Loss Of Faith In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown
Brittany Brammer
Stephanie Zerkel-Humbert
English 218 – Introduction to Literature
8 February 2014
The Loss of Faith “My journey, as thou callest it forth and back again, must needs be done ‘twixt now and sunrise. What, my sweet, pretty wife, dost thou doubt me already, and we but three months married!” As this young man, married three months, goes on a journey to follow his curiosity, and he comes to understand that he has lost his Faith and his perception of people has changed. “My Faith is gone! There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come devil! For to thee is the world given.” In the story “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the character vs self conflict includes the choice between good and evil; this reflects the loss of faith in religion and the impact it had on Browns life.
The character vs self is between Young Goodman Brown and himself deciding between good and evil. Brown starts out between good and evil before the …show more content…
“And when he had lived long, and was borne to his grave, a hoary corpse, followed by Faith, an aged woman, and children and grand-children, a goodly procession, besides neighbors, not a few, they carved no hopeful verse upon his tombstone; for his dying hour was gloom." (par. 72) As stated when he died he was lonely and had some people at his funeral but for the ones that was there carved no hopeful into his tombstone, they were not every friendly anymore.
As the conflict of good vs evil impacted the characters in many ways, it also brought forth the theme of losing faith. The sense in the journey kept Brown moving forward to the evil side. “You will think better of this by-and-by,” said his acquaintance, composedly. “Sit here and rest yourself awhile; and when you feel like moving again, there is my staff to help you along.” (par.40). As stated in this quote the devil is promoting a staff to help Young Goodman Brown move forward to the evil
Stephanie Zerkel-Humbert
English 218 – Introduction to Literature
8 February 2014
The Loss of Faith “My journey, as thou callest it forth and back again, must needs be done ‘twixt now and sunrise. What, my sweet, pretty wife, dost thou doubt me already, and we but three months married!” As this young man, married three months, goes on a journey to follow his curiosity, and he comes to understand that he has lost his Faith and his perception of people has changed. “My Faith is gone! There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come devil! For to thee is the world given.” In the story “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the character vs self conflict includes the choice between good and evil; this reflects the loss of faith in religion and the impact it had on Browns life.
The character vs self is between Young Goodman Brown and himself deciding between good and evil. Brown starts out between good and evil before the …show more content…
“And when he had lived long, and was borne to his grave, a hoary corpse, followed by Faith, an aged woman, and children and grand-children, a goodly procession, besides neighbors, not a few, they carved no hopeful verse upon his tombstone; for his dying hour was gloom." (par. 72) As stated when he died he was lonely and had some people at his funeral but for the ones that was there carved no hopeful into his tombstone, they were not every friendly anymore.
As the conflict of good vs evil impacted the characters in many ways, it also brought forth the theme of losing faith. The sense in the journey kept Brown moving forward to the evil side. “You will think better of this by-and-by,” said his acquaintance, composedly. “Sit here and rest yourself awhile; and when you feel like moving again, there is my staff to help you along.” (par.40). As stated in this quote the devil is promoting a staff to help Young Goodman Brown move forward to the evil