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Young goodman brown nathaniel hawthorne puritan
Young goodman brown nathaniel hawthorne puritan
The most dangerous game analysis richard connell
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Both “ Young Goodman Brown” and “ The Most Dangerous Game” have themes of a loss of innocence, yet each store employs a different way of getting there. The exact meaning of this loss of innocence also differs in each story. In “ Young Goodman Brown”, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, shows us a man that loses his innocent view of the world. By the end he is a man with now hope and no faith. In “ The Most Dangerous Game”, written by Richard Connell, we watch as a man falls from a powerful hunter into a savage murderer. Hawthorne tells us the story of Brown, a young man that is married to his wife of three months. (Hawthorn, pg 91). The name of his bride is faith, a name that should not be ignored. He leaves her to go to the towns communion. Along the way his faith and trust is shattered as he meets the devil himself along with other folks from his town. The climax of the tale reveals to the reader that this is not the holy communion we are all familiar with. This is an unholy witch/wizard communion where the inductees themselves are forced to drink blood. Connel brings us the story of a man trapped in a sick game of cat and mouse. The protagonist is a world renowned hunter that goes by the name of Rainsford. He is made to be the hunt of an eccentric, maybe even insane hunter on his private island. The only way off the island is to survive the hunt, and become that which Rainsford hates. Each of these tales tells the same theme, but goes about in different ways getting us to the loss. When we observe Goodman, we observe a young, newly married man. The language the story uses in the beginning gives us the feeling of youth and innocence. His wife is described as she “thrust her pretty head into the street, letting the wind play wit... ... middle of paper ... ... trap. While hiding he hears the trap get activated. The general calls out “ You’ve done well, Rainsford..... Your Burmese tiger pit has claimed one of my best dogs” (Connel pg12) Blood was now on his hands, even if it was not a humans. The final step to his loss takes place at the very end of the story, it is not even told in the narrative, it is hinted at in the very end. Rainsfield is forced to kill the general. He does not even consider himself a man. “ I am a beast at bay.... get ready, general.” He becomes the thing that he hated in the beginning of the tale, a murderer. Loss of Innocence is a classic theme in literature. Protagonists are forced into situations where they must sacrifice their goodness/what they believe. It is a theme that runs through both “ Young Goodman Brown” and “ The Most Dangerous Game”, though each of them happen in a different way.
The most dangerous game began as a sport for one man. His name is Sanger Rainsford. In Richard Connell’s story “The Most Dangerous Game,” Sanger Rainsford, an avid hunter, is lost at sea, stranded on “Ship-Trap” Island-every sailor’s worst nightmare. Rainsford goes through a series of events that prove to be life-altering. Even though Sanger Rainsford went through many trials and tribulations, he never lost his intelligence, composure, or his bravery.
After falling off his ship and forced to swim to a mysterious island, Rainsford is faced with a challenge. General Zaroff traps him in a “game” that requires Rainsford to use his skills to survive. He is hunted for three days; where he was chased, tracked down, and shot at. General Zaroff led the hunt to try to kill Rainsford. General was equipped with more firepower and help from his henchman and dogs. But even with his much greater opponent, he was able to survive. Rainsford used his many skills to defeat and kill his enemy. He used quick wit to make traps that would slow Zaroff and kill his dogs and henchman. Then he used his intelligence to escape Zaroff by swimming away, but sneaking back into his own mansion.
If one were to put another character in Rainsford’s position such as Whitney, it is likely that the story would not have ended the way it did. A main reason as to why Rainsford is the dynamic character he is, and can survive such a harsh game, is because he is very self-assured. While passing Ship-Trap Island, all the sailors, aside from Rainsford, are a little anxious because of rumors heard about the island. Rainsford believes that, “one superstitious sailor can taint the whole ships company with his fear,” (page 56). During a firm discussion with Whitney about hunting, Rainsford boldly argues how jaguars are just here to be hunted. Ironically, by the end of the story he thinks just the opposite. The first time he encounters General Zaroff, Rainsford earns the General’s trust instantly because he shows his independence and confidence to him. As he hears about the game, Rainsford does not express obvious fear toward General Zaroff. Being self-assured helps Rainsford to be the strong hunter he is.
