ipl-logo

Religious Undertones In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

432 Words2 Pages

Next, some book 's and story 's have religious undertones used in them. While not common, comparative religion can be just as important to a story as history and symbolism. Hawthorne used comparative religion between Puritanism and Satanism. As Goodman Brown continues through the forest he comes upon a horrifying situation. “Each pendent twig and leafy festoon was in a blaze. As the red light arose and fell, a numerous congregation alternately shone forth, then disappeared in shadow. . .” (Hawthorne 354). Unlike some of the Puritan customs listen above, this is the opposite with the red light and fire. The setting hint 's very heavily that this is not a congregation that Goodman Brown wants to be apart off. The Devil is closely associated with fire as Hell is …show more content…

. .” (Hawthorne 355). The idea of the Satanic congregation is cemented and proven correct with this quote. Here by this point Goodman Brown has nearly given up on his Puritan religion and is about to switch to Satanic instead. He is preparing to take part in this congregation with the people around. Preparing to accept 'his destiny ' as the dark figure so boldly stated. By the next Sabbath-day that takes place, Goodman Brown is present yet he is a changed man. “. . .when the congregation was singing a holy psalm, he could not listen, because an anthem of sin rushed loudly upon his ear, and drowned out all the blessed strain” (Hawthorne 357). Here readers are shown that Goodman Brown is trying to stay and stick with Puritanism. Goodman Brown seems to be trying to get over what he witnessed in the forest, and continue on being a good Puritan. Yet when the first holy psalm is being sung, he cannot bring himself to do so and only remembers the sins he has done. Proving that he can not long follow Puritanism and may have joined the religion of Satanism while he was in the forest. In brief, Goodman Brown undergoes a religious revelation while in the forest and must choose between staying a Puritan or becoming a

Show More
Related

  • Young Goodman Brown's Black Veil Essay

    572 Words  | 3 Pages

    Young Goodman Brown’s Black Veil "There is no one righteous, not even one.” This is the theme present throughout the short stories “Young Goodman Brown” and “The minister's black veil”. Nathaniel Hawthorne crafts two stories that not only look at the characters in the stories, but also forces the reader to examine human nature and their own self-righteousness; whether it be from the perspective of Goodman Brown or the townspeople of Salem. Nathaniel Hawthorne offers a peek behind the black veil that everyone wears. The first, and most prominent, similarity in these two stories is theme. Both stories deal with the idea that people are not good and more accurately are evil.

    Read More

  • Use Of Moral Allegory In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

    491 Words  | 2 Pages

    His journey into the woods signifies a journey into the forces of evil which can be described as the woods themselves. Since the story begins and ends in Salem it is a symbol of the starting point as well as and the endpoint of his life as he visits the woods. Salem is as said in the story a safe haven and the woods are filled with sin. Puritans believed the woods to be the habitat of the devil. The woods in "Young Goodman Brown" are the symbol of the devil's habitat and are filled with evil and

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Essay On Young Goodman Brown

    872 Words  | 4 Pages

    “On the Sabbath day, when the congregation were singing a holy psalm, he would not listen because an anthem of sin rushed loudly upon his ear and drowned all the blessed strain. (pg. 456)” Brown would grow with the idea that all his loved ones are “sinful” and he would be somewhat of a recluse, by setting himself apart from the community, family, and church. The story states that he would die this way, and hardly anyone would come to his grave. We see that with Young Goodman Brown, even though he was sound in his faith, he lost what it is that made him feel free.

    Read More

  • Possible Sanctity And Specter Evidence Summary

    1109 Words  | 5 Pages

    He believes that his Faith is salvageable, yet due to Hawthorne’s use of deliberate ambiguity, Goodman Brown does not know “whether Faith obeyed” him or not (395). Goodman Brown awakes the next morning unsure if his Faith remains intact, unsure how the hellish communion ended. His uncertainty causes him to distrust those around him, “he shrank from” the minister and “snatched away [a] child,” from Goody Cloyse (395). He even distrusts his own Faith, deciding not to speak to her and only “looked sternly and sadly into her face,” attempting to discern if Faith is without sin (395). As such, he commits the unpardonable sin, looking for sin in others.

    Read More

  • Compare The Prodigal Faith And Young Goodman Brown

    893 Words  | 4 Pages

    This challenges everything good that Brown has ever known. Satan reveals the evil secret that exposes the sacrilege among the townspeople, including Brown’s own wife.

    Read More

  • What Did Puritans Believe About The Evil Capabilities Of Satan Or Young Goodman Brown?

    1872 Words  | 8 Pages

    Witchcraft and Satanic activity are prevalent in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s works, including “The Scarlet Letter” and “Young Goodman Brown”. From Mistress Hibbins in “The Scarlet Letter” and the walk Goodman Brown takes with the devil through the forest in “Young Goodman Brown”, the satanic influence and witchcraft are shown. Some questions arise when delving deeper into the meaning of these influences. What did the Puritans believe about the evil capabilities of Satan and witchcraft? How willing would they have been to believe Hawthorne’s accounts?

