Rigidity of Puritanism Exposed in Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

1280 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: the character of young goodman brown

Rigidity of Puritanism Exposed in Young Goodman Brown

Proverbs 10:28 implies the idea of the universality of sin in

saying "The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked

come to nothing." In "Young Goodman Brown", Nathaniel Hawthorne

illustrates this through Brown's actions. When Brown lives a righteous

life with good faith, his thoughts remain pure and happy. He has a

wonderful wife, and he enjoys the presence of everyone. As he takes his

walk into the forest and into evil ways, his hopes and faith disappear. He

no longer loves his wife in the same way, and he despises everyone whom

people consider were holy. When he loses his faith, he loses his happiness.

To regain his happiness, Brown must find his righteousness again.

Puritans believe there is no hope for a sinner. Hawthorne uses a variety

of writing techniques to condemn the rigidity of Puritanism.

For example, Hawthorne uses a wide variety of diction to create a

mystical and hopeless mood. As Brown walks into the "dreary" forest, an "

uncertain" feeling comes over him as he looks ahead to the "gloom" awaiting

him. The forest is very dark and dreary and these words help create the

eerie mood. These words create an insecure and unsure feeling in the

reader's mind. The reader feels as if he stands right there on the

outskirts of the forest along with Brown. That type of feeling scares even

the bravest of men. Hawthorne also describes the events taking place in

the forest as "devilish," "horrid," and "evil." Evil completely surrounds

Brown in the forest. It puts a thought in him which drives him crazy.

These words give a v...

... middle of paper ...

...ands before him with the guilt of sin.

He can never remember these people in the same way in which he wants to.

His views on the righteousness of humanity change from good to bad. Hence,

Brown loses his comradery with his neighbors, and he dies a lonely death

with no hopeful verse on his tombstone.

Works Cited

Benoit, Raymond. "'Young Goodman Brown': The Second Time Around." The Nathaniel Hawthorne Review 19 (Spring 1993): 18-21.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Complete Short Stories of Nathaniel Hawthorne. New York: Doubleday and Co., Inc.,1959.

James, Henry. Hawthorne. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1997.

Martin, Terence. Nathaniel Hawthorne. New York: Twayne Publishers Inc., 1965.

Wagenknecht, Edward. Nathaniel Hawthorne - The Man, His Tales and Romances. New York: Continuum Publishing Co., 1989.

Show More
Related

  • Rethinking an Argument against Fat Taxes in the US

    1894 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the article “What You Eat Is Your Business”, the author claims, Americans need to be more responsible for their own health and the government should not become involved (Balko). I argue this point; the American people have been tempted into buying foods that are unhealthy, cheap, and convenient, and we cannot be responsible when foods like this are so easy and available to purchase. We are also one of the fattest nations in the world. He conveys in the article that we should have some sort of responsibility for what we put into our own body (Balko), but I feel that with all of the tempting foods being right at our fingertips, we are getting fatter and fatter. When we turn on the television at night, and every fifteen minutes a food commercial comes on. When we go to school, there are vending machines in every building. Nobody offers water anymore with our meals; it costs extra just to get a cup for water with a meal.

    Read More

  • Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter and John Proctor from The Crucible

    1483 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Enriched Classic ed. New York City: Simon & Schuster, 2004. Print.

    Read More

  • Tone And Temptation In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

    1175 Words  | 3 Pages

    The overall tone for the passage is more skeptical in the beginning as Brown tries to figure out his stand on the subject of his Puritan faith, however, it shifts towards a traffic tenor at the end as he lives with the consequences of his choices from the night in the woods when he decided to walk along side with the weary old traveler. The symbolism of this passage is so robust, with such great significance behind it. Young Brown proclaims during his journey, “‘Faith! Faith!’ as if bewildered wretches were seeking her, all through the wilderness… ‘My Faith is gone!’ cried he, after one stupefied moment. ‘There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name’” (Hawthorne 251). The symbolism of this passage is so strong, with such great significance behind it. As he shouts from the rooftops that he has lost his wife Faith, which can be inferred to be his own personal faith. Sheer panic filled the air once he realizes that he had turned away from his heritage, involuntary choosing to eliminate his faith from his life. How did he lose his faith within that night? He chose to follow the traveler with the serpent staff, casted as the devil, as the walk along in the woods, representing hell. Just like the devil tempted Jesus, he did so with Brown,

    Read More

  • Nathaniel Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

    1846 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Excessive Pride in Young Goodman Brown

    2406 Words  | 5 Pages

    Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” is an allegory.  Hawthorne’s moral story is told through the perversion of a religious leader, Goodman Brown. Goodman is a Puritan minister who lets his excessive pride interfere with his relations with the community after he meets with the devil. The result is that Goodman lives the rest of his life in exile within his own community.

