ipl-logo

Young Goodman Brown Serpent Symbolism

819 Words4 Pages

Since the beginning of time all animals represent certain characteristics of an individual or a particular situation. Every human being has a different idea of what each animal can represent on every situation. So far as a class we have discuss the symbolism of a serpent on 3 different stories (Young Goodman Brown, The Cask of Amontillado, and Sweat). There is no clearer way to represent temptation or the figure of the devil but with a serpent. As most human beings know, in the book of Genesis; the devil transformed himself into a serpent in order to tempt Eve to eat the apple from the prohibited tree disobeying God’s command, however these stories make the reader realize that serpent can be heroes as well as evil. Every single animal not only …show more content…

During those times the forest was consider a place of up to no good and a place of evil. While the narrator is walking through the forest he meets this old man called Deacon Gookin whom tries to guide Young Goodman Brown into the ”right path”. While walking into the forest Deacon Gookin offers Young Goodman Brown his staff so that Brown could walk faster and get through the forest easily. “I may not spare you my arm, Goody Cloyse; but here is my staff, if you will” (Hawthorne, 6). The narrator says that the staff has the movements of a serpent. Young Goodman Brown by saying yes to Deacon Gookin’s offer Goodman Brown is controlled by his curiosity and agreeing to continue his path towards evil. Deacon Gookin meets Goody Cloyse who is Young Goodman Brown’s minister, as Ms. Cloyse sees Deacon Gookin she screams the devil making it clear that Deacon Gookin is evil and represents the devil as …show more content…

Most people believe that Fortunato is consider the serpent throughout the story because of his railleries towards Montressor but Montressor can be consider a serpent as well. Montressor has been planning to murder Fortunato for a long time. Serpent are sneaky and soothe for a long time until the serpent finds the right time to make an attack, Montressor was sneaky and waited for the right opportunity to make the attack. People think that Fortunato is the serpent in the story because he keeps embarrassing and despising Montressor in front of other people. When Montressor and Fortunato decided to go to the catacombs to “taste the wine”, Montressor shows Fortunato the crest that belong to the Montressors. The crest shows a foot stepping on a serpent. The crest tells the reader that The Montressors do not let evil enter in the

Show More
Related

  • 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

  • Use Of Allegory In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

    376 Words  | 2 Pages

    First he come across an elderly witch. Follow by a couple of devil-worshippers.he then come encounter with a spooky "black mass of cloud". Shortly after, brown faces the devil himself and his minions. At last brown returns home safe from all the evil things. Young Goodman Brown may leave you feeling a bit confused after reading his story the first time ,and may require a second reading .Many

    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

  • Essay On Symbolism In Lord Of The Flies

    969 Words  | 4 Pages

    Lastly, “A stick sharpened at both ends,” conveyed to the children the danger of each other and Roger, the wielder of the stick, used this symbol of destruction to lead them on a hunt to kill the protagonist Ralph. The symbols with the greatest influence and power were mostly derived from a negative connotation. William Golding used both power and symbolism to create an Allegory novel that gives insight on how they have a deadly end result. The washed up Conch and Sow’s head had many differences, the most simplistic being that the head was evil, containing fear, while the Conch wielded order and civility. The plot of this novel shifts around power and what the result is of having it fall into the wrong hands.

    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

  • The Cask Of Amontillado Revenge Quotes

    581 Words  | 3 Pages

    “The Cask of Amontillado,” by Edgar Allen Poe is a story about revenge. The protagonist, Montressor, is confessing to a “you” about a murder that he had committed in the past. To determine the “you” the social classes of Montressor, the location of the story and revenge must be analyzed. In the story, Montressor speaks about Fortunato and says, “He prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine.” (Poe)

    Read More

  • Lord Of The Flies Allusion Analysis

    1104 Words  | 5 Pages

    The snake also could represent when Satan hides himself as a serpent in the Garden of Eden. And well in the Garden of Eden, Satan placed a question before God asks, “Could mankind rule itself without