In “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell and “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne both stories have very different themes. Brown is a man that has followed the right path all his life suddenly is challenged to face temptaion and ending all his curosity. He decides to go into the forest to face the devil. In Richard Connell's short story he centers his theme around how far peoople will go when they fear for their life, people will do anything to survive.
...d if they were the source of the evenings previous gunshots. The Ultimate anticipation was in if Rainsford after choosing to be hunted could actually survive the hunt and if so would The General hold up his end of the bargain and allow Rainsford the gallantry of being unconstrained. It would have been interesting to know if Rainsford had actually been freed and if so had he spoke of his travels to authorities or any one in fact.
The story begins with Young Goodman Brown departing from his wife. His pretty young wife Faith is immediately identified by the pink ribbons in her hair. “And Faith, as his wife was aptly named, thrust her own pretty head into the street letting the wind play with the pink ribbons on her cap.” (Hawthorne 197)...
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).
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.
Although he isn’t the hunter this time, but the quarry he still manages to stay alive with tricks from his previous experiences. Like when Rainsford was hiding from Zaroff, and he built a trap to get Zaroff. "‘Your Burmese tiger pit has claimed one of my best dogs’” (p.72). This quote supports that Rainsford went against Zaroff (man vs. man) using his background knowledge because the trap he set up for Zaroff was a trap he learned in his prior experience. If Rainsford hadn’t used the Burmese tiger pit trap, then Zaroff’s dog would’ve found Rainsford and killed him. Meaning that the trap Rainsford made, gave him more time to stay alive which gave Rainsford a higher chance to beat Zaroff in the hunting game. Another part of the story that supports that Rainsford uses his prior knowledge to defeat General Zarof was
Innocence is usually associated with youth and ignorance. The loss of one’s innocence is associated with the evils of the world. However, the term “innocence” can be interpreted in a variety of ways. Similarly, the loss of one’s innocence can be interpreted in more than one way, and, depending on the interpretation, it may happen numerous times. The loss of innocence is culture specific and involves something that society holds sacrosanct.
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.
Nathaniel Hawthorne's famous Young Goodman Brown is one of the most interesting, yet creepy short stories written. Within this beautifully structured story of the 19th century, is a man whose curiosity started the fight between good and evil inside each individual human being. In addition, the story tells the tragic relationship between the main character Young Goodman, and his young wife. Throughout the story, Goodman's character development is affected by the experiences he goes through. At the beginning, Goodman is a good young man with faith in everyone's "pure intentions." He innocently believes in the good in everyone, but towards the end of the story, he's view on the world changes. He ends up having a dark perspective and finds himself unable to trust those around him.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” captivates the reader through a glimpse of the Puritan church. The story also shows the struggle of good versus evil in the main character Goodman Brown. The role of the Puritan church is crucial in shaping Goodman Brown’s personality and helping the reader understand why he was reluctant to continue his journey.
In many of Hawthorne’s stories, there are several instances where his main characters distinguish a sense of sin and guilt for what they have done throughout the story. In Robert P. Ellis’ article, “Nathaniel Hawthorne”, published in MagillLiterature Plus, Ellis states that “Often, Hawthorne’s characters cannot throw off the burden of a vague and irrational but weighty burden of guilt” (Ellis 4). Ellis regards characters in other Hawthorne stories as “examples of such guilt-ridden and essentially faithless men” (Ellis 5). Early in “Young Goodman Brown”, Brown leaves his wife, Faith, to take a night into the woods. When venturing through the woods, he stumbles upon a character that is portrayed to be the devil. During their meeting, the devil nonchalantly tells Brown that the people around him are not what they seem. The devil says that many men and women close to him are not the purely righteous people that they claim to be. Brown refuses to believe what he has just been told, in fact, he goes so far to loudly proclaim that “With heaven above and Faith below...
With the same broad idea of the capacity of human for evil, however, “Young Goodman Brown” is about the corruptibility of religious faith, another spectrum of society. In contrast with “The Lottery”, the setting of this story is in the forest during nighttime, which gives the reader a scene that there will be a bad outcome. This story is an allegory of the fall of man to illustrate the inherent fallibility and hypocrisy in American religion. The author writes the story of a man, Goodman Brown who is tempted by the devils and cannot help himself from wanting to know the mystery lies behind the forest and the weakness of his faith. From analyzing, the story has many things that relatable and similar to Eve in the book of Genesis of the Bible.