5. Nathaniel Hawthorne--"Young Goodman Brown." Discuss the story as an example of Gothic Romanticism. “Young Goodman Brown,” one of the stories in The Norton Anthology of American literature, fits into a sub-genre of American Romanticism. While similar to the fantasy and emotional side of American Romanticism it adds a dark twist to both emotion and nature, while still sticking true to the roots of a fantasy realm merging with reality. This genre is referred to as Gothic Romanticism, this story exemplifies and this with vivid descriptions of morbid, gloomy events, entangled with deep emotional and psychological torment. Oddly, enough the emphasis on emotion and dark boding it keeps its sensibility, and a desire of hope. Firstly, the story …show more content…
Discuss this view. "Thanatopsis was written by William Cullen Bryant in 1811 and is presented in the book The Norton Anthology of American literature. The themes in "Thanatopsis” is centered on death, however, Mr. Bryant is not portraying death as something to fear. Instead he presents a view of dying as natural, inescapable, and a unifying moment on earth (Krupat and Levine 124-125). Predominantly the poem offers a sense of comfort and wisdom, against the fear and pain associated with death. Bryant shows readers not to agonize over dying, in fact, he writes, "When thoughts of the last bitter hour come like a blight over thy spirit, and sad images of the stern agony, and shroud, and pall, and breathless darkness, and the narrow house, make thee to shudder, and grow sick at heart -- go forth under the open sky, and list to Nature 's teachings." With this it eludes each person face their own death, without fright, to feel isolated and alone in death but to find peace in knowing that every person before had died and all those after will join in death (Krupat and Levine …show more content…
Bryant offers a view of life everlasting, “Thine individual being, shalt thou go to mix forever with the elements” (Krupat and Levine 124). This offers a sense of each person’s life living on, through the earth, and the comfort of knowing that no one is alone in death even if someone is alone in life. For the reason that, death is the one occurrence in nature that ultimately unites us all. As it is all part of the unending circle of life. Word Count 274 Reply Sarah Freels: 4. Nathaniel Hawthorne--"Young Goodman Brown." Do you think that Brown 's experience was real, a dream, or a product of his psychological imagination? Support the response with analysis and use specific examples from the text. While dream-like is a reasonable term to use in this story, it appeared more as a split in the mind. As though poor young Goodman Brown, suddenly saw the world for what it truly was, a ripple of each person, each event of his life, being nothing more than a lie. So, he coped with this new reality and truth through a manifestation of visions in an attempt to cope with this very harsh reality. The association of the time and place of the story, Salem, Massachusetts during the witch trails and Puritan reign on the US, it seems that he finally saw the evils that laid beneath the surface of those who claimed to be godly, chief among them Cloyse, his father, and his darling wife (Krupat and Levine
Chuck Palahniuk once said, “The first step to eternal life, is you have to die.” In William Cullen Bryant’s poem “Thanatopsis”, he does not mention eternal life or anything religious, but speaks about death. He tells his readers that death is a natural thing and they should not worry about it. William Cullen Bryant, in his poem “Thanatopsis”, portrays a comforting view of death. Throughout the poem, Bryant encourages his readers by explaining that in death they are not alone, that death, like life, is a natural process, and that they will be among some of the finest people who walked the earth.
In the story, “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the main character, Goodman Brown, is presented with the problem; Was this all a dream? or was this real life? When reading “Young Goodman Brown” it took time to get to the point where it seemed that it was merely in his mind and not actually happening. In the end it seems it should have been known that it was in his mind once Goody Cloyse talked about her broom being stolen, honestly though it seemed very present to me.
Benoit, Raymond. "'Young Goodman Brown': The Second Time Around." The Nathaniel Hawthorne Review 19 (Spring 1993): 18-21.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown." Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. Fort Worth: Harcourt, 1997. 298-308.
...ssed though the use of setting, foreshadowing, and symbolism. William Graham Sumner once said “Men never cling to their dreams with such tenacity as at the moment when they are losing faith in them, and know it, but do not dare yet to confess it to themselves.” (brainyquote.com). This statement holds many truths to the thoughts and actions of the young Goodman Brown in Hawthorne’s allegorical story. Brown was quick to go on his foreboding quest, knowing what his meeting with the devil may lead to, and only when threatened and scared attempted to turn back to hold on to both Faith physically and psychologically. Whether his journey into the forest was an illusion or not, Brown’s perception of faith in society have been dramatically altered, as he may have lost all faith in humanity.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown." Norton Anthology of American Literature. Vol1. Ed. Nina Baym, et al. New York: Norton, 1994. 1198-1207.
