ipl-logo

Faith In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

1607 Words7 Pages

By only having faith in God; the source for everything in life good or bad, and nothing else, does this truly and solely ensure that one is protected from all temptations that come with the outside world? In Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne, located in Salem,Massachusetts, Young Goodman Brown is defined by supposably being a good Puritan, which should show his unbending belief in God. However, his religious beliefs are put into question as he is introduced to another world, a world fueled with sin, a public showing of those sins (which Puritans do not believe in) and temptation . Both, Puritan writer Jonathan Edwards, and story author Hawthorne express their unyielding conflicts when it comes to the Puritan faith through …show more content…

They are people who are supposed to believe in God, to do good things, not to anger God, and not to sin. However if they do sin, even the smallest bit, they wind up in hell as a punishment by the hand of God, just like Edwards said in Sinner in the hand of an Angry Gd. Yet what happens? The people of the Salem community are all together at a communion by the devil, to follow his ways, to sin, and to accept that everyone sins. To prove a point that people aren’t who they really are based on outside appearance. Hawthorne portrays the Puritans as hypocrites. Going back on their word to God of keeping the faith and putting all their trust into him so that they won't be tempted to sin. One moment they were all a pious Puritan community together and the next moment they are all worshipping the devil and taking part in a communion taken part just outside their community. They are not as devout as they should be, and their lives are drenched in the lie of an illusion of being good people while deep inside, they don’t keep to the faith they are supposed it. Even Brown who struggled to keep his faith during the communion ended up leaving it after seeing how everything he believed was true turned out to be a

Show More
Related

  • Young Goodman Brown's Black Veil Essay

    572 Words  | 3 Pages

    In both stories Nathaniel Hawthorne offers a portrait of how he views puritan society by setting each story in a small Puritan village, and in “Young Goodman Brown” he shows his true contempt by setting the story about villagers conspiring with the devil in Salem, his childhood home. He portrays the villagers in each story as gossiping, in “The Minister's Black Veil” and as followers of Satan in “Young Goodman Brown”. These stories would not have the same impact or offer the in-depth look at Hawthorne they do if the stories were set elsewhere. The stories would then simply be an indictment of people in general without the added effect of Hawthorne’s personal disdain for the Puritans way of

    Read More

  • How Does Miller Present Mass Hysteria In The Crucible

    659 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Puritan society, citizens are to strictly adhere to set laws and instructions, or they risk being condemned to ‘an eternity in Hell’, as they put it. To understand as to why the Puritans are so conservative, one must first comprehend their origins. The Puritans are a sub-denomination of Christianity which left Europe to establish an orthodox society, purified of all corruption, that is also attributed, The City on the Hill. The Holy Bible,the ultimate (-- removed HTML --) , declares the manner in which an ideal Puritan is to act. Unfortunately, few of the Puritans who Arthur Miller portrays in “The Crucible”, a play that which describes the accounts of mass hysteria in a Puritan community named Salem , abide by the statutes enacted by God.

    Read More

  • How Did Puritans Develop Their Society?

    478 Words  | 2 Pages

    Puritans, faced with harsh religious persecution, were forced to flee Europe and head to the New World in order to freely practice their religion. Pressed with the need to develop a prosperous society, they turned to God. Through a fire-and-brimstone view of the Lord & the teachings of the Bible, Puritans manifested a thriving society dedicated to the glorification of God politically, economically, and socially. To begin, living in constant fear of their angry God, New England Puritans developed a social order they believed would please Him. John Winthrop writes about Puritans living with a certain “meekeness, gentleness, patience and liberalty” so their God would not, “withdrawe his present help” from them (D - A).

    Read More

  • How Did The Puritans Integrate Their Ideas Into Their Society

    1245 Words  | 5 Pages

    Since its discovery, America has been a haven for the discriminated, the ambitious, and the religiously persecuted. The original New England colonies which embodied all three of these attributes and set the stage for future immigrants were influenced by the Puritans. The Puritans were a religious group who were unsatisfied with the teaching of the Church of England. They continuously pushed for greater reforms and fought to “purify” the church, thus the name Puritans. By the seventeenth century, they had begun searching for places outside Europe to practice their religion without dispute or antagonism.