    Read More

  • What Are The Symbols In Young Goodman Brown

    613 Words  | 3 Pages

    The snake on the end of the staff represents the devil. No other animal makes you think of the devil like a snake does. In Young Goodman Brown, the staff is brought into the story when Goodman Brown meets the man in the woods. “But the only thing about him, that could be fixed upon as remarkable, is his staff, which bore the likeliness of a great black snake, so curiously wrought, that it might almost be seen to twist and wriggle itself, like a living serpent.” (par. 13)

    Read More

  • Sin And Guilt In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

    1728 Words  | 7 Pages

    During his journey of sin, Young Goodman Brown and the devil come upon Goody Cloyse, Young Goodman Brown's catechism teacher, and, still believing that she is a “pious and exemplary dame” Goodman Brown tries to stay away from the woman by pleading with the devil “I shall take a cut through the woods… being a stranger to you, she might ask whom I was consorting with” (3). Because of Young Goodman Brown’s beliefs of her innocence, it is even more jolting to him when she “knows her old friend,” the devil, and speaks about stolen broomsticks, recipes including “the juice of smallage and cinquefoil and wolf’s-bane,” and even the same devilish meeting that Young Goodman Brown and his accomplice are to attend (3). With signs that all point to sin and witchcraft, Young Goodman Brown’s shock in saying “That old woman taught me my catechism” had “a world of meaning” as he cannot possibly believe that a woman known to be so holy and righteous in the community could be so evil within. As Goodman Brown moves past the shock of Goody Cloyse’s actions, he is exposed to the sins of the holiest members of their Puritan community, the minister and Deacon Gookin. While Goodman Brown shamefully “[conceals] himself within the verge of the forest… he recognized the voices of the minister and Deacon Gookin” who speak of the same evil “meeting” as Goody Cloyse and even remark that “several of the Indian powwows” will even be present (4,5).

    Read More

  • Imagery In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

    467 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the story “Young Goodman Brown” Nathaniel Hawthorn uses symbolism and imagery to present the idea that messing with good versus evil is a dangerous decision. The reader is able to take away that Young Goodman Brown made the decision to choose evil and in the end he ended up dying an unhappy man. This vivid imagery and symbolism shown in the short story wasn’t enough to frighten Brown, but

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Gilgamesh And The Bible

    921 Words  | 4 Pages

    In both stories the serpent is depicted as a negative force. It is the thing that denies humanity of immortality or some pleasure. In the Bible the serpent is a sign of temptation. The serpent convinces Eve to eat fruit from the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden. This was after God had told her and Adam that they were not allowed

    Read More

  • Sow's Head In Lord Of The Flies Essay

    541 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Lord of Flies by William Golding has many symbols of evil, one of which is the sow’s head. William Golding uses the image of the sow’s head as a figure to lead the reader to understand the parallel of human evil and the evil that Satan represents in the bible. The sow’s head, represents savagery, innate evil in human beings, and a Satan figure. The image of it is a major symbol to move the reader along in the battle between civilization and savagery.

    Read More

  • Why Does Aristotle Live In A Polis Summary

    405 Words  | 2 Pages

    Though other animals

    Read More

  • Young Goodman Brown Mood Analysis

    481 Words  | 2 Pages

    as Goodman brown goes from his home to the forest a pace od evil the mood changes.

    Read More

  • What Is The Meaning Of A Serpent

    1271 Words  | 6 Pages

    Another deity in India called Vishnu, is believed to sleep on n the coils of serpent named Shesha. It is common belief that when Shesha yawns and opens his mouth, it causes earthquake. d) African and Australian mythological explanations: believe correlates earth with Rainbow snake, which gives birth to all the living animals, oceans, humans and rivers on this planet.  Serpents in Bible: Story of Adam and Eve highlights the significant role of serpents in the Book of Genesis (Old Testament). As everyone knows, God placed Adam in the Garden and asked him not to eat fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and

    Read More

More about Young Goodman Brown Serpent Symbolism

Open Document