Good And Evil In The Misfit In Flannery O Connor's Young Goodman Brown

God punishes evil. This interpretation of evil is problematic, however. Because God administers punishment, evil becomes anything that questions the omnipotence of God. The hint that God himself may have an evil side is a truth that may not be discovered without first questioning, an action that endangers the questioner. "Evil" is acknowledged as a force separate and opposite from "good".

Despite Troy?s continuous attempts to push himself away from anything he had ever known about his father, the inheritance of such irrational behavior was inevitable because it was all he had ever known. The inheritance of this angry behavior was, in turn, the cause of his damaging relationships with his own family. Just as Troy endured his father?s cruel ways, Troy?s family is left with no choice but to try to learn to live with his similar ways. Troy?s family is one that strives to maintai... ... middle of paper ... ...y as a responsible person. He overlooks Cory?s efforts to please him and make a career for his son, learned from his past with his own father, is responsible for the tension that builds between him and Cory.

Goodman Brown unfortunately was blinded by the realization of sin and its existence in the human heart and chose to reject all of society and trust no one. The name of Goodman Brown and his wife Faith are clear symbolic elements. Goodman Brown stands for the naïve, immature young man who only sees the good in his fellowman, and has yet to be confronted with evil. Faith, Goodman Brown’s young wife stands for what Goodman Brown believes in. He sees his wife as all that is good and when he realizes that she too has made a pack with the devil he cries “my faith is gone…There is no good on earth.” This makes Brown a stern, sad and distrustful man.

Arthur Dimmesdale faces many challenges throughout the course of the novel, which causes him to evolve. Despite his many good qualities, he does not confess, while Hester Prynne gets publicly shamed for the sin they committed together. This adds up to the reader’s lack of empathy for Dimmesdale. He plays the role of “human frailty and sorrow.” The activities Hester and Dimmesdale engage in are completely unacceptable in the Puritan society. Arthur Dimmesdale is a Puritan minister, he is expected to be the representation of Puritan faith, so he refrains from disclosing the truth.

Camus explains that life isn’t about what is not envisioned, but it’s about what is evident. Meursault’s feeling of apathy is directly related to his conviction that life lacks necessary order and meaning, “As if that blind rage had washed me clean, rid me of hope…I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world,” as he awaits his impending death, he finally recognizes that life is the most complex entity in the universe and one only has one life to live, so live it wisely (122). In the end, Meursault changed spiritually because he didn’t concentrate as much on the physical world because while he was in prison, he thought about life’s gifts and (although still atheist) realizes that faith in yourself and life is very important. There is also some irony here; he finally realizes the meaning of live just as he awaits his death.

During his journey Young Goodman Brown found himself entangled within a web of moral controversy; this occurrence exposed his and society’s inner struggle with temptation and religious devotion. For the most part Young Goodman Brown found his downfall inevitable because although he chose good, evil seemed to prevail within his surroundings. He later declared, “"My Faith is gone!" cried he, after one stupefied moment. "There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name.

He must struggle futilely to get back to where he was. Torn between the desire to confess and atone for his sin and the cowardice that holds him back, Dimmesdale goes slightly mad. He takes up some morbid forms of penance, fasts and scourgings, but he can neither whip nor starve the sin from his soul. In his agony, he staggers to the pulpit to confess, but his words come out as generalized and meaningless declarations of guilt. The reverend seems to want to reveal himself, but Chillingworth's influence and his own shame are stronger than his weak conscience.

Brown refuses to believe what he has just been told, in fact, he goes so far to loudly proclaim that “With heaven above and Faith below... ... middle of paper ... ...n a man is tremendous. Brown feels so overwhelmed by learning of the sins that alleged pious leaders commit, that he forgets his own sins. Lastly, Hawthorne’s description of Browns quest, epitomizes the amount of change one goes through when discovering the truth. It is seen that while at first he is able to withstand the temptations of the devil, the realization that others around him have fallen victim to the devil’s plots, just sends Brown over the edge. He comes out of his quest a more educated man, with a completely different mindset.

As a result, they begin to criticize themselves instead. For instance, if a person is a called a “loser,” then when a mistake is made, their internal voice will learn to call them a loser as well.”. Once Gregor was called “it” he then realized he was nothing more than a bug that no one loved. The relationship in the household was not similar to any other families. A father is suppose to love the child and teach the child how to be a man and respect others, not abuse.

“The little boy was part of a simple equation that required no further solution, except at the moments when with little or no warning he would feel himself overwhelmed by the horrifying love. Anything he looked at too long could bring it on” (401). Rayber viewed his mentally handicapped son as something that could be calculated and figured out, but did not understand the feeling of love that he had for Bishop when he looked at him too long. This signifies Rayber’s constant struggle with grace within his own life. Being an atheist and secularist, grace was a strange and alien feeling to him that made him feel uncomfortable.