Young Goodman Brown Loss Of Innocence Essay

993 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Innocence and the loss of it

We are all born with an abundance of innocence but, only some die with it depending on the events within our lives. Young Goodman Brown, Moulin Rouge, and Wuthering Heights all have characters with a tolerable life who experience a force beyond themselves, like love or evil, and end up living the rest of their lives in turmoil. These parallel plots prove that innocence and purity are lost after a traumatic, perspective changing incident. An attempt to regain the transient joy from before this event will only end in extreme, constant pain due to a longing for past fulfillment and certainty.
In Young Goodman Brown, his purity is loss in the expected way- being exposed to a level of evil he never knew existed. Hawthorne writes, “‘My Faith is …show more content…

Christian’s perspective on love drastically changes after his short lived affair with Satine. Early in the movie he states that he cannot write about love because he has yet to experience it. After a momentary but, obsessive romance with Satine, he describes love by saying, “ Love? Above all things I believe in love! Love is like oxygen. Love is a many-splendored thing, love lifts us up where we belong, all you need is love” (Luhrmann). His initial perspective on love is that it is an option for those who choose to pursue it. He lives a perfectly fine life without exposure to love. Once he experiences it for himself, that changes. He says that love is more substantial than anything else in the world. More than that, he uses a metaphor comparing love and oxygen to say that love is essential. The repetition of love represents how it has taken over his life. Each sentence contains love like each aspect of his life does. He feels that it makes him who he is meant to be. Satine dies but his love for her persists . He felt fulfilled, like his life had meaning, when he was with Satine. Alone Christian perceived himself as average, but with satine he felt perfect. After this monumental, life-changing event, he lives the rest of his life trying to recreate the love they had by replaying it in a story. Nothing pleases him anymore. His standards have been raised to a point that they will never again be

Show More
Related

  • Pit and the Pendulum vs. Young Goodman Brown

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Nathaniel Hawthorne's Life

    902 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nathaniel Hawthorne was an extraordinary writer, who used real life experiences in every one of his stories. However, growing up in a Puritan society during a reformation gave Hawthorne a distorted view on God’s character. Hawthorne was intelligent, but by no means a people person, which created a pathway for him to become an author. There were a few key points in his life growing in a religion zealous society that lead him to abandon his faith. Hence, the short story of “Young Goodman Brown” representing that humans are cynical and evil, and the dangers of losing your faith in God.

    Read More

  • Young Goodman Brown Analysis

    772 Words  | 2 Pages

    During Goodman Brown’s journey, he recognized Goody Cloyse, his catechism teacher, the preacher, and Deacon Gookin is going to the devil’s meeting. However, after seeing his church members at the devil’s meeting, Goodman says, “My Faith is gone! and There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come devil! for to thee is this world given” (Hawthorne 27). “But, where is Faith?”, asked Goodman Brown (Hawthorne 29). As hope came into his heart, he trembled when he found the pink ribbon of his wife, Faith, in the forest. At that moment, Goodman Brown lost his faith in his family and church members. Goodman becomes unforgiving of others and believes only evil can be created from evil and there is nothing that anyone can do to change it. Here, Hawthorne demonstrates that a naive faith in our family, friends, and church member’s righteousness could lead to distrust. While, “Young Goodman Brown” lives a long life with Faith, he never loses his meanness toward humanity and the evil in the world, “for his dying hour was gloom” (Hawthorne

    Read More

  • Ambiguity and Uncertainty in Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

    1518 Words  | 4 Pages

    In "Young Goodman Brown," Nathaniel Hawthorne, through the use of deceptive imagery, creates a sense of uncertainty that illuminates the theme of man's inability to operate within a framework of moral absolutism.  Within every man there is an innate difference between good and evil and Hawthorne's deliberate use of ambiguity mirrors this complexity of human nature. Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown, is misled by believing in the perfectibility of humanity and in the existence of moral absolutes. According to Nancy Bunge, Hawthorne naturally centers his story upon a Puritan protagonist to convey the "self-righteous" that he regards as the "antithesis of wisdom"(4). Consequently, Young Goodman Brown is unable to accept the indefinable vision of betrayal and evil that he encounters in the forest. The uncertainty of this vision, enhanced by Hawthorne's deliberate, yet effective, use of ambiguity, is also seen in the character of Faith, the shadows and darkness of the forest, and the undetectable boundaries that separate nightmarish dreams from reality.

    Read More

  • Young Goodman Brown

    1024 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “”Young Goodman Brown” is an allegorical piece that cautions against the potential of human evil. Hawthorne believed the most evil thing a person could do was deliberately harden his heart, to disregard others’ emotions entirely and therefore their humanity. In the story, young goodman Brown commits this unpardonable sin. He through on many separate occasions decided to continue a wicked journey, when it did not end exactly the way he wanted, he ended his relationship with Faith. Hawthorne uses symbols to demonstrate and hopefully prevent people from turning into young goodman Brown. Hawthorne chronicles Brown’s departure, his journey through the woods, and his arrival at the ceremony.

    Read More

  • Nathaniel Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

    1846 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Young Goodman Brown, Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the tale of a man and his discovery of evil. Hawthorne’s primary concern is with evil and how it affects Young Goodman Brown. Through the use of tone and setting, Hawthorne portrays the nature of evil and the psychological effects it can have on man. He shows how discovering the existence of evil brings Brown to view the world in a cynical way. Brown learns the nature of evil and, therefore, feels surrounded by its presence constantly.