    Read More

  • Comparing The Crucible, By Arthur Miller And The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

    900 Words  | 4 Pages

    Puritan communities are extremely stiff and strict. Their belief system was built upon the fear of sin. They attempted to oust sin from their societies entirely which is nearly impossible. This resulted in a society obsessed with punishing sinners and filled with hypocrisy. In the novel’s The Crucible by Arthur Miller and The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne the authors express their opinions on the faults in this belief system.

    Read More

  • Secret Sin The Minister's Black Veil

    546 Words  | 3 Pages

    As a result of the religious practices in the community, sin was never tolerated, and those who were sinful by their own choice were often socially banned. Hawthorne’s vision on social criticism about puritanism was in no way sympathized; he did not like social boundaries, discrimination, and rules imposed by fake morality that residents often conclude. It did not help

    Read More

  • Hawthorne's Use Of Irony In Scarlet Letter

    736 Words  | 3 Pages

    When you think of a Puritan society, what comes to your mind? Perfect, flawless, and a religion based on following God? Well, that is what it says on paper, but is it really that perfect? Throughout the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne jabs at the Puritans in an attempt to portray just how flawed they really are. After reading the book, you want to think that Hawthorne is telling the story of sinning in a Puritan society.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Essay On Young Goodman Brown

    872 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Perspective of Freedom Have you ever thought about the concept of freedom? Freedom is a point of perspective and not a point of a state of being. This can be seen in the story comparison in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown and Phillis Wheatley’s To the University of Cambridge, in New-England.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Puritans In The Crucible

    1372 Words  | 6 Pages

    Like all ofSimilar to these authors, Arthur MMiller showsprovides, through multiple characters, insight on the length in which Puritans will go to convince themselves they are honoring their Covenant with God, even if they hurt others in the

    Read More

  • Scarlet Letter Rhetorical Analysis Essay

    838 Words  | 4 Pages

    By negatively depicting the Puritans with his depressing diction, Hawthorne establishes a scornful tone that highlights the Puritan’s

    Read More

  • Annotated Bibliography Of Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

    790 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Young Goodman Brown.” : An Annotated Bibliography “Young Goodman Brown” is a story about a man who challenges his faith in himself and in the community in which he resides. Gregory, Leslie. " The Text of Nathaniel Hawthorne 's "Young Goodman Brown". " American Literature Research and Analysis.

    Read More

  • From Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God Analysis

    215 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Puritans remorse when the Reverend tells them they “have offended Him” but God’s hands still prevent them “from falling into the fire every moment" (Edwards 81). The Reverend guilts the Puritans into reviving their faith by explaining that they offend God

    Read More

  • Sin And Guilt In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

    1728 Words  | 7 Pages

    As a consequence of Young Goodman Brown’s decision to walk in sin with the devil, he loses faith in his entire world.

    Read More

  • Imagery In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

    467 Words  | 2 Pages

    In his short story “Young Goodman Brown” Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism and imagery to show the concept of good versus evil. Symbolism is essential to literature because it helps create meaning and emotion in a story. Imagery is crucial to literature because it helps create a vivid experience for the reader. Hawthorne uses both to draw the reader in.

    Read More

  • Hypocrisy In Puritan Society

    874 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Puritans were one of the first European settlers in the New World. After being persecuted for their religious beliefs in England, they sailed across the Atlantic in hopes of establishing a safe haven where they could practice their religion freely. Despite the fact that they were once victims of such intolerance, Puritan society was known for its cruel and unforgiving nature towards those who did not adhere to their beliefs. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne amplifies this irony by highlighting the inherent hypocrisy in Puritan society.

    Read More

More about Faith In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

Open Document