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Minister's Black Veil And Young Goodman Brown

    562 Words  | 3 Pages

    A certain darkness encompasses each of these stories and helps represent the recurring themes of evil and sin throughout them. In conclusion, “The Minister’s Black Veil” and “Young Goodman Brown” are both strongly based in religion, contain symbolism, and share a dark mood. These elements enrich the stories by conveying the important points included in each one. Hawthorne synthesizes these elements in much of his literature, which explains how these stories are beautifully woven together like a well-crafted

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Young Goodman Brown

    489 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the text, “Young Goodman Brown”, Brown’s gloom and withdrawal is justified by the shocking events in the forest. This is because, during his time in the forest, be bears witness to supernatural events in which he sees that many people he knows from the path of god are in reality on the path of the devil. For Brown to be justified in his feelings, the events in question must be deemed events that were real. To start, when Brown first exited the woods after witnessing the ritual, he heard Deacon Gookin, a man at the ritual, praying.

    Read More

  • Annotated Bibliography Of Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

    790 Words  | 4 Pages

    Web. 2 May. 2012. The research of “Young Goodman Brown,” explains the various images found in Young Goodman Brown. Some of them clarifies the author criticisms are the Salem Village, the pink ribbons on Faith’s hat, the fellow traveler, the staff, and using of the term “faith”, and the forest.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Evil In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

    512 Words  | 3 Pages

    Goodman Brown enters the forest knowing of such evil, he states in the story “what if the devil himself should be at my very elbow” (Hawthorne 322). Goodman Brown sees the minister and Deacon Gookin as well as many other townspeople making their way into the dark forest towards the ceremony. At this time, Nathaniel Hawthorne is displaying that many people of all ranks in religious and governmental society are sinners despite their external appearance. He holds on to the thoughts that as long as Faith remains holy, he shall find it in himself to resist the temptations of evil, but when he sees the pink ribbons from Faith’s cap his Christian faith is weakened. Hawthorne is using Goodman Brown’s wife, Faith, as a symbol of his own when he yells out “my faith is gone!”

    Read More

  • Sin And Guilt In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

    1728 Words  | 7 Pages

    This talk of devilish acts from people known to Goodman Brown as holier than all causes Goodman Brown great pain and confusion even to the point where he was “ready to sink down on the ground, faint and overburdened” from what he had just witnessed (5). In the short time from when Goodman Brown enters the forest, sees Goody Cloyse, and sees the minister and the deacon, his entire life and upbringing is

    Read More

  • Imagery In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

    467 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first example of imagery that Hawthorne uses is when Young Goodman Brown is walking through the woods and he was trying to resist the devil’s temptations. “On he flew among the black pines, brandishing his staff with frenzied gestures, now giving vent to an insperation of horrid blasphemy, and now shounting forth such laughter as set all the echoes of the forest laughing like demons around

    Read More

  • The Inevitability Of Sin In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

    706 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sin is inevitable. Every person sins, one way or another. Sinning is impossible to avoid even with “practice.” “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne shows readers that. Goodman Brown wants to believe he is a good man, and perhaps he is; but he is tempted by sin all the same.

    Read More

  • Comparison Of Transcendentalism In Emerson And Nathaniel Hawthorne

    1098 Words  | 5 Pages

    Conversely, Hawthorne did not trust man at all. He was a Transcendental Pessimist. He believed man was corrupt, and following his intuition would fail him in life. One of Hawthorne’s short stories, “Young Goodman Brown”, portrays the tale of a young Christian man who wanders into the forest and witnesses a witch-meeting that involves some of the people Goodman Brown thought to be some of the holiest people he knew: the church Deacon, the pastor, and even Brown’s own wife, Faith. After the witch-meeting incident in the woods, Brown wonders whether he witnessed the witch meeting, or if it was a creation of his own imagination: “quote”.

    Read More

  • The Puritans In Hawthorne's Short Story

    238 Words  | 1 Pages

    Although in this time period, the Puritans were seen as extremely devoted followers of God, they still seemed to be hypocrites as others of this time. In Hawthorne’s short story, when Goodman Brown gets to the meeting place of the devil and his fellow Puritans he sees the people who, “Sabbath after Sabbath, looked devoutly heavenward” (37). Even though the Puritans went to church every Sunday and were always looking up to God, Hawthorne portrays them as secret sinners who meet with the Devil in the woods together, just as they meet at church every Sunday. Furthermore, after looking at all the familiar faces of his fellow Puritans’ deep in the mysterious woods, Goodman Brown points out one familiar face in particular, Goody Cloyse. Upon

    Read More

More about Religious Undertones In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

Open Document