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…
Throughout the passage he uses symbolism in many ways. He demonstrates how Young Goodman’s faith is being tested. When Hawthorne says "Come, Goodman Brown, cried his fellow-traveler,” this is a dull pace for the beginning of a journey. “Take my staff, if you are so soon weary.” According to Sophie Starmack, his wife has a symbolic name. “My faith is gone!” with this being said Hawthorne works on two levels, the literal loss of his wife and the symbolic loss of his spiritual belief. He seems to be more worried about how he might lose his Faith. Hawthorne suggests that if one bases their morals with religion and society, one might just get confused and lose their morals and become weakened. Yet, Goodman Brown tries to stay strong and committed to his Faith. Hawthorne states, “Is that any reason why I should quit my dear Faith and go after her?” In Jimmy Maher’s words "The Young Goodman Brown" is presented as an allegory of the danger inherent in abandoning one's Christian faith.…
In the short story, “Young Goodman Brown,” Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the literary archetype of a good versus evil opposition to contribute to Goodman Brown’s fate. In the beginning of the story, Goodman Brown must choose to “put off [his] journey until sunrise, and sleep in [his] own bed” (133), or abandon his wife for the night to pursue an evil errand. Even after his wife pleads him to stay, Goodman makes the decision to leave his home to journey to an evil place. Considering how quickly Hawthorne allows Goodman to face a conflict of good versus evil in the story, readers begin assuming that Goodman’s condition will directly connect to the choices he makes in these situations. Readers find proof of this connection when Goodman…
The first thing Goodman Brown hears when he arrives is “a familiar [tune] in the choir of the village meetinghouse” (Hawthorne 2213). This comparison immediately conjures a setting in which the piety and perfection preached by the church is contrasted by the harsh reality of human imperfection. True to its set up, the dark sable figure presumed to be the devil delivers a conversion speech for the Goodman Brown by lecturing how Puritans “shrank from your own sin, contrasting it with their lives of righteousness and prayerful aspirations heavenward. […] This night it shall be granted you to know their secret deeds: how hoary-bearded elders of the church have whispered wanton words to the young maids of their households” (Hawthorne 2214). By highlighting the “wonton words” and “secret deeds” that Puritans hideaway in fear of being found out, the devil elucidates the hypocrisy that the Puritans center their life upon; indeed, Young Goodman Brown’s world is shattered when he realizes that what appears to be “lives of righteousness” are actually tainted by atrocious sin. Through the shadowy figure and the aura of the final demon meeting, the author repeatedly conveys the message that perfection…
Cited: Hawthorne, Nathanial. "Young Goodman Brown." The Norton Anthology American Literature. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2007. 1289-1298.…
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.…
First, we will start with Goodman Brown. He is the main character in Nathaniel Hawthorne 's short story titled "Young Goodman Brown". "Hawthorne could not escape the influence of Puritan society" (McCabe). I think that Hawthorne 's own past is and complications are reveled in his story about Goodman Brown. I believe that Goodman Brown has had a rough past and is trying to reach beyond his past in order to reach heaven. Goodman has some major problems with his wife, Faith, and everyone else in his community. I think that he is seeing everyone as perfect people, but he is having impure thoughts about himself and his past. In order to deal with these problems within himself, he is making up that everyone has this awful bad side. When he goes into the forest, he believes he is talking to the devil with looks much like his grandfather. The devil is feeding him bad thoughts about everyone he knows, even his own father and his wife Faith. Next, I believe that Goodman Brown has had a rough past and in order for him to overcome this within himself…
“The Minister’s Black Veil” and “Young Goodman Brown” are short stories written by American Writer Hawthorne Nathaniel. The two stories took place in the Puritan New England in the 17th century. Hawthorne in his work addressed all the Puritan/Calvinist believes which advocated the existence of humanity in a depravity state where all those who were born in a grace state were exempted. Both stories “The Minister’s Black Veil” and “Young Goodman Brown” fit into American dark romanticism. These two stories show how the studies of Hawthorne of evil coincided so much with his religion studies especially the Puritanism which was highly practiced by all of his ancestors in Salem in the 17th century.…
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.…
Goodman Brown is a good man, but the name itself can symbolize young good men that are tempted to have a sinful life. Throughout the story, goodman Brown refers to his wife, Faith. His references also represent his struggle with his faith during his temptation with sin. His wife, Faith, is determined to keep goodman Brown from his path. The story supports this in the beginning because she softly and sadly whispered, asking him to put off his journey until the next day (620). When asked by the second traveler as to why he was late, he replied, “Faith kept me back awhile” (620). This statement refers to his actual…
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.…
Have you ever watched curiosity get the best of someone, or heard the age old saying curiosity killed the cat? In the story Young Goodman Brown, Nathaniel Hawthorne illustrates this perfectly by showing just what happens when you start to question those around you. Young Goodman Brown represents an allegory by using religious imagery, character names, and struggles between good and evil. For example, the main characters’ names, Young Goodman Brown and Faith, could symbolize the innocence of youth and how temptations are always lurking. These names might foreshadow that the story is probably based on youth and faith. When the story opens, the first paragraph states, “And Faith, as the wife was aptly named, thrust her own pretty head into the…
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “Young Goodman Brown,” the author uses symbolism and imagery to create meaning by developing an atmosphere that utilizes its historical and Bible references. Through Goodman Brown’s journey to and back from the forest, the message that Hawthorne is trying to convey is when faith is undermined, the results can cause one to be feel doubt and cynic towards everyone else.…
Young Goodman Brown, is a gothic short story written in the setting of Puritan New England, about the struggle a young “Goodman” by the name of Brown and the fight to maintain his innocence’s as he embarks on a journey through the forest with an elder man who symbolizes to be the devil himself. Nathaniel…
Young Goodman Brown is a young man who fits his name. He is innocent and believes the community is as harmless as they appear. However his innocence has blinded him to the reality of the dark world. Brown’s family, his wife, and respected members of the community such as Goody Cloyse and Deacon Gookin, have all submitted to the devil. Brown gives in by going to the ceremony, but is permanently scarred and shaken by the experience. He no longer trusts anyone in the community or fully loves his wife again. The beliefs he thought that everyone had were corrupted when he discovered their alliance with the devil. Each of these people followed one another, disregarding their personal morals. This made all the characters seem spineless and unfaithful. This shows Hawthorne’s themes of not all things are as they seem, standing firm in your beliefs, doing what you know to be right and not following the crowd just because of a popular decision.…