The Young Goodman Brown Research Paper
People need to believe in something. It does not matter if they follow “God’s rules” or just political idea like communism. Faith that everyone has some kind of purpose, make society running. First of all, it helps people struggling with everyday life. In fact, members of all societies in the world clarify their point of view by following the guidelines of their religion or political idea. However, what if only a few of them can be saved? Faith might not be an answer, and only a few people have been chosen, to reach the “God.” “The Young Goodman Brown” is a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1835. Hawthorne is best known as an author of “The House of the Seven Gables”, “Twice-Told Tales,” and “The Scarlet Letter.” Author was born in the beginning of the nineteenth century in Salem, Massachusetts. His ancestors were involved in the witch trials. To be not recognized because of his family, he changed his last name from “Hathorne” to “Hawthorne.” The author had served as an American consul in the Great Britain. He died in 1864 in Plymouth, New Hampshire.
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“The Young Goodman Brown” can be described as Dark Romantic literature.
This theme was initiated in the beginning of nineteenth century. The precursors of romanticism in literature were George Byron, who wrote “Giaour”, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the author of “The Sorrows of Young Werther.” In fact, those two writers created an archetype of “Romantic Character.” The Goodman Brown fits perfectly into the characteristics of the romantic character. He is a rebel, who does not follow the rules of society in Salem. Moreover, he searched for the truth about himself, by traveling into the unknown. Because of his journey, he had transformed from an idealistic, catholic man into a cynic, who lost his
faith. The story begins when the Goodman Brown leaves Faith – his wife. “My journey, as thou callest it, forth and back again, must needs be done ‘twixt now and sunrise.” He is about to go for his great, romantic journey into the woods, that could be only completed that particular night. On his way, he meets an old man, looking similar to him, and a woman who taught him catechism. It looks like all of them are members of a sect. In fact, a lot of his townsmen are going in the same direction as Cloyse Brown. They assemble around the altar at midnight. The ceremony they gathered for is a witches’ Sabbath, where they worship Satan. The dark lord even personalized and says “Welcome, my children (…) to the communion of your race! Ye have found; thus young, your nature and your destiny.” During the ceremony, Goodman Brown refuses to become one of the worshippers of the dark lord, and then whole scene vanishes... The next day, the character comes back home, and it is not clear whether the situation was real, or it was just a dream. However, Goodman Browns has gone through the transformation – he acts as if he lost his faith in humanity. The main character has proven that even the “perfect” people, who obey all the rules, may not be saved by their religion or philosophy. It seems probable that they fall in the darkest hour of their lives. There is nothing guaranteed because nobody is saint. Like Goodman Brown, people may reevaluate all their lives, when they go through some difficult situation. It does not mean that everything that people live for is senseless, does it?
“The Young Goodman Brown” can be described as Dark Romantic literature.
This theme was initiated in the beginning of nineteenth century. The precursors of romanticism in literature were George Byron, who wrote “Giaour”, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the author of “The Sorrows of Young Werther.” In fact, those two writers created an archetype of “Romantic Character.” The Goodman Brown fits perfectly into the characteristics of the romantic character. He is a rebel, who does not follow the rules of society in Salem. Moreover, he searched for the truth about himself, by traveling into the unknown. Because of his journey, he had transformed from an idealistic, catholic man into a cynic, who lost his
faith. The story begins when the Goodman Brown leaves Faith – his wife. “My journey, as thou callest it, forth and back again, must needs be done ‘twixt now and sunrise.” He is about to go for his great, romantic journey into the woods, that could be only completed that particular night. On his way, he meets an old man, looking similar to him, and a woman who taught him catechism. It looks like all of them are members of a sect. In fact, a lot of his townsmen are going in the same direction as Cloyse Brown. They assemble around the altar at midnight. The ceremony they gathered for is a witches’ Sabbath, where they worship Satan. The dark lord even personalized and says “Welcome, my children (…) to the communion of your race! Ye have found; thus young, your nature and your destiny.” During the ceremony, Goodman Brown refuses to become one of the worshippers of the dark lord, and then whole scene vanishes... The next day, the character comes back home, and it is not clear whether the situation was real, or it was just a dream. However, Goodman Browns has gone through the transformation – he acts as if he lost his faith in humanity. The main character has proven that even the “perfect” people, who obey all the rules, may not be saved by their religion or philosophy. It seems probable that they fall in the darkest hour of their lives. There is nothing guaranteed because nobody is saint. Like Goodman Brown, people may reevaluate all their lives, when they go through some difficult situation. It does not mean that everything that people live for is senseless, does it?