    Read More

  • Goodman Brown Allegory

    702 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”, Goodman Brown struggles with staying pure and not giving in to the devil. Hawthorne utilizes allegory and ambiguity to leave unanswered questions for the reader.

    Read More

  • Symbolism in Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

    2496 Words  | 5 Pages

    Leavis, Q. D. “Hawthorne as Poet.” In Hawthorne – A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.

    Read More

  • Young Goodman Brown VS. Paul

    1039 Words  | 3 Pages

    McCabe, Michael E. “The Consequences of Puritan Depravity and Distrust as Historical Context for Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”.”

    Read More

  • Radley Balko What You Eat Is Your Business Summary

    939 Words  | 2 Pages

    Radley Balko, The author of the essay “What You Eat is Your Business”, would agree that in order to stop obesity, we must turn this public problem around and make it everyone’s individual responsibility. Instead of inflicting the importance of personal ownership, government officials, politicians and congress make obesity a public problem by prohibiting junk food in school vending machines, federal funding for new bike trails and sidewalks, and restrictive food marketing to children. Overall I agree that this manipulation of food options is not the proper way to fight obesity, however, I think that government should inform people about the food they are eating because then they have no excuses for not taking responsibility of the actions.

    Read More

  • America's Obesity Epidemic

    729 Words  | 2 Pages

    The government plays an important part in our safety, but many people think they take it too far. Recently, people have thought more and more about how much involvement the government should have when it comes to food regulations. Some people think the government's involvement in regulating food would greatly help obesity rates, and others think the country's obesity rates would show little to no improvement. Although no one cause of obesity exists, and no government regulations will likely alter someone’s lifestyle choices, the government should implement some regulations by implementing programs to educate and encourage citizens to lead a healthier life and by requiring companies to list a full disclosure of ingredients on their products.

    Read More

  • Young Goodman Brown's Transformation

    1077 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Curbing Obesity: Government's Role in Promoting Healthy Diets

    1302 Words  | 3 Pages

    Did you know that more than two thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese (Center for Disease Conrtol)? This is the growing problem in the U.S that we, as Americans, can’t seem to find a solution to. The government spends billions of dollars annually to help those with overweight/obese health issues. But the government does not directly help people by changing their diets and making them healthy enough to live without those medical expenses. This trend is also upwards and the number of obese/overweight Americans has tripled since 1963 (Smith). Americans today should be forced by the government to have a healthy diet and avoid or limit the consumption of fast food.

    Read More

  • Young Goodman Brown: Good vs Evil

    684 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "Young Goodman Brown,” the author uses danger and mystery to represent the struggle of good versus evil. Young Goodman Brown journeys into the night and comes to realize an unforgiving truth. Everyone is in danger of abandoning their faith or is inherently evil. Nathaniel Hawthorne has filled this story symbolism, after reading this story the reader may have questions about Young Goodman Browns’ determination to journey towards his evil purpose. Nathaniel Hawthorne implies strong faith can endure but when that faith is destroyed, what view does a person have towards mankind? Let us take a look at Nathaniel Hawthorne’s use of significant symbols throughout “Young Goodman Brown.”

    Read More

  • Young Goodman Brown

    958 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Junk Food Essay

    775 Words  | 2 Pages

    Yet some readers may challenge my view that the U.S. government should further regulate Junk food. After all, many believe that the government would be infringing on the rights of consumers. Indeed, my argument seems to ignore that you should be able to purchase and consume what you want, and that reducing obesity comes down to personal responsibility. However, I still maintain that further government intervention is required because although we may think we have a choice in what we eat, the addictive properties in fast food prevent us from selecting healthier options. In fact, according to a study conducted by the American Journal of

    Read More

More about Rigidity of Puritanism Exposed in Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

Open Document