Nathaniel Hawthorne s Young Goodman Brown - 869 Words

In the short story â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† by Nathaniel Hawthorne, themes of innocence, morality, and human nature are explored through the experience Young Goodman Brown has with his encounter with the devil. Hawthorne delves into the subject of the perception of morality and religious thinking based on the perception of others. The symbolism enhances the exploration of human nature and the assumed innocence of people, Godly societies, and the presence of evil. In this short story, the people of the community are seen as holy and pure, but they are not what they seem to be, at least in the mind of Young Goodman Brown. His perception, whether real or imaginary, shed light on his own unawareness when it comes to the people of his community, his wife, and even himself. The story starts out with Young Goodman Brown, a newlywed who belongs to the Puritan society, but leaves his wife for a night to meet with a seemingly ordinary man who is representative of the devil. Although Young Goodman Brown has his reservations and doubts about meeting the man and leaving his wife, he ultimately chooses to follow through with the experience and it has everlasting consequences. This plot sets the ominous tone of the story, by creating an uncomfortable situation for anyone who considers themselves and the people around them to be good people. The forest setting and time period of religious Puritan reform in America, along with the Salem witch trials, contribute to the dark, sinister mood ofShow MoreRelatedNathaniel Hawthorne s Young Goodman Brown1543 Words   |  7 PagesIn Nathaniel Hawthorne s short story of Young Goodman Brown, the author uses symbolism and allegories in order to showcase the Puritan faith as well as man s conflict between good and evil. This analysis will break down the techniques that the author uses to critique the puritan society and to show the difference between how people appear to be in society and the true colors that they are hidden inside of them. There has been a lot of great authors in our time, but none more interesting thanRead MoreNathaniel Hawthorne s Young Goodman Brown1065 Words   |  5 PagesWhen it comes to the topic of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown, most of us will readily agree that duplicity is a major theme in the piece, or the idea of different versions of reality. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of whether Hawthorne is implying that man is inherently evil. Whereas some are convinced that Young Goodman Brown was good until tainted by the Devil, others maintain that he was evil from the beginning and was completely aware of the evil heRead MoreNathaniel Hawthorne s Young Goodman Brown905 Words   |  4 PagesThough Nathaniel Hawthorne is an author of many great works, his short story â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† still stays relevant because it has themes and subjects that are relatable in today s world. In the story â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† Good man Brown leaves his wife Faith, to go into the woods near Salem to have a meeting with the devil. Appearance vs. reality is shown in â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† through the plot, the character of Goody Cloyse, and the symbol of the maple staff. The characterRead MoreNathaniel Hawthorne s Young Goodman Brown1312 Words   |  6 PagesWithin Nathaniel Hawthorne s short story Young Goodman Brown (p.317), Young Goodman Brown travels through a dark and mysterious forest late at night. Ignoring the pleas of his pure wife Faith, he ventures deep into the woods with many dangers around him, only to emerge in the morning a changed man with bewildered views on his own Puritan life and the Puritan community around him. At the cause for this change in mindset, the dream of an old man symbolizing the devil appears, showing him the communityRead MoreNathaniel Hawthorne s Young Goodman Brown Essay1274 Words   |  6 PagesIn Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† the devil says, â€Å"Evil is the nature of mankind† (â€Å"Young† 627). Since Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and attempted to hide conceal their sin from God, humans have tried to hide their sin from others. Although ever yone sin is human nature, everyone has a different reaction to sin. While some acknowledge sin, others ignore it. In Hawthorne’s other short story, â€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil,† Father Hooper wears a black veil to represent the sin heRead MoreNathaniel Hawthorne s Young Goodman Brown Essay1449 Words   |  6 Pages â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† is a short story that is filled with symbols and mystery. Nathaniel Hawthorne provides plenty forms of symbolism for readers to digest. Hawthorne displays strong faith as the greatest virtue for a man or woman, and when the faith is compromised, one can be filled with skepticism and uncertainty towards the rest of the world. The story begins as a conventional allegory, creating the expectation that the characters will be able to consistently display the abstractions they symbolizeRead MoreNathaniel Hawthorne s Young Goodman Brown1695 Words   |  7 Pagesstory, Young Goodman Brown, by Nathaniel Hawthorne is set in Puritan New England. Hawthorne uses symbolism, description, scenery, and Goodman’s journey to illustrate and symbolize the battle of good versus evil. In the first scene, we see how Young Goodman Brown leaves his wife, Faith, to start on his â€Å"evil† journey through the woods. Though Faith asks him to stay with her, he chooses to continue on even though he knows the evilness lies ahead. As the story continues, we see how Hawthorne uses FaithRead MoreNathaniel Hawthorne s Young Goodman Brown1492 Words   |  6 PagesIn Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story of Young Goodman Brown, the author uses symbolism and allegories in order to showcase the Puritan faith as well as man’s conflict between good and evil. This analysis will breakdown the techniques that the author uses to critique the puritan society, and to show the difference between how people appear to be in society and the true colors that they are hidden inside of them. There has been a lot of great authors in our time, but none more interesting than NathanielRead MoreNathaniel Hawthorne s Young Goodman Brown2532 Words   |  11 PagesNathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† demonstrates how Goodman Brown leaves his wife, Faith, to do an errand within the woods with a man that is believed to be the devil. During the time period in which this took place, the 1620’s, many of the people from the village were practicing Puritanism. Puritanism is an intense practice of religion retrieved from Protestants, only removing its Catholic influence. When Goodman Brown entered the woods to meet the devil, he soon turned intoRead MoreNathaniel Hawthorne s Young Goodman Brown894 Words   |  4 Pagesread. In â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†, I found several romanticism characteristics to be in this story. One being, the emphasis on feelings and emotions. Nathaniel Hawthorne writes, â€Å"The cry of grief, rage, and terror was yet piercing through the night, when the unhappy husband held his breath for a response.† The cry of anguish and pain are very applicable to the protagonist idea in this story. Brown also expresses feeling when he doesn t want to leave his wife Faith, but he feels that it s his role to