Absence of Absolute Good or Absolute Evil in Young Goodman Brown
"'Lo! There ye stand, my children,' said the figure, in a deep and solemn tone, almost sad, with its despairing awfulness, as if his once angelis nature could yet mourn for our miserable race. "Depending on one another's hearts, ye had still hoped, that virtue were not all a dream. Now ye are undeceived! Evil is the nature of mankind. Evil must be your only happiness. Welcome, again, my children, to the communion of your race!'"
The above quotation from Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown is of central importance in analyzing the attitudes and ideas present throughout the story, though in a curious way. The quotation (and the story itself), on first reading, seem superficially to portray a central character's loss of faith and the spiritual tragedy contained therein. Rereading, however, reveals a more complex set of ideas, ones which neither fully condemn nor condone the strictly constructed dichotomy of good and evil that Hawthorne employs again and again over the course of Goodman Brown's journey.
I think Hawthorne had much more in mind than a mere outline of good and evil. His primary struggle in Young Goodman Brown seems to be less with faith vs. the faithless void than with the points in between these states. The story seems more about the journey through between two rigidly defined states than about good and evil. By describing good and evil through heavy-handed metaphors and symbols, such as his wife's name and the satanic communion he finds himself at in the forest, and then describing goodman Brown's inability to adapt his self-image to the hypocrisy he finds, Hawthorne comments on the ultimate failure of such a rigidly proscribed formula for...
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... these two states than it is about a definitive statement on outlining a definition of "proper" human behavior.
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2.) Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown". printed in: A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature: Fourth Edition. Editors Wilfred L. Guerin, Earle Labor, Lee Morgan, Jeanne C. Reesman, John R. Willingham. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 1999.
In "Young Goodman Brown," Nathaniel Hawthorne, through the use of deceptive imagery, creates a sense of uncertainty that illuminates the theme of man's inability to operate within a framework of moral absolutism. Within every man there is an innate difference between good and evil and Hawthorne's deliberate use of ambiguity mirrors this complexity of human nature. Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown, is misled by believing in the perfectibility of humanity and in the existence of moral absolutes. According to Nancy Bunge, Hawthorne naturally centers his story upon a Puritan protagonist to convey the "self-righteous" that he regards as the "antithesis of wisdom"(4). Consequently, Young Goodman Brown is unable to accept the indefinable vision of betrayal and evil that he encounters in the forest. The uncertainty of this vision, enhanced by Hawthorne's deliberate, yet effective, use of ambiguity, is also seen in the character of Faith, the shadows and darkness of the forest, and the undetectable boundaries that separate nightmarish dreams from reality.
Flag Burning can be and usually is a very controversial issue. Many people are offended by the thought of destroying this country's symbol of liberty and freedom. During a political protest during the 1984 Republican Convention, Gregory Lee Johnson was arrested for burning an American flag. Years later in 1989, Johnson got the decision overturned by the United States Supreme Court. In the same year, the state of Texas passed the Flag Protection Act, which prohibited any form of desecration against the American flag. This act provoked many people to protest and burn flags anyway. Two protestors, Shawn Eichman and Mark Haggerty were charged with violating the law and arrested. Both Eichman and Haggerty appealed the decision because the law was inconsistent with the first amendment to the Constitution. The right to petition the government for a redress of grievances is protected by the first amendment of the Constitution. Burning American flags and other such actions are not treasonous and should no be treated as so, as long as these actions are done to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
D. At first, Goodman Brown hesitated to follow the devil. However, he still decide to follow it with doubt. Even though, Brown knows what he was doing is a sin. This is a fine example of Goodman Brown’s ambivalence, of how he struggle between good and evil, between faith and the devil.
Wardlaw, G.M. and Smith. Contemporary Nutrition: Issues and Insights. 5th Edition. Boston: McGraw-Hill, pp 85, 2004.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne 's short story "Young Goodman Brown”, the abundant use of symbolism, mystery and suspense captures the reader’s attention almost immediately. From the beginning and throughout the entirety of the story, Hawthorne leads the reader into asking themselves the questions, "What is all of the symbolism, mysticism, characters, and scenery actually representing?" Hawthorne masterfully uses this symbolism to show Goodman Brown’s unconscious struggle with his personal religious faith and his faith in humankind.
Tucker, Bonnie. “Deaf Culture, Cochlear Implants, and Elective Disability.” Hastings Center Report. 28.4 (1998): 1-12. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 9 Dec. 2013.
Hawthorn, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown" The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Vol. I. Shorter Seventh Edition. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 2008. 620-629. Print.
beverages may play a role in the epidemic of obesity." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
In the Bible, God commands Moses to go up Mount Sinai to receive divine instruction. When he comes back, his people, the Israelites, have gone crazy. They have forgotten Moses, and forgotten their God. They form their own god, a golden calf, and build an altar. They even had a festival for the golden calf. "Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and sat down to indulge in revelry" (Exodus 32:6). Moses then went down the mountain and got so angry that he smashed the tablets with the Ten Commandments on them. The Israelites lost faith because they could not see the God they were worshipping, so they forgot him and began worshipping a false idol. The Israelites are not very different from modern man. In his short story, "Young Goodman Brown," Hawthorne shows why man loses faith. Man loses faith because of pride, weakness, and erroneous values.
American culture is changing dramatically. In some areas it’s a good thing, but in other areas, like our food culture, it can have negative affects. It is almost as if our eating habits are devolving, from a moral and traditional point of view. The great America, the land of the free and brave. The land of great things and being successful, “living the good life.” These attributes highlight some irony, especially in our food culture. Is the American food culture successful? Does it coincide with “good living”? What about fast and processed foods? These industries are flourishing today, making record sales all over the globe. People keep going back for more, time after time. Why? The answer is interestingly simple. Time, or in other words, efficiency. As people are so caught up in their jobs, schooling, sports, or whatever it may be, the fast/processed food industries are rapidly taking over the American food culture, giving people the choice of hot