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.
Goodman Brown used to be spiritual and friendly man until a “dream” showed him the ways of evil in the town of Salem. He now resides in his house, scared of the outside world that he was shown. In many ways, this can tie into the modern world today. Whether it’s Americans living in fear of terrorism, or a town that might be filled with evil psychotics, it can be agreed that fear is a dark theme to be taken on. Hawthorne delivers a fearsome and terrifying tale that shows the outside world is not just gingerbread houses and football. “Fear doesn 't shut you down; it wakes you up” (Veronica Roth). Goodman Brown’s life forever changed the moment he left the house that night. His Faith desperately tried pulling him back into the safe atonement of his home, but Goodman Brown refused. His Faith could not keep him from going out into the real world, for the world was waiting for him. He knew he had to take this journey, whether or not he knew what was coming or not. What he got was a wake-up call to the real world. The world lives in fear. Hawthorne’s short story tells the tale of a man who is only now opening his eyes for the first time, just as the world
Clarice Swisher in “Nathaniel Hawthorne: a Biography” states: ”When Hawthorne called his stories ‘romances,’ he meant that they belong within the romantic movement that . . . . emphasize imagination and personal freedom” (18). It is the purpose of this essay to interpret the theme of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” and determine where this “personal freedom” leads.
A person should live life without fearing death and think of death as a pleasant rest. In the poem Bryant says, "When thoughts/Of the last bitter hour come like a blight/Over thy spirit,"(8-15). This quote implies when a person fears death he should listen to nature. He also states, "So live, that when the thy summons come to join/The innumerable caravans, …Thou go not, like a quarry-slave at night, /Scourged to his dungeon."(73-78). He explains here that a person should live life without fearing death. In the following lines the poet states, "approach thy grave, /Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch/About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams."(79-81). By this quote the author is saying a person should think of death as a plea...
In Young Goodman Brown, Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the tale of a man and his discovery of evil. Hawthorne’s primary concern is with evil and how it affects Young Goodman Brown. Through the use of tone and setting, Hawthorne portrays the nature of evil and the psychological effects it can have on man. He shows how discovering the existence of evil brings Brown to view the world in a cynical way. Brown learns the nature of evil and, therefore, feels surrounded by its presence constantly.
The main theme of the Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, “ Young Goodman Brown,” is the struggle between Goodman Brown’s faith, power to resist his own evil impulses and his own doubts within him. It is a story of Young Goodman Brown’s personal conflict over his inner desires and its greater meaning conflict between good and evil in the world. The characteristics of Young Goodman Brown are similar to the life of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Nathaniel Hawthorne had his own doubts about his own Puritan life and beliefs. There are numerous examples in this story whereby Hawthorne clearly demonstrates to the reader Goodman Brown’s personal internal conflict between good and evil.
In 'Young Goodman Brown,'; Hawthorne makes the reader believe that Goodman Brown has learned that truth about the world and how evil it really is. In the story the accounts of Goodman Brown let you believe that he has truly seen the evil in the world and knows what lurks behind everybody masks. He makes you realize that even though the person may look holy and religious that evilness is all around us and most people will never ever find out the truth. The character Young Goodman Brown written by Nathaniel Hawthorne finds many issues of evil concerning the town's people in which he lives, about himself, and the reality behind the evil.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown." 1835. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter et al. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Lexington: Heath, 1944. 2129-38.
Goodman Brown is clearly undergoing several struggles involving sex, religion, demons, and his own shadow, his unconscious id and superego, and his purely conscious ego. It is about how a man’s life, faith, and beliefs were shaken by a night’s dream, whether this has been a reality or an illusion. The story proves the power of the mind. It talks about how the mind governed the man’s actions. The piece was great because it allows us, readers, to have a different interpretation every time we read it. The story is well written and is easily understood. I think the main focus of Hawthorne is to show the conflict, rather than to impress the readers with language.