Did you enjoy reading Young Goodman Brown? Hawthorne was a Dark Romantic and believed in the pureness of ideas rather than following the crowd and doing what society says “is the right way”. In Young Goodman Brown, Brown was a strong person in belief until he took an adventure that he was curious about and became doubtful a little bit which caused confusion in his life. Hawthorne uses literary devices such as imagery, symbolism, and pink ribbons as well as inspiration which is an “I” from the romantics. Symbolism is portrayed in the story when Brown takes an adventure into the woods and he meets a witch named Goody Cloyse and followers of the devil like Deacon Goodkin and the Minister, which is similar to The Scarlet Letter. In the Scarlet …show more content…
Brown does not have strong faith in his self and God because he is afraid of what people might say. Instead of him praying, he saw pink ribbons and everything the devil was doing, Brown was not realizing that he should have been stronger in his faith when he told Faith to pray and everything would be alright. According to Brown "My Faith is gone" (Hawthorne, 12), and that meant his wife and his belief. He was not strong enough in his faith from the beginning so the words confirmed that he could not handle the pressure anymore and instead of preaching what he said to Faith, he got caught up in the …show more content…
Symbolism, imagery, the pink ribbons, and the I’s of romanticism all have a major role in Brown’s life just like each individual has something meaningful to them. Brown did not realize what he was getting himself into until he began the journey, but he never turned back and because of that he had a gloomy life and death. Faith was the key to go through the journey and he did not live up to his faith and he did not do what he should have for his wife
McKeithan, D. M. Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown": An Interpretation 67.2 (1952): 93-96. JSTOR. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
The use of symbolism in "young Goodman Brown" shows that evil is everywhere, which becomes evident in the conclusion of this short story. Hawthorne's works are filled with symbolic elements and allegorical elements. "Young Goodman Brown" deals mostly with conventional allegorical elements, such as Young Goodman Brown and Faith. In writing his short stories or novels he based their depiction of sin on the fact that he feels like his father and grandfather committed great sins. There are two main characters in this short story, Faith and Young Goodman Brown. "Young Goodman Brown is everyman seventeenth-century New England the title as usual giving the clue. He is the son of the Old Adam, and recently wedded to Faith. We must note that every word is significant in the opening sentence: "Young Goodman Brown came forth at sunset into the street of Sale, Village; but put his head back, after crossing the threshold, to exchange a parting kiss with his young w2ife.
Irving and Hawthorne’s stories are quite similar because of the sinisterness the two share. However, Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” is far better written because it exploits the use of symbolism, character development and theme. Irving fails to use those elements to their full potential by not incorporating or weakly using them. Hawthorne’s exploitation gives the reader a better read and a far superior story.
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.
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,
Young Goodman Brown loved Faith and thought that she was pure and good. Faith’s ribbons were also seen in the forest at the end of the journey, which placed an emphasis on the importance of her goodness. The devil’s trickery enticed Brown to continue his journey. In most testimonies the color of “Faith” is white. Perhaps Hawthorne was hinting, with the pink ribbon, that Faith was not as pure and good as Brown attempted to make her appear. When Brown began to contemplate the existence of faith and purity, it revealed to the reader that his faith in God, which had been solid, was now weakened. Hawthorne, in this section, stated that the devil would use the people closest to Brown to attempt to change his thoughts about his religion and faith. Young Goodman Brown saw that all of his friends had sinned and that “faith” (both being his belief and his wife) was not as strong and powerful as he once thought. “Taking into account that Brown’s society is hypocritical and based its beliefs strongly on the potency of the community, his dissents to the common proceedings can be seen as sin.” (“Hawthorne’s Wilderness: Nature and Puritanism in Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter and Young Goodman
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown." Norton Anthology of American Literature. Vol1. Ed. Nina Baym, et al. New York: Norton, 1994. 1198-1207.