    Read More

  • Essay on Loss of Faith in Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

    859 Words  | 2 Pages

    Faith can be defined, as a firm belief in something for which there is no proof. "Young Goodman Brown" is about a man who leaves his wife, Faith, at home alone for a night while he takes a walk down the road of temptation with the devil. Along the road he sees many people that he would never expect to see on this road, his wife included. He returns to his life in Salem a changed man. In "Young Goodman Brown" Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism and characterization to imply that when individuals lose their faith in the goodness of mankind, they may begin to imagine that their peers have yielded to temptation.

    Read More

  • The Influence of Society on the Young Goodman Brown

    1534 Words  | 4 Pages

    The story of “Young Goodman Brown” presents a struggle with the clash of Goodman Brown’s cultural fate of being a Puritan and his mind that is exposed to unholy acts. He goes from a prisoner of only what his society has shown him to a prisoner of the fate to live in it even after he learns it’s potential evilness. By not succumbing to the sinfulness of his journey, Young Goodman Brown in turn succumbs to the struggle within his mind. He is trapped by taunting thoughts and allows his life to be guided by the confusion that has caused him to forever question reality.

    Read More

  • Pure Love in Happy Endings by Margaret Atwood

    766 Words  | 2 Pages

    Love is portrayed as effortless, and is a natural, rewarding, and mutual ... ... middle of paper ... ... uld not have been so profoundly shaken by Mary's relationship with James. John was so upset by their relationship that selfishness consumed him: he did not consider his family when murdering and committing suicide. His own needs became his priority.

    Read More

  • Goodman Brown Allegory

    702 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”, Goodman Brown struggles with staying pure and not giving in to the devil. Hawthorne utilizes allegory and ambiguity to leave unanswered questions for the reader.

    Read More

  • Young Goodman Brown: Attack On Puritanism

    1913 Words  | 4 Pages

    It is surprising, in a way, to discover how few of the many critics who have discussed "Young Goodman Brown'' agree on any aspect of the work except that it is an excellent short story. D. M. McKeithan says that its theme is "sin and its blighting effects." Richard H. Fogle observes, "Hawthorne the artist refuses to limit himself to a single and doctrinaire conclusion, proceeding instead by indirection,'' implying, presumably, that it is inartistic to say something which can be clearly understood by the readers. Gordon and Tate assert, "Hawthorne is dealing with his favorite theme: the unhappiness which the human heart suffers as a result of its innate depravity." Austin Warren says, ''His point is the devastating effect of moral scepticism." Almost all critics agree, however, that Young Goodman Brown lost his faith. Their conclusions are based, perhaps, upon the statement, "My Faith is gone!" made by Brown when he recognizes his wife's voice and ribbon. I should like to examine the story once more to show that Young Goodman Brown did not lose his faith at all. In fact, not only did he retain his faith, but during his horrible experience he actually discovered the full and frightening significance of his faith.

    Read More

  • Young Goodman Brown VS. Paul

    1039 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • The Theme Of Love In Toni Morrison's Beloved

    1631 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sethe’s desire to be loved provokes Sethe to become completely dependent on Beloved. Sethe’s lack of love incites her to believe that if Beloved is happy, all will be well. In an attempt for love, Sethe becomes Beloved’s prisoner, “Anything she wanted she got, and when Sethe ran out of things to give her, Beloved invented desire.” (Morrison 240) Sethe’s effort to satisfy Beloved, is an attempt to escape from her past, “Denver thought she understood the connection between her mother and Beloved: Sethe was trying to make up for the handsaw.” (Morrison 251) Sethe becomes so concerned with pleasing Beloved that she gets fired from her job and spends all of her time serving to Beloved’s needs. Sethe sinks as low as to stop eating to feed Beloved a sufficient amount of food, “The hungrier they got the weaker.” (Morrison 239) The reason that Sethe goes to such far measures to coexist through Beloved is because she feels that her life with Beloved will make her happy. Sethe is extremely vulnerable to any one who shows her any attention because she has never been close to love before. Sethe no longer wants to take part in a life where one can “hide in its breast, finger its earth, cling to its banks to lap water and try not to love it.” (Morrison 268) Sethe holds such a desire to love someone, that she abandons the rest of her life for the opportunity to take part in a loving relationship. Sethe’s loveless past places her in a love triangle. She does not know who to love; herself, Beloved or Denver. It is not until the end of the novel when Paul D tells Sethe, “you (Sethe) are your best thing, Sethe. You are,” (273) that Sethe realizes she must find love with in herself before she can learn to love anyone

    Read More

  • Young Goodman Brown: Good vs Evil

    684 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.”

    Read More

  • Young Goodman Brown

    958 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 'Young Goodman Brown,'; Hawthorne makes the reader believe that Goodman Brown has learned that truth about the world and how evil it really is. In the story the accounts of Goodman Brown let you believe that he has truly seen the evil in the world and knows what lurks behind everybody masks. He makes you realize that even though the person may look holy and religious that evilness is all around us and most people will never ever find out the truth. The character Young Goodman Brown written by Nathaniel Hawthorne finds many issues of evil concerning the town's people in which he lives, about himself, and the reality behind the evil.

    Read More

More about Young Goodman Brown Loss Of Innocence Essay

Open Document