More handpicked essays just for you.
Good and evil in the history of literature
How do authors create suspense essay
Good and evil in the history of literature
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
In the short stories “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne and “Bartleby, the Scrivener” by Herman Merville, both authors used significant events throughout stories to characterize both protagonists of their respective stories. Goodman Brown in “Young Goodman Brown” and The Narrator in “Bartleby, the Scrivener,” both characters experience many hardships, conflicts, and situations that would create a parallel between both characters. The characterization of Goodman Brown and the Narrator are Developed through conflicted scenarios that both characters witness, furthermore both characters faith and humanity are tested by people who surround them throughout the story. Both Goodman Brown and the Narrator characterization were develop
In the short story “Young Goodman
…show more content…
The narrator along with his employees witnesses a mysterious man named Bartleby. At first the narrator believes this man does incredible job in his work that the narrator assigns, however the narrator attitude changes when he notices Bartleby is becoming rebellious and “would prefer not to” do any of the task ask from his (Melville). This continuous until the narrator finally became frustrated and fatigue of trying to terminate and remove him from the premises. This becomes such obstacle to get over, the narrator after several failed attempts of attempting to remove Bartleby that he decides to relocate his office to a new building in Wall Street. At first, it was work in progress, but this simple solution wasn’t enough to stray from Bartleby. The narrator feels compelled to nurture and care for Bartleby on the realization that he was alone and lost. Among these realizations the narrator characterization was align with the character of Bartleby. Bartleby made up who the narrator ultimately what he was going to
Short stories, when written by the same author, vary by subject but sometimes contain similar themes. Nathaniel Hawthorne was an entertaining writer who wrote many such stories. Two among his works have some striking similarities. “Young Goodman Brown” and “My Kinsman, Major Molineux” both were written within three years of each other by Hawthorne (1832-1835). The biggest similarities between the stories were with the main character of each. Robin from “My Kinsman, Major Molineux” and Brown from “Young Goodman Brown” were both young men on a journey that took them through a single night. Both men held some innocent or naïve worldviews. Both had idealistic views of people that were proven to be untrue. Both men experienced events that should be perceived as symbolic. However, each man met a different fate.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown,” and Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” utilize character responsibilities to create a sinister plot. For Hawthorne, protagonist Young Goodman Brown must leave his wife at home while he partakes in a night journey. For Poe, ancillary Fortunato covets a pretentious manner towards his wine tasting skills, and after being ‘challenged’ decides to prove his expertise by sampling Amontillado. Hawthorne and Poe showcase a theme of darkness but differ in their approach to the setting, characters, and fate of entrapment.
... narrator away; although, the narrator is trying to learn about Bartleby and why the Bartleby acts the way he does. This push causes the narrator to become frustrated with Bartleby and soon the narrator no longer wishes to learn about Bartleby or have anything to do with Bartleby; thus, the narrator decides to rid of Bartleby's presence in the office. However, this does not sit well with Bartleby and Bartleby refuses to leave. Thus, the narrator must move the office to a new location. Unfortunately, Bartleby is arrested and death soon consumes Bartleby. The relationship of the narrator and Bartleby is strained and one might wonder why Bartleby just did not try to communicate with the narrator. Depression crept up on Bartleby, took control, and took Bartleby away. Anyone that has a relationship with Bartleby is no longer important and the relationship soon diminishes
Bartleby demonstrates behaviours indicative of depression, the symptoms he has in accordance with the DSM-IV are a loss of interest in activities accompanied by a change in appetite, sleep, and feelings of guilt (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, 320). Very shortly after Bartleby begins his work as a Scrivener he is described by the narrator as having done “nothing but stand at his window in his dead-wall revery”. (Melville, 126) In contrast, Bartleby had previously been described as a very hard worker and this process of doing increasingly less shows how his a diminishing sense of interest both in his work but also of the perception others have of him. It is also noted that included in this lack of interest is a social withdrawal (DSM—IV, 321) which corresponds well to Bartleby in that his workspace becomes known as his “hermitage”. During small talk which included Bartleby he says that he “would prefer to be left alone”. (Melville, 120) Bartleby only emerges from his hermitage when called upon and quickly returns when faced with confrontation.
In Herman Melville's story, Bartleby, the Scrivener, the narrator's attitude towards Bartleby constantly changes throughout the story, the narrator's attitude is conveyed through literary elements such as diction, point of view, and tone.
