Nathaniel Hawthorne Critiques Puritan Society in His Works, Young Goodman Brown and The Scarlet Letter
Many American writers have scrutinized religion through their works of literature, however none had the enthusiasm of Nathaniel Hawthorne. A handful of Hawthorne's works are clear critiques of seventeenth century Puritan society in New England. Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown and The Scarlet Letter illustrate his assessment by showing internal battles within characters, hypocrisy in religious figures, atypical punishment for crimes, and accenting women's roles in Puritan society. Firstly, Hawthorne's literature often stresses internal battles in main characters. In both Young Goodman Brown and The Scarlet Letter, these battles are between morals and sin (both past and future). In Young Goodman Brown, Brown goes into the woods and meets Satan. Satan, in the form of Brown's deceased grandfather, asks the weary Brown to take his staff. The staff "bore the likeness of a great black snake... almost be seen to twist and wriggle... like a living serpent" (Hawthorne 1237). The comparison of the strangers' staff as a snake is very reminiscent of the Bible's story of Eve and the serpent in the Garden of Eden. "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God made" (Genesis 3:1) and as we know Eve ate the fruit from the forbidden tree and succumbed to the serpent's temptation. However, unlike Eve, Brown did not take the serpent-like staff because he knew he was being tested. Goodman Brown was also ethically confronted when he sees his wife, Faith, among a group of high standing community and church members in a circle of religious converts who plan to switch to Satanism. Seeing his adored wife ready to worshi...
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...en upstanding, moral individuals, yet it appears that Hawthorne wants to show us examples of those who were not unblemished.
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There are many conspiracies that people say have happened at the Roswell crash in the summer of 1947 in Roswell New Mexico. Nobody knows what really happened at the crash in Roswell New Mexico but, many people say that the thing that had crashed there was a UFO and or a flying saucer which mean there being aliens. Even after 50 years the people still do not know what happened and for everybody that doesn’t know were going to go deeper into what really happened. This incident had caused a lot of chaos with the Air force and the people.
There are many people throughout Arizona that say that they saw what is being called the Phoenix lights. Officials received calls and reports of the sighting from as far south as Tucson to the Northwestern reaches of Kingman. Dozens of people videotaped the action that was taking place, and a few even said that they saw the boomerang shaped UFO fly overhead before the sightings. News crews covered as many witnesses as they could find, trying to reveal some sort of clarity or explanation to what was seen to set every mind at ease. The most conclusive evidence of a UFO sighting came from a family that CNN interviewed and made their cover story.
INTRODUCTION: why is Young Goodman Brown a sinful and bitter person? Why and how is he like that?
Ever look up at the sky and just wonder if there is life anywhere else? Have you seen anything in the sky that is almost unexplainable? What if your thoughts really came true? The thought of the existence of aliens seems to have been around since the beginning of time. There is one incident in particular that really hits home when talking about the subject, the UFO incident of Roswell, New Mexico.
Nathanial Hawthorne besieged with his ancestral ties to the Salem Witch Trials and his loathe for a Puritan society, lead him to create an allegory of a young man’s quest and his struggle between good and evil. Hawthorne wrote figuratively about Puritanical ideals, beliefs and social appearance in Young Goodman Brown. Also, the short story is centered on New England’s history, mostly inspired by Puritan beliefs.
Still, skeptics can call this recent occurrence a hoax. For, even if one would see an alien or even just a spacecraft it would not have enough credence to prove beyond another person’s quizzical denial. Hence, bringing me back to my original issue if some one really did see this phenomena where are these other people? I believe we will never know the answer regarding extraterrestrials until there is a national revelation of some sort. Once again, the skeptics are left waiting for an answer. For the human race deserves nothing less.
Whether or not the Roswell incident truly involved a UFO remains unclear. How ever, the military cover-up only served to fuel the fire of our imaginations. Interest continues to grow, as questions remain unanswered. Even Bill Clinton has been quoted as saying “…If the United States Air Force did recover alien bodies, they didn’t tell me about it either, and I want to know”(qtd. in Wright 105).
Heussner, Ki Mae. "UFOs? Aliens? Area 51 Revealed." ABC News. ABC News Network, 10 Apr. 2009. Web. 09 Apr. 2014.
The main characters in Hawthorne's story "Young Goodman Brown" are Goodman Brown, his wife Faith and the stranger who accompanies Goodman Brown in the forest. At the beginning of the story Brown is bidding his wife, Faith farewell at their front door. Taking a lonely route into the forest, he meets an older man who bears a fatherly resemblance to both Brown and the Devil. Later that night Brown discovers to his amazement, that many exemplary villagers are on the same path including, Goody Cloyse, a pious old woman who once taught him his catechism, but who readily shows that she certainly knew the Devil and practiced witchcraft. With Brown still confident that he could turn back, his older companion departs, leaving behind his curiously snakelike staff and fully expecting that Brown would follow.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “Young Goodman Brown.” Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts and Robert Zweig. 5th Compact ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2012. 329-37. Print.
... like Hester. He is implying that she is the victim and that the Puritans are actually at fault for this sin. Hawthorne's main goal is to convey the Puritans as sinful and unholy. He does not approve of the sin they hide and he thinks there should be punishment for their actions.
The Roswell Incident, which enlightened our minds to the capacity of excepting all, has remained one of the most controversial issues today. In Roswell, New Mexico, 1947, a strange occurrence arises. An alien craft from outer space crashed in an open field. The issue lay still for almost thirty years, until the thought of a government cover-up arose.
"Interview with Zecharia Sitchin." Connecting Link. Issue 17. July 1993. "Interview with Zecharia Sitchin." Illuminati News. 2005. Web. 5 Mar. 2012. http://www.illuminati-news.com/ufos-and-aliens/html/sitchin_interview.htm