Although Brown had a multitude of chances to cling to faith, he disregarded each one until it was too late. His clumsiness, and sheer lack of responsibility to preserve his faith, ultimately cost him his life. Hawthorne proved that human unquenchable thirst for knowledge and understanding proves to be their downfall. For Brown this is especially true. His curiosity is what started him on his journey that fateful night. He is also unable to discern the validity of the night itself. Was it all a dream? Neither does he know that Faith remained pure or was corrupted. And if she were corrupted, could she now things about goodman Brown that he did not know himself. His confusion forces him to isolate himself emotionally and harden his heart, which is, after all, the worst sin of them all.
In the story of young Goodman brown the Author of the story, Nathaniel Hawthorne, uses symbolic characters that represent life. In the story, Young Goodman Brown goes into a journey into the cold, dark, and lonely forest. Faith, his wife is rejected by young Goodman brown when she asks him to stay with her that night and to forget about the journey. Young Goodman Brown tells her that she will be all right without him and that he has to go into that journey. This is an image of what many people do, if not all people. We do not listen to our sin or to people who only wants the best for us, for example, our family. In Young Goodman Brown, Faith does not only resemble Young Goodman Brown’s religion, but it also resembles his support and security
First of all, the tale involves the common motif of a journey in quest of something. The young Goodman Brown, at the beginning of the story, takes leave of his wife, Faith, in order to journey into the woods where he keeps an appointment with the devil: "My love and my Faith," replied young Goodman Brown, "of all nights in the year, this one night must I tarry away from thee. My journey, as thou callest it, forth and back again, must needs be done 'twixt now and sunrise.”
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.
...rator describes Brown as “a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man…” (2215). He can no longer look upon his community with the same hopefulness he once had. He becomes cynical of his surroundings and lives his life accordingly. His discovery of evil results in his loss of grips with humanity. He comes to believe there is evil in all people and is unable to accept it. He grows old with contempt for his former idols, and never again is he able to conceive of the idea that life is pure, grand, and good. At his funeral, his family has nothing encouraging to put on his grave, and neighbors do not even bother to attend. Thus, he is depicted, even in death, as an individual unable to find happiness in his own family and friends.
Hawthorne uses symbolism to imply that when individuals lose their faith in the goodness of mankind, they may begin to imagine that their peers have yielded to temptation. The character of Faith is Goodman Brown's spouse, but she is also a symbol of his faith in mankind. Brown's relationship with Faith changes as the story progresses, from tender and caring love to judgmental scorn. Brown's thoughts about Faith as he leaves on his journey are: "Poor little Faith...she's a blessed angel on earth; and after this one night, I'll cling to her skirts and follow her to Heaven"(212). This statement shows that the protagonist has a deep love for his faith and knows that it can be his salvation. Later in the journey Brown offers his faith as the last reason to abort his walk with the devil: "Well, then, to end the matter at once,... there is my wife, Faith. It would break her dear little heart; and I'd rather break my own!" (214). At this point his faith is still more important to him than his own life. Later, just...
...Brown, like all humans, sees that everyone can be corrupt and immoral, that it is possible for people to make mistakes. This is extremely disappointing to brown and ruins him. Brown felt that he made the right decision and did not follow the devil, but everyone else around him did. Even his own wife follows the devil. She is supposed to represent holiness and faith, and she is just as corrupt as everyone else. This portrays how even the church, which is supposed to be holy, can be corrupt. The story symbolizes that everyone in society is flawed and no one is perfect. However this idea drives Goodman brown to become insane. He dwells on this fact and loses his ability to see the good in people as well as the bad. Brown couldn't realize that even if people are evil at times, they can still be good people. This is what caused brown to change so drastically.
The use of dark imagery throughout the story gives you a sense of fear of the unknown that lies ahead of Goodman Brown on his journey. The beginning sentence of the story illustrates an image of a sunset and the approaching of night as Goodman Brown sets off on his mission. ?Young Goodman Brown came forth, at sunset, into the street of Salem village, but put his head back, after crossing the threshold.? (196) Here, the light of the sun represents the knowledge that Goodman Brown already has. The imagery of darkness setting in is the unknown knowledge Goodman Brown is out to discover. Goodman Brown must first travel through the darkness of the unknown before he reaches the light of enlightenment and truth that is why he is embarking on his journey throughout the night hours. ?My journey, as thou callest it, forth and back again, must needs be done ?twist now and sunrise.? (197)