Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown 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. “Puritanism, movement arising within the Church of England in the latter part of the 16th century that sought to purify or reform, that church and establish a middle course between Roman Catholicism and the ideas of the Protestant reformers” (Puritanism 1). The term Puritanism was referred to as an insult that was attached by traditional Anglicans who wished to purify the Church of England. The Encarta Online Encyclopedia states that the term Puritanism has often been used as a term of abuse in a way that does little justice to historical Puritanism. For instance, when a rigid moralism, the condemnation of innocent pleasure, or a religious narrowness is characterized as Puritanical (1). Puritanism was founded on the principles and beliefs of John Calvin, and one of the major ideals they focused on was the doctrine of predestination. Calvin believed that the grace of God was the ticket into Heaven and that his grace could not be earned. God’s grace was bestowed upon a select few regardless of what they did to earn it. This doctrine stated that God determines a man’s destiny, whether it be redemption or condemnation, regardless of any worth or merit on the person’s part. Great pains were taken to warn members and especially children of the dangers of the world. Religiously motivated, they were exceptional in their time for their interest in the education of their children. Reading the Bible was necessary to giving the righteous life. Three diversions were banned in the Puritan society: drama, religious music, and erotic poetry. They believed that these led to immorality. Music in worship created a dreamy state which was not conducive to listening to God. Each Puritan congregation was to be individually responsible to God, as was each person. The New Testament was their model, and their devotion so great that permeated their entire society. People opposing theological views were asked to leave the community or to be converted. Their... ... middle of paper ... ...heir followers to doubt themselves and their community so much that a reality in which one could achieve grace did not exist. Hawthorne describe this mindset in the story of Goodman Brown. Hawthorne loaded the story with tones of references to the Puritan religion. Works Cited Campbell, Donna M. “Puritanism in New England.” Literary Movements (2002).Hill Center Lab, Kentucky State University. 1 July 2002. http://www.gonzaga.edu/faculty/campbell/en1310/purdef.html Dudley. William, and Teresa O’Neill, Eds. Puritanism: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc. 1994. Feldmeth, Greg D. “US History Resources”. 29 June 2002. http://home.earthlink.net/~gfeldmeth/USHistory.html Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “Young Goodman Brown”. Literature and the Writing Process. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X Day, and Robert Funk. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice, 2002. “Puritanism”. Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia Deluxe (2002). Internet Explorer. 1 July 2002. Keyword: Puritanism. Wilson, John F. “Puritans”. Discovery Channel School.2002. World Book Online. 29 June 2002. http://www.discovery school.com/homeworkhelp/worldbook/atozhisotry/p1452140.html
Abu-Lughod, Janet L. New York, Chicago, Los Angeles: America's Global Cities. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1999. Print.
Smith, D. A. (1996). Third World Cities in Global Perspective: The Political Economy of Uneven Urbanization. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press Inc.
Edmund S. Morgan's The Puritan Family displays a multifaceted view of the various aspects of Puritan life. In this book, we, the audience, see into the Puritans' lives and are thereby forced to reflect upon our own. The Puritan beliefs and practices were complicated and rather "snobbish," as seen in The Puritan Family.
...expresses the theme of sin and retribution. Goodman Brown’s life was destroyed because of his inability to face this truth and live with it. The story, which may have been a dream, planted the seed of doubt in Brown's mind, which consequently cut him off from his fellow man and leaves him alone and depressed. His life ends alone and miserable because he was never able to look at himself and realize that what he believed were everyone else's faults were his as well. Hawthorne was a writer way ahead of his time. His stories have been a testament to the timeless nature of his style. Although written by a Puritan, many of his stories challenge all of that which is puritan. In its day, this story raised controversy because of the risqué subject matter. Today, people can turn on the Disney channel and see adultery and satanic rituals. Society has been callused by the sands of time.
In 1534, King Henry VIII formally instigated the English Reformation. He therefore passed the Act of Supremacy, which outlawed the Catholic Church and made him “the only supreme head on earth of the Church of England” (Roark, 68). Puritans were looking for a more Protestant church and received what they wanted. Along with it, came the King’s total control over the Church. This is what the Puritans didn’t want. Puritans believed that ordinary Christians, not a church hierarchy, should control religious life. They wanted a distinct line between government and the Church of England. Puritans also wanted to eliminate the customs of Catholic worship and instead focus on an individual’s relationship with God developed through Bible study, prayer, and introspection (Roark, 68).
