Analysis of
Young Goodman Brown and
The Most Dangerous Game
Patrick V. Porterfield
Liberty University Online
Spring 2016 ENGL 102-D48 LUO
Richard Connell and Nathaniel Hawthorne portray both of their protagonists as intelligent and capable members of their societies of their times with the adept ability of discernment in the tactical sense. With high morals, they believe in fair play and honesty. The antagonist portrayals in both stories depict the silent and deep hidden evil that lurk in all societies. If one seeks the evils, they will find it. However, at times, some people those evils quite by accident and are often challenged by those revelations in the immediate and long term. The antagonists are the personification of evil, in
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In Goodman, the antagonist is the Devil and he manipulates Goodman in his discussions about Goodman’s father, and Grandfather, Goody Cloyse, and Deacon Gookin. These people have already become manipulated by evil and are already in a secret society. Perhaps Goodman had already known this which provokes him to meet with the devil in the first place, but it appears that Goodman was prepared to become a member of this society. The symbolism presented in Goodman is ever-present in the Hawthorne’s descriptions of attire, props and even the names of the characters. But both stories seem to suggest seems to suggest that society is reflected in the members of that society, albeit in a town or in a small enclave. In Goodman, a large majority of the town was already members of this cult, and every member of the society is eligible to be a member of it as long as they accept the depravity of the rituals. In Game, the island was inhabited by only a few like-minded fellows who viewed anyone as potential kill, and was accepted in that small …show more content…
Goodman was set in colonial America and representing the Puritan intolerance of the Quakers in Massachusetts. Hawthorne drew from his grandfather’s tribulations of the Salem Witch Trials which is further described in Goodman’s discussions with the devil regarding Goodman’s grandfather whipping a Quaker in the streets and handing Goodman’s father a flaming torch to burn an Indian village during King Philip’s War. These notes emphasize the historical fascination with the sin. In Game, General Zaroff was Cossack and is in reference to the people in the Ural Mountains region of Eastern Europe in present-day Ukraine. They were military specialists who fought as mercenaries for Czar Nicholas during the communist revolution of Russia and were known for their violent attacks and use of guerilla warfare. Connell used the Cossacks to steepen the plot and to color Zaroff as a cold and heartless person and provided rational for Zaroff’s appetite for
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
It 's the final day of the game, Rainsford spots Zaroff in the distance, Rainsford runs and dives into a bush, Zaroff senses that Rainsford is close by, He spots him, Rainsford ducks while whispering “nerves...nerves...” Zaroff shoots and narrowly misses Rainsford in the thick bush, “Next time rainsford...next time..” says Zaroff. Rainsford stands up and simply replies “Oh,here won’t be a next time” “Oh.. really…”
While reading Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game”, readers find that the determining fact that makes it so gripping is the intense style in which he develops tension and foreshadowing to create suspense and a sense of uneasiness. Especially when Rainsford tumbles off his yacht in the Caribbean into the “blood warm waters” (15). “His pipe, striking the rope, was knocked from his mouth. He lunged for it; a short, hoarse cry came from his mouth”. Readers are afraid for Rainsford, that maybe he won’t survive the harsh environment of the fierce jungle.
Goodman Brown fears the devil and the evils in men, even himself. Rainsford is afraid of the wealthy Zaroff, him being evil by hunting men. The authors write us stories that bring out the deeper fears in us and makes them real. The difference here is that Goodman Brown could have been imagining his encounter with The Old Man or Devil, while Rainsford fell off the boat and landed on an island with a crazy murderer after him. Understanding Young Goodman Brown Young Goodman Brown leaves his home in Salem village, says goodbye to his wife, Faith.
The Most Dangerous Game Essay Brody W. 1A Richard Connell’s The Most Dangerous Game is a classic story about good vs. evil, hunter vs. hunted, etc. This story has a very suspenseful tone. Connell always keeps the reader on his toes.
Good Vs. Evil is one of the most controversial themes in literature, in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor and “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the authors focus on this theme to unravel the plot. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” O’Connor uses the Grandmother and a thief, The Misfit, to compare and contrast the good and evil in people. Hawthorne’s, “Young Goodman Brown,” uses the main character, Young Goodman Brown, and his journey from being a respected man to being summoned by the devil. Both authors use the main characters as a comparison of what being good means, but they present the evil of the story in different ways.
Love Relationship: Hawthorne portrayed love relationship in ‘Young Goodman Brown’ as conjugal love relation between husband and wife when Young Goodman departed for his journey leaving behind his newly
“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.
Nikita Khrushchev once claimed, “If you live among wolves you have to act like a wolf.” Khrushchev means that if a person lives surrounded by those who are ferocious or voracious, then that person is obligated to behave like them. Similarly, Richard Connell addresses this idea in the short story “The Most Dangerous Game” by displaying a change of mentality within a character when that individual is put into a fearful situation. Specifically, he uses conflict in order to develop the theme that the one’s will to survive outweighs one’s will to be civilized if life depends on it.
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
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
In “Young Goodman Brown,” Goodman Brown is naïve. At first, he is stuck on the idea that everyone is good but still chooses to meet with the devil in the forest out of curiosity. He knows that the devil is evil and a bad person, but feels as long as he clings to Faith once he gets home he will be safe. Goodman Brown encounters several people that he knows while on his walk in the
In “The most dangerous game” written by, Richard Connell, he uses many devices such as: characterization, plot structure and theme to contribute to the overall meaning of the story. Characterization is a big part of the overall meaning of the story which is that survival is of those who are smart, cunning, and can adapt to their environment. The protagonist Rainsford is at a constant battle with the antagonist General Zaroff. Throughout the entire short story they both have similar minds sets and then farther along the main character 's mind set develops into something more. The reader can almost sense a self centeredness, and that he believes that there are only two type of people in this world, “the hunters and the huntees”, and he believes that he is the hunter.
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”.
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.