Religion & Historical Background of Young Goodman Brown
Essay on Young Goodman Brown
There are times when religion and innocence are questioned. Some people may argue that heritage can be a deciding factor in how religion can play a major role in how we view one another. The story Young Goodman Brown was the outcome of Hawthorne’s experience through his young adulthood, which was heavily impacted by the historical background of his family. Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, to a family of Puritan colonists. Hawthorne’s paternal distant grandfather, John Hathorne, whom was a judge in the Salem Witch Trials, troubled Nathaniel so much, that he added the W to his last name to separate himself from the family. 1
Some readers could argue after reading this story, knowing the history of the Salem Witch Trials, and knowing things about Nathaniel Hawthorne, he showed the hypocrisy of the Puritan faith through the events that happened throughout the story. One example of how Hawthorne’s heritage, specifically the background of the “judge,” played a role in the story through events that occurred, was at the beginning of the story when Brown, the main character, met with the traveler, also known as the “devil,” and discovered that the devil had possibly been affiliated with his family. 2 Brown stated in the story that he was “surprised that his family had never spoken of this, because if rumor had made its way to the town that the family was affiliated with the devil, they would have cast them from New England,” just as the individuals in the Salem Witch Trials were hanged, because they were believed to be affiliated with the devil, and using the Devil’s Magic.
Hawthorne used his experience with the Puritan background in the story, with the description of the woods as being a dark place, portraying that the “woods” is where the devil resided, and that the “woods” is where evil deeds took place.3 Hawthorne also used the sounds of the creaking of trees, the howling of wild beasts, and the yell of
There are times when religion and innocence are questioned. Some people may argue that heritage can be a deciding factor in how religion can play a major role in how we view one another. The story Young Goodman Brown was the outcome of Hawthorne’s experience through his young adulthood, which was heavily impacted by the historical background of his family. Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, to a family of Puritan colonists. Hawthorne’s paternal distant grandfather, John Hathorne, whom was a judge in the Salem Witch Trials, troubled Nathaniel so much, that he added the W to his last name to separate himself from the family. 1
Some readers could argue after reading this story, knowing the history of the Salem Witch Trials, and knowing things about Nathaniel Hawthorne, he showed the hypocrisy of the Puritan faith through the events that happened throughout the story. One example of how Hawthorne’s heritage, specifically the background of the “judge,” played a role in the story through events that occurred, was at the beginning of the story when Brown, the main character, met with the traveler, also known as the “devil,” and discovered that the devil had possibly been affiliated with his family. 2 Brown stated in the story that he was “surprised that his family had never spoken of this, because if rumor had made its way to the town that the family was affiliated with the devil, they would have cast them from New England,” just as the individuals in the Salem Witch Trials were hanged, because they were believed to be affiliated with the devil, and using the Devil’s Magic.
Hawthorne used his experience with the Puritan background in the story, with the description of the woods as being a dark place, portraying that the “woods” is where the devil resided, and that the “woods” is where evil deeds took place.3 Hawthorne also used the sounds of the creaking of trees, the howling of wild beasts, and the yell of
Cited: (1) Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Young Goodman Brown. New England: New England Magazine, 1835. Pgs. 1131-1141 in Making Literature Matter (2) Blumberg, Jess. “A Brief History of The Salem Witch Trials.” Smithsonian.com: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/brief-salem.html, 2007. (3) White, Ellen Brooks. “Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Salem.” Miscellany: Life and Literature: http://allthingsliterary.wordpress.com/2009/10/31/nathaniel-hawthornes-salem/, 2012-2013.