Preview

Rhetorical Strategies In Young Goodman Brown

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
405 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Rhetorical Strategies In Young Goodman Brown
The short story “Young Goodman Brown”, published in 1835 by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a tale of innocence and evil. This piece of literature consists of several different rhetorical strategies. The author utilizes symbolism in order to create depth and save a spot for his work in high culture. He writes about delicate ribbons, a serpentine staff and an eerie forest as he pushes the narrative that the spiritual population is quite corrupt.

Faith dawns gaiety pink ribbons placed gently in her uniform cap. This accessory serves as a representation of purity. The author controls our view of Faith herself by describing her in a cheery manner as she made simple movement like the line, “[She] thrust her own pretty head into the street, letting the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short stories Young Goodman Brown and The Minister’s Black Veil there are many thematic connections between both protagonists and antagonists. Some of the protagonistic similarities in these tales embrace that both of the characters become complacent about the community that they have come to know and love. In the case of The Minister’s Black Veil Parson Hooper undergoes a transformation as an energetic preacher, revered by all, to a social pariah when he dawned the black veil. Doing so caused uneasy feelings in the community around him, which led to the building of contempt against him. Similarly, in the case of Young Goodman Brown his journey into the ‘forest’ left him world-weary of the place and peoples he grew to love from childhood including his father and grandfather. Which in turn caused Brown to have an exponentially…

    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The rhetorical technique of the devil, who met young Goodman Brown in the forest used pathos. The devil convinced Goodman Brown by talking with him and also mentioned that he knew Goodman Brown’s grandfather and his father and even helped them for doing wicked things as well. Those of things betrayed the god. In that period, the puritans believed that all of humanity existed in depravity, but the god has destined some to unconditional election through unmentioned grace. For example, “his grandfather lashed the Quaker woman so smartly through the streets of Salem.” The devil persuaded Goodman Brown that people, even his grandfather, were evil. And the devil also persuaded Goodman Brown betrayed the…

    • 115 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathanial Hawthorne, shows great examples of symbolism and allegory. Hawthorne shows how life is not easy no matter what path is chosen. The challenge the puritan society faces for their religion and how it influences them. He also reveals key components of real life and how deception can affect it.…

    • 560 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Cited: Hawthorne, Nathanial. "Young Goodman Brown." The Norton Anthology American Literature. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2007. 1289-1298.…

    • 1041 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” uses symbolism and allegory to show that people inevitably surrender to the darkness inside of them even if their initial intentions are pure. Hawthorne describes Goodman Brown as a religious man who is drawn towards sin and darkness soon after his marriage. Goodman Brown enters the forest that signifies sin, but resists temptations to join the devil until he finally loses his faith and gives in to evil. Symbolism and allegory are used in the story to help the reader learn about how Brown loses faith in his Puritan society and distrusts the innocence of society.…

    • 507 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    McCabe, Michael E. "The Consequences of Puritan Depravity and Distrust as Historical Context for Hawthorne 's "Young Goodman Brown"."…

    • 1074 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “Young Goodman Brown.” Boston: Literature: An Introduction to Fiction. Eds. X. J.: Pearson Longman. 2010. 391-394., 2010. Print.…

    • 722 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Nathaniel Hawthorne, well known for his attacks on outlandish Puritan ideology in The Scarlet Letter, has always incorporated some aspect of his life and beliefs into his works. Once again, he has successfully conveyed a strong moral concept by utilizing various literary techniques to reveal a disturbing outlook into a man 's soul. In "Young Goodman Brown," Nathaniel Hawthorne uses strong symbolism, irony, and imagery to illustrate the theme of man as one attempting to escape from evil; oblivious to the fact that sin is an escapable part of human nature. In the story, the reader is guided through Goodman Brown 's inner spiritual conflict between good and evil as he takes a journey which will lead him to a life of despair because of the temptations he succumbs to.…

    • 2079 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Nathanial Hawthorne had a way of intertwining imagery and symbolism into one. He could put the two together to create an ominous mood throughout his story “Young Goodman Brown”. The focus on the use of symbolism and imagery helps imply the theme, that no one can escape sin, in the story. Hawthorne uses this theme to denounce puritan attitudes and hypocrisy.…

    • 1031 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story is a about determinant beliefs and an epic struggle between good and evil. Young Goodman Brown faces some real evils, but also has to face his own devilish side, his temptations, his anger and his family's history of cruelty. Hawthorne’s character, Young Goodman Brown, leaves the reader with the impression that "GOOD-MAN" is the focal character that symbolizes his will to be the noble person, in the battle between good and evil. Young Goodman Brown’s faith is tested, and only his walk through the woods will tell how he alters his beliefs and makes changes in his life insistently. Within the in short story, Goodman Brown encounters a journey that takes him through the realization between saints and sinners that later leads him into the woods to encounter a man posed as Satan and a journey back home that leads to delusional thoughts about his community.…

    • 942 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In Young Goodman Brown, Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the tale of a man and his discovery of evil. Hawthorne's primary concern is with evil and how it affects Young Goodman Brown. Through the use of tone and setting, Hawthorne portrays the nature of evil and the psychological effects it can have on man. He shows how discovering the existence of evil brings Brown to view the world in a cynical way. Brown learns the nature of evil and, therefore, feels surrounded by its presence constantly.…

    • 1869 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Young Goodman Brown

    • 1539 Words
    • 7 Pages

    “Young Goodman Brown” is a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne about a young man who has to endure the experience of temptations of evil and dance with the devil. Goodman Brown is a young adult who has influences all around him swaying him towards evil that he felt were reliable role models. Hawthorne uses literary devices to display many different meanings in this story. In the story, the most common devices are imagery and symbolism. The imagery used is to help the reader understand the symbolism he is portraying. He uses these devices to develop a theme to the story and provide different aspects of good and evil. Many people now a days fall under the temptation of sin, even Christians. Having faith with God is commonly seen as a good relationship to have and gives you a positive outlook on life, but after losing that faith, your world darkens and not everything seems as bright as it did. Hawthorne’s use of symbolism and imagery helps to develop the theme of Christians losing faith through temptation and peer pressure as Goodman Brown does.…

    • 1539 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Young Goodman Brown is a work teeming with subtext and unspoken meaning. On the surface, the story is a simple one, of a man having an apparent dream about a run-in with the Devil and becoming bitter towards all he knows. However, under the surface is social commentary on the state of humanity, the fickleness of faith, and the overarching theme that what you see may not be what is actually there. The theme that appearances are deceiving is supported by Hawthorne’s use of symbolism, characterization, and setting.…

    • 1258 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    … There is no good on Earth, and sin is but a name” (Hawthorne). Let it be clarified that, at this point, Goodman Brown has no actual proof that his wife has met an untimely demise, but has merely seen her ribbon in the woods. The fact that he reacts so dramatically to the sight of her pink ribbons shows that his faith didn’t lie in his wife at all, but at the picture of her with her pink ribbons, and once the two become separated, Brown’s ideal for his wife, his ‘Faith’ then falls to the ground—just as her ribbon did. This, however is not the only impactful symbol used by Hawthorne to expose the nature of mankind in ‘Young Goodman…

    • 559 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In this short story, “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the value of work the author was excellent. The work Hawthorne has done was outstanding with a good work of literature that really brought the story to thinking towards the end. One of the major themes in this short story was religion and how it took place throughout the story. Also, when looking at the author’s background is a must to get what the understanding of the whole set of the story. Also, to focus on what he/she thinks and can reflect in a way they feel.…

    • 196 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays