ipl-logo

Young Goodman Brown Essay

945 Words4 Pages

While there are as many possible interpretations of a work as there are readers, a reader should not have to go beyond a work to understand an author’s intentions for a work. They should be able to have a somewhat similar interpretation to the author’s intended interpretation, given that the author was successful in their rhetoric and stylistic devices. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s case with his short story “Young Goodman Brown”, one does not have to go far to understand what he wanted to achieve. Hawthorne was a master of societal criticism, symbolism, rhetoric, and narration. Hawthorne meant for his readers to feel conflicted and confused. There are countless cases of ambiguity and contradictory symbols in his short story, and they serve their …show more content…

Nearly all of the story takes place in a forest, something that traditionally symbolizes the ‘unknown’. Forests are often depicted as dark and gloomy, and filled with monsters and things that want to hurt the main characters of a story. Early American audiences knew this, as do modern audiences today. Hawthorne also uses a lot of religious imagery, which is generally viewed as positive. In this case however, the religious imagery is extremely negative in nature and depicts satanic rituals, something typically disapproved of. The Devil himself appears in the story, which is customarily a negative element in a story. It is still negative in “Young Goodman Brown”, however, the Devil is likened unto Brown’s father. This conflicts readers, as fathers are usually strong moral figures. Readers are also predisposed to highly approve of the character Faith with her pink ribbons and submissive personality. Faith becomes a symbol of hope and innocence throughout the story and is Brown’s greatest influence for good. Though the character herself does not do much in the story, she is the main fighting force against evil and sin; that is why it is so traumatic for Brown when it is unclear whether or not she rejected evil in the end. Readers end up conflicted over opposing preconceptions of certain images and ideas, and may be perplexed over the directions Hawthorne takes this short

Show More
Related

Rhetorical Analysis Of The Scarlet Letter

742 Words | 3 Pages

In addition, it forces one to question one’s ethics, specifically Prynne’s case. Without this novel, people most likely wouldn’t understand Puritan cultures, nor be able to think deeply about one’s morals. * Audience Hawthorne writes in order to inform the world about Puritan society. Moreover, he writes to entertain his audience while allowing them to question its themes: sin, challenging authority, justice, women, and hypocrisy. He writes to specifically

Read More

The Birthmark By Nathaniel Hawthorne

208 Words | 1 Pages

Nathaniel Hawthorne was a dark romantic author, meaning that he believed that humans are imperfect beings, which contradicted the transcendentalist belief that people are inherently good. This belief is demonstrated throughout the short story.

Read More

Compare And Contrast Essay On Young Goodman Brown

872 Words | 4 Pages

(pg. 453)” Young Goodman Brown is a man living in the puritan era who has a wife and family, and is deep in his Christian faith. Young Goodman Brown lived in a town that is all connected to through the local church. Early in the story Young Goodman brown would set out to meet a person who would later be labeled as the devil by one of the locals. Young Goodman brown would have a vision of everyone in his community that would show him their wicked sins.

Read More

Carlos Martinez's The Scarlet Letter

381 Words | 2 Pages

That old man’s revenge has been blacker than my sin. He has violated, in cold blood, the sanctity of a human heart. Thou and I, Hester, never did so!” In the book Hawthorne uses both the negative and positive character traits. He uses deception and guilt which is in the form of plant imagery.

Read More

Anti Transcendentalism In Scarlet Letter

1155 Words | 5 Pages

Anti-Transcendentalism, Nathaniel Hawthorne, who many of his novels (or “romances,” to him) were dark, twisted but held a shimmer of light and hope within them. A particular novel, one of which is considered a great piece of American Romantic literature, The Scarlet Letter, due to its story line being set in the remote past of the Puritan era, focuses on the strict laws of the Puritan society and the battle for love, happiness, and acceptance in an anti-Puritan situation. Throughout the novel it becomes evident that this Puritan society is filled with corruption. However, in a way to brighten the dark and twisted storyline that is The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses the truth that is reflected in the surrounding nature as a way to convey an overall mood of select chapters, a way to describe the characters

Read More

How Does Nathaniel Hawthorne Use Biblical Allusions In The Scarlet Letter

1458 Words | 6 Pages

However, he also uses these allusions to create a new side to his narrative as evident when he describes Hester’s resilience, and to create a new element in the plot as evident in his description of Dimmesdale’s penance and need for redemption. Therefore, Hawthorne demonstrates an effective use of allusions to craft a religious and detailed narrative for The Scarlet Letter by reviewing on parallels between the Bible and the novel’s main characters. There’s more to The Scarlet Letter than these allusions though, and there are many questions to answer about this book. These questions may never be answered fully, but by reading the novel itself, we might find the right places to start searching for answers and formulate our own opinions on the matter. What’s important from this novel is the realistic warning about what might happens when an individual place themselves too highly among others, a message Hawthorne writes to warn against the fervor of transcendentalism of his time.

Read More

Symbolism In 'The Raven And Minister's Black Veil'

641 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout it all, there is this mysterious feeling created by the black veil and this is a great way for Hawthorne to bring symbolism into the story. Even though there are other ways to create a feeling without directly coming

Read More

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

562 Words | 3 Pages

Similarities of “The Minister’s Black Veil” and “Young Goodman Brown” “The Minister’s Black Veil” and “Young Goodman Brown” are two short stories written by Nathaniel Hawthorne that share many similarities. In his writings, Hawthorne displays a fascination with the Puritanical beliefs and ideals associated with sin and wickedness. Such ideals serve as a common thread that weaves the stories together by using a religious base, symbolism, and a dark mood. First, Hawthorne’s meticulous usage of religion is the foundation of both stories.

Read More

What Does The Young Goodman Brown Symbolize

483 Words | 2 Pages

Hawthorne’s symbolism Hawthorne uses great symbolism in both “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Ministers Black Veil”. I am going to point out all the excellent uses of symbolism. “The Young Goodman Brown” has symbolism throughout the story. Take the pink ribbon for instance. The pink ribbons represents pureness and overall goodness.

Read More

Young Goodman Brown Rhetorical Analysis

675 Words | 3 Pages

For many years, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s writing of “Young Goodman Brown” has been used frequently when discussing the topic of a moral allegory. This story is both a literal and metaphorical journey of a man who is walking to a spiritual crisis, with the devil himself. The use of symbolism and imagery help to set the tone for the reader, when going along with Goodman Brown on his “soul-searching” journey. Herman Melville once wrote that Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” has only been improving over time. He said “like wine, was only improving in flavor and body.”

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

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

Hawthorne says, “Something fluttered lightly down through the air and caught on the branch of a tree” Faith’s pink ribbons symbolize purity. In the beginning of the story was Faith had her ribbons she was pure but at the end of the story when Young Goodman Brown saw Faith’s pink ribbon come down from the sky it represents how she succumed to evil and Hawthorne lost both his faith and his wife Faith. The third example of how Hawthorne uses symbolism to show the theme good versus evil in the story “Young Goodman Brown” is when the devil is telling Brown and Faith that they will have a new perspective of life, a life where everyone sins. In the beginning of the story Young Goodman Brown saw his family as godly and he saw Faith as pure but the devil shows him that his views are naive and the devil gives him the capability to see the dark side of everything and everyone.

Read More

Young Goodman Brown Character Analysis

879 Words | 4 Pages

The story of Young Goodman Brown is the story of a tale about the main character becoming aware of the hypocrisy of his faith as a Puritan. Through his travels in the woods at night, he unveils the truths, or what he believes as truths, about his wife Faith, neighbors, and fellow Christians. By the end, Brown loses all trust in his Faith, both literally and spiritually, and refuses to see any good in the world. The beginning scene where Goodman Brown meets the old man has the most significance in the story’s resolution. This is where his mistrust starts to form and where he experiences his first temptations to sin.

Read More

Gothic Elements In Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter'

1284 Words | 6 Pages

Point #1: Hawthorne effectively establishes a dark and gloomy atmosphere that adopts the conventions pertaining to the gothic genre by highlighting the oppressive nature of the Puritan society. • Use of dark imagery, and prison as a symbol of sin. • Juxtaposition

Read More

More about Young Goodman Brown Essay

Related Topics

Open Document