In the 17th century the Puritans had divided into the separatists and non-separatists, the separatist Puritans established ideal Christian communities which the story “Young Goodman Brown” is to take place. Salem Village was recovering from the Witch Trail scandal, but the rest of the Puritan communities were still involved in witchery. Brown is oblivious to how involved his community is in Witchcraft. However, Brown is aware of the events in Salem, and has gained a great deal of curiosity towards learning about Witchcraft. This curiosity is the foundation of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story "Young Goodman Brown" where it presents the corruption in Puritan society, loss of innocence, and overwhelming fear of nature.
History paints a quant picturesque view of Puritans living a quiet, simplistic, and pure life surrounded by family, community and, religion. “Puritans were expected to live by a rigid moral code, they believed that all sins-from sleeping in church to stealing food- should be punished” (Life in Salem 1692) Puritans however, were not always as pure as we are led to believe. Many actions of Puritans, although religious based, is a contradiction of what their religion taught. During the time of Puritans there were several recognized periods of unorthodox methods of reprimand. In 1692 the Salem Witchcraft Trials were tearing the community apart. The Puritan society that relied so profoundly on support from the community had begun to turn on one another at an unprecedented level.. The reasons for the Salem Witch Trials vary based on misconceptions, illogical values, and misconstrued information. In “Young Goodman Brown” the devil suggests himself as being responsible in different dark times of Puritan record, “I helped your g...
... middle of paper ...
...Works Cited
Cochran, R. W. (1962, November 1). How Young Goodman Brown Became Old Badman Brown: Reply. Retrieved November 25, 2011, from National Councile of Teachers of English: http://www.jstor.org/stable/373757 .
Cook, R. (1970, September 1). The Forest of Goodman Brown's Night: A Reading of Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown". Retrieved November 25, 2011, from The New England Quarterly, Inc: http://www.jstor.org/stable/363309
Hawthorne, N. (2008). Young Goodman Brown. In S. Belasco, & L. Johnson, The Bedford Anthology of American Literature (pp. 987-996). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's .
Life in Salem 1692. (n.d.). Retrieved Nov 25, 2011, from Discovery Education: http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/salemwitchtrials/resources.html
McKeithan, D. (1952). Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown": An Interpretation. Modern Language Notes , 67 (2), 93-96.
In Joan Easterly’s article, “Lachrymal imagery in Hawthorne's `Young Goodman Brown'” she argues, “In essence, Hawthorne here carefully delineates the image of a young man who has faced and failed a critical test of moral and spiritual maturity(439)”. With this thesis, she shows how different symbols throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” represent how Young Goodman Brown has failed a life test. She uses the symbol of the cold dew on his face to show how he didn’t weep as he should have during this critical moral test. She tells of his lack of emotion and that his religion was not truly within him. Easterly states, “. This lachrymal image, so delicately wrought, is the key to interpreting the young Puritan's failure to achieve
Nathaniel Hawthorne, "Young Goodman Brown," in Literature: Reading and Writing the Human Experience, eds. Richard Abcarian, Marvin Klotz, Peter Richardson, 7th ed. (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998), p.62.
McCabe, Michael E. “The Consequences of Puritan Depravity and Distrust as Historical Context for Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”.”
Hawthorne and Poe showcase a theme of darkness but differ in their approach to the setting. In Young Goodman Brown, the story primarily
Baym, Nina, and Robert S. Levine. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York London: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012. Print.
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.
In 1835, Nathaniel Hawthorne published the tale of “Young Goodman Brown,” a tale that illustrates many configurations of symbolism used to leave the reader planting the pieces together through his characteristics of detail and imagery. Hawthorne’s prime analogy expressed throughout this tale is the loss of vulnerability and pureness when reaching maturity.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown." Norton Anthology of American Literature. Vol1. Ed. Nina Baym, et al. New York: Norton, 1994. 1198-1207.
Hawthorn, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown" The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Vol. I. Shorter Seventh Edition. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 2008. 620-629. Print.
Nathaniel Hawthorne's literature exhibits the influence of many factors. Much of his literature addresses Puritan culture in early America, commonly focusing on the shortcomings and hypocrisies that became apparent during the numerous witch hunts. Many of his works are allegorical, using the Puritan setting to portray his own ideas about ancestry, history, and religion. While The Scarlet Letter and House of the Seven Gables are among Hawthorne's most known works, he produced a large sum of work, including many famous short stories. The most important of these, "Young Goodman Brown," is noted for its vivid depiction of witch craft and Puritan culture. However, it is of greater significance because the story clearly exhibits the marks of Hawthorne's influences.
Clarice Swisher in “Nathaniel Hawthorne: a Biography” states: ”When Hawthorne called his stories ‘romances,’ he meant that they belong within the romantic movement that . . . . emphasize imagination and personal freedom” (18). It is the purpose of this essay to interpret the theme of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” and determine where this “personal freedom” leads.
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.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown." 1835. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter et al. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Lexington: Heath, 1944. 2129-38.
Belasco, Susan, and Linck Johnson, eds. The Bedford Anthology of American Literature. Vol. 1, 2nd Ed., Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. 1190-1203. Print.
Baym, Nina et al. Ed. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Shorter 8th ed. New York: