (Hawthorne, 1835) Although she wishes for him to stay, and he too feels guilty for leaving her to attend to this errand, he knows he must complete this task and knows that to mar her with the evil of it would taint her pureness of heart forever. He leaves Faith behind, to trudge through a dark, deep, and dense forest to his destination; a witch meeting. Along the way he meets several of his townspeople and, at the pinnacle of
After his encounter in the forest with Goody Cloyse, Goodman Brown tries to resist the devil's temptation by raising what issue?
Goodman Brown, a young man who was only married for three months, left his home and his wife, Faith, to go into the forest and spend the night on some mission that he will not explain. Even though Faith has strong feelings about his journey and begs him not to leave, Brown has made his decision and leaves everything behind. Faith is appropriately named, because she represents Browns faith and what he believes in. The name is genuine, religious and hopeful. It represents the good side of Brown and his hope for life. He feels bad for leaving her because he knows what he is about to do is evil and goes against his faith. Brown swears that after this night he will be good and not do anything evil again and vow his life to Faith. Brown is upset about leaving her because he knows that what he is about to do in the forest is evil and goes against his Faith. Hawthorne describes Browns journey as "crossing the threshold", meaning that he is going from one part of his life to another, he is leaving the genuine good side to go to the bad evil side.
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.
This means that the devil has wanted Goodman Brown to join the evil group much earlier, but he was unable. In fact, right after he confronts the devil, he wants to return back to his wife, Faith. Likewise, while walking, Goodman Brown often lags behind to resist the evil temptation. To further counter the devil, he mentions that he would rather go back as he does not want to ruin his family name by being the first one to go in the evil forest. Even though the devil persuades him by presenting him with the historical background of his father and grandfather, he, additionally, presents his religion as the foundation of his faith and goodwill.
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... ...