Al Qaeda’s history began during the Cold War. Western countries, such as the United States, and its allies supported militant units within Islam to fight the Soviet Union. The United States formed an alliance with the Pakistan Interservice Intelligence Agency (ISI) (White, 2012). The ISI is equivalent to the United States intelligence agency CIA. The ISI, along with the United States began training and arming the mujahedeen (holy warriors) to fight the Soviet Union. In 1979, Afghan mujahedeen along with Saudi Arabia fought the Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan (White, 2012). The United States supported the Afghan mujahedeen along with any other form of Islam to combat the Soviet Union. The United States developed an unde...
Wagenknecht, Edward. Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Man, His Tales and Romances. New York: Continuum Publishing Co., 1989.
Puritanism as a religion declined, both by diluting its core beliefs and by losing its members. This phenomenon was at work even in colonial days, at the religion’s height, because it contained destructive characteristics. It devolved into something barely recognizable in the course of a few generations. We can observe that the decline of Puritanism occurred because it bore within itself the seeds of its own destruction.
Al Qaeda is a terrorist organization established in Peshawar, Pakistan, between 1988 or 1989 by Osama bin laden and his teacher Abullah Yusuf Azzam. Al-Qaeda is an international terrorist network that considered the top terrorist threat to the United States. Al Qaeda is seeking to get rid of all westerns from Muslims territory and replace their own Islamic regime. They are a group of people who work to gather to plan act of terrorism against Muslim and non Muslim especially United State. Al Qaeda believes that they are fighting a holy war against enemy of their religion. People from many countries have joined this group including Afghanistan, Pakistan and Britain. This paper is going to present a brief historical background of Al Qaeda that how it emerged with their ideology, view, believe, and goals they have and also it presents the Activities which this group has been done before and after the very massive attack they had in US in September 11, 2001 and the international responses to this act of violence. Finally this paper will end up with comparing this Organization (Al Qaeda) with Reverend Mike Bray the Christian terrorist.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” is an excellent example of the use of allegories and symbolism as a form of satire on Puritan faith. According to Frank Preston Stearns, author of The Life and Genius of Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Hawthorne may have intended this story as an exposure of the inconsistency, and consequent hypocrisy, of Puritanism” (Stearns 181). Throughout the story of “Young Goodman Brown,” Hawthorne tries to infuse as many symbols and allegories as he can to enhance the overall meaning of his story. He uses the village, Goodman Brown, Faith, the man in the forest, and the time spent in the forest as either a symbol or an allegory to get his point across that Puritans are not always what they seem to be.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” (repr. in Thomas R. Arp, and Greg Johnson, Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense, 8th ed. [Fort Worth: Harcourt, 2002] 316) is a short story with strong Puritan influence. Puritanism is a religion demanding strict moral conduct and strong faith. Puritans held that Christians should do only what the Bible commanded. Analyzing “Young Goodman Brown” is dependant upon understanding the Puritan faith. The influence of the Puritan religion is vivid in literary elements such as setting, allegory, and theme.
One element of Young Goodman Brown is a criticism of Puritan self-righteousness; the devil points out to Brown that he has “a very general acquaintance here in New England” and then proceeds to cite instances of hypocrisy, prejudice, and persecution (Hawthorne 5). The devil also reveals that he is familiar with Brown’s ancestors, leading them toward sin (Hawthorne 5). All of this is disturbing to Brown and the issue of evil is f...
Wagenknecht, Edward. Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Man, His Tales and Romances. New York: Continuum Publishing Co., 1989.
Sassen, S. "The Global City: introducing a Concept." Brown Journal of World Affairs. 11.2 (2005): 40. Print.
Global cities are cities with substantial economic power, controlling the concentration and accumulation of capital and global investments. Despite this, global cities are the sites of increasing disparities in occupation and income. This is as a result of large in-migration and growing income inequality together with capacity and resource constraints, and inadequate Government policies.