Herman Melville uses a first person point of view to show the narrator’s first hand fascination with his employee Bartleby, as well as Bartleby’s strange behavior and insubordination.
In the short story, "Bartleby the Scrivener," Herman Melville employs the use of plot, setting, point of view, characterization, and tone to reveal the theme. Different critics have widely varying ideas of what exactly the main theme of "Bartleby" is, but one theme that is agreed upon by numerous critics is the theme surrounding the lawyer, Bartleby, and humanity. The theme in "Bartleby the Scrivener" revolves around three main developments: Bartleby's existentialistic point of view, the lawyer's portrayal of egotism and materialism, and the humanity they both possess. The three developments present the lawyer's and Bartleby's alienation from the world into a "safe" world of their own design.
In the short story “Bartleby, the Scrivener,” which was written by Herman Melville, the character named Bartleby is a very odd, yet interesting individual. In the story, Bartleby is introduced when he responds to a job opening at the narrator’s office. Although there is no background information given about him, it becomes very apparent that he will be the antagonist in this story. Unlike the usual image put on the antagonist, Bartleby causes conflict with a very quiet and calm temperament. This character’s attitude, along with the fact that he is a flat and static character, makes him a very unique antagonist, and this fact is shown through the way other characters approach and deal with his conflict.
When reading Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” or Herman Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener,” the audience might notice how they are stories of men who become detached from the society after a notable change in how they act towards the world. However, while Bartleby’s disconnection stems from work-related changes, Young Goodman Brown’s disconnection is caused by a “spiritual” experience. I want to focus on how many things these characters have in common, to show what may have caused their change of view in the societies around them.
In the story "Young Goodman Brown", Nathaniel Hawthorne uses a dream to illustrate a young man’s loss of innocence, understanding of religion and his community. Through this dream, the main character Young Goodman realizes that the people that he surrounds himself with are not who he believes them to be. The story of “Young Goodman Brown” focuses on the unconscious mind. The characters in this short-story are able to represent the struggle of Young Goodman’s superego, ego, and id.
Another interesting characteristic of Bartleby is his living habits, which we find out about later in the story. He apparently lives at the office (originally unbeknownst to the narrator). He sleeps, washes, and works in the same place. What makes this even more interesting is that he refuses (or states that he would “prefer not”) to change his living arrangements. When the narrator moves his business, and Bartleby refuses to vacate the premises after the new tenant arrives, the narrator is taken to be responsible for Bartleby, simply because he is the only person who is even close to knowing him. After a lengthy process that ends with Bartleby in prison, who seemingly regards the narrator as the reason for his being there, the story quickly closes with the demise and death of Bartleby, and the strange introduction of the “grub man” (who seems as though he has some deeper importance in the story which I cannot place).
Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes symbolism throughout his short story Young Goodman Brown to impact and clarify the theme of good people sometimes doing bad things. Hawthorne uses a variety of light and dark imagery, names, and people to illustrate irony and different translations. Young Goodman Brown is a story about a man who comes to terms with the reality that people are imperfect and flawed and then dies a bitter death from the enlightenment of his journey through the woods. Images of darkness, symbolic representations of names and people and the journey through the woods all attribute to Hawthorne's theme of good people sometimes doing bad things.
Melville’s use of verbal irony allows for a deeper understanding of Bartleby’s character. Bartleby states that he would rather be assigned a position that is not as confined as a clerk; however, in reality, his behavior indicates that he prefers to be isolated. The narrator cannot understand why Bartleby expresses a disliking for confinement when he keeps to himself the majority of his time. As he
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s allegorical story “Young Goodman Brown” is set in Salem, Massachusetts during the late sixteen hundreds in a time of religious hysteria and only a few generations after the infamous witch trials. Although "Young Goodman Brown" is a fictional tale, it is based on the cynical environment of Salem during this time period. The short story is filled with many literary elements, leading you to question what did exactly happen to the main character at the conclusion. When analyzing a story like "Young Goodman Brown", one must recognize that the story is at whole symbolic. In the text, symbols are used to uncover the truth of the characters. The role of Faith as both a character and a spiritual element are crucial to both the story and the character of Young Goodman Brown.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” is an allegory, though an allegory with deficiencies, with tensions existing between the reader and the story.