preview

Analysis Of ' Born During The Witch Trials '

Decent Essays
Open Document
Born during the witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts Nathanael Hawthorne’s depicted many beliefs of the well-known puritans in his novels. (Bloom) Hawthorne used color and symbolism to portray themes of sin Guilt, innocence in everyday life. He also uses visual clues to portray the themes of the short story Goodman Brown. Hawthorne: ability to employ so much imagery that mesmerizes readers to the degree of connecting his short story with their everyday life.
Young Goodman Brown a young pure hearted man, bids farewell to his wife faith reassuring his wife he must leave. He ventures into the infamous forest of Salem. Where a series of events take place changes Goodman Browns life forever. The color pink is associated with innocence and…show more content…
Hawthorne mentions Faith’s pink ribbons several times at the beginning of the story, imbuing her character with youthfulness and happiness. He reintroduces the ribbons when Goodman Brown is in the forest, struggling with his doubts about the goodness of the people he knows. When the pink ribbon flutters down from the sky, Goodman Brown sees it as a sign that Faith unquestionably falls into the jurisdiction of the devil—she has shed this sign of her purity and innocence. At the end of the story, when Faith greets Goodman Brown as he returns from the forest, she is wearing her pink ribbons again, suggesting her return to the figure of innocence she presented at the beginning of the story and casting doubts on the truth of Goodman Brown’s experiences.
Female purity, a favored conception of Americans in the nineteenth century, is the balancing force for Goodman Brown as he wonders whether to forsake his religion and join the devil. When he takes leave of Faith at the beginning of the story, he promises that after this one night of evildoing, he states “Well, she 's a blessed angel on earth; and after this one night I 'll cling to her skirts and follow her to heaven.". This idea, that a man’s wife or mother will redeem him and do the work of true religious belief for the whole family, was popular during Hawthorne’s time. Goodman Brown clings to the idea of Faith’s purity throughout his trials in the forest, swearing that as long as Faith
Get Access
Related
Get Access