Analysis Of O ' Connor And Nathaniel Hawthorne

"Young Goodman Brown," a story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, should be interpreted on a psychoanalytical level rather than a religious one. It is my observation that "Young Goodman Brown" may very well be the first published work alluding to divisions of the mind and personality theory. Although religion is a direct theme throughout the story, "Young Goodman Brown" appears to be an allegory with deeper meanings.

Flannery O’Connor was an American author who often wrote about characters who face violent situations. These situations force the characters into a moment of crisis that awakens or alters their fate. Her short stories reflect her Roman Catholic faith and frequently discuss questions of morality and ethics. O’Connor’s Catholic upbringing influenced most of her short stories, often accumulating criticism because of her harsh portrayal of religion. O’Connor incorporates the experience of a moment of grace in her short stories to contribute to the meaning of her works and to represent her faith.

Numerous authors and their stories are distinctive, but few authors compare to Flannery O'Connor. What sets O'Connor apart from other authors is her use of religion and violence. A majority, possibly all, of O'Connor’s stories contain some element of religion and/or violence. Not only is O'Connor’s stories unusual, but her characters are also unlike other author’s characters. Flannery O'Connor's unique stories contain characters that have an "evil intelligence determined on its own supremacy" that are often central to the conflict of the story.

Epiphanies are central to the plots of many novels. In the novel The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingslover, the main character, Taylor Greer, has an epiphany that changes the course of her life. After Turtle is traumatized in the park, Taylor withdraws from her and the rest of the world, believing that no nothing she does truly matters. As Turtle improves, Taylor realizes that her positive actions do make the world a better place. When Turtle begins to talk again, Taylor has an epiphany and realizes that every small compassionate action is important and that even she can help make the world a better place. As a result of her epiphany, Taylor is more willing to help others. The positive results of Taylor’s epiphany are first shown when she decides to fight for custody of

Contemporaries Edgar Alan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne published their respective short stories The Tell-Tale Heart and The Birth-Mark only a couple of months apart. The Tell-Tale Heart is the personal account of a young man’s descent into madness as he becomes increasingly fixated on the eye of an older man, presumably his father. Similarly, The Birth-Mark narrates the story of a young couple, Aylmer and Georgiana, and how the latter’s birthmark becomes the obsession of the former. Poe and Hawthorne’s literary genre of Dark Romanticism opposes human perfectibility, and both writers employ symbolism, irony, similar characters and plot to convey the theme that obsessions will inevitably lead to destruction.

In the short stories “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver and “A + P” by John Updike the protagonists experience an epiphany that change their restricted way of thinking. The main character, “Sammy” in John Updike’s, “A + P” is a teenage boy working in the town grocery store. Sammy experiences an epiphany when he decides to quit his job at the grocery store. He quit because he believed that it was wrong of his boss to treat customers poorly due to any pre-conceived notion that was determined by what the customer looks like. Raymond Carver’s main character named “the husband” in his story “Cathedral” experiences an epiphany

Religio-historical objects are things of crafted pieces of writing that reveal the realities of religious subjects through the perspective visions of their author (C.J Bleeker). Compared to an artist who has a muse, writers also have a “muse” something that influences their writing. Whether it is a personal experience, religious belief, or common morals writers derive the context within their writing from many different aspects of life. One thing most authors derive their ideas from is their religion or just any religion that interest them. Authors like Nathaniel Hawthorne and Flannery O’Connor, writings often include many allegories and symbols to religious faiths.

Nathaniel Hawthorne was one of American literature's finest writers; his writing style was very distinct and unusual in some aspects. It is his background that provided this ambiguous and complex approach to writing. Hawthorne's New England heritage has, at times, been said to be the contributing factor in his works. The Puritan view of life itself was considered to be allegorical, their theology rested primarily on the idea of predestination and the separation of the saved and the damned As evident from Hawthorne's writings his intense interest in Puritanical beliefs often carried over to his novels such as, Young Goodman Brown, The Scarlet Letter, and The Minister's Black Veil just to name a few of the more well known pieces of his work.

Throughout all the writings of Nathaniel Hawthorne, one thing always reoccurs. What is this one thing? Well, it is secret sin. This Great American Writer of the Romantic era in literature had a firm grasp and understanding of human nature and what it means to be human. The darkness of Hawthorne’s writings come from his own observations of human nature and the treachery that we can commit either in front of others or in secret. A secret sin is nothing more than some sin you committed; but, you are the only one who knows. So it is something that isn’t known by the population. To understand Hawthorns obsession with secret sin we must look

An epiphany is the sudden realization or manifestation of understanding, and in the "Story of an Hour," by Kate Chopin, a woman experienced an epiphany that ultimately had tragic results. The tragedy was foreshadowed in the first line when the narrator informed the reader of Mrs. Mallard's heart trouble and the problems it could bring when informing her of her husband's death. But instead of being the cause of tremendous sorrow, the death of her husband brought about a sudden realization of the freedom she would now have because she is no longer married and under the control of her husband. But Mrs. Mallard's epiphany, her realization of the freedom she'll now possess, became the cause of her tragedy. Just as she was beginning to enjoy the fruits of her epiphany, her heart trouble, which many believed would cause her trouble when the news of her husband's death reached her, actually caused her trouble when she suffered a heart attack brought on by joy.

Upon initially reading Flannery O’Connor’s work, one would have no problem recognizing her use of shocking, violent, or despairing themes. It may not be as easy, however, to completely accept or understand her style. According to Patrick Galloway, one must be “initiated to her trademarks when reading any of her two novels or thirty-two short stories (1).In many of her works, she paradoxically uses styles that are grotesque and brutal to illustrate themes of grace and self-actualization. As O’Connor herself says, “I have found that violence is strangely capable of returning my characters to reality and preparing them to

Flannery O’connor is one of the most shinning stars in American literature. Her distinct writing style makes her work recognizable and outstanding from other literature works. Many critics have commented on Flannery O’connor’s narrative voice. Louise Blackwell discovers Miss O’Connor often wrote according to southern tradition by using symbols in people’s daily life to convey the theme in a more profound way. From the perspective of the O’connor’s writing technique, Shirley Foster speaks highly of Miss O’connor’s works: O’connor’s skilled technique establishes the complicity between the readers and narrators. These two evaluations reveal the most important characteristics of Flannery O’connor’s works, directing readers to understand O’connor’s works much easier. Readers can understand the two critics’ comments by exploring the special narrative voices in Flannery O’connor’s well- known stories: “ Everything That Rises Must Converge” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find”.

1.) What Hawthorne implies about nature of human beings is how humans like to have control and power over others. The emphasis of the establishment of a prison and cemetery in a new American colony results in how the development of these things gave the new Americans the power to do whatever they wanted. For instance, "The founders of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness they might originally," represents how the founders wanted to create a land of their own (45). Hawthorne is alluding to the idea of how the original and first founders had discovered the American colony. That they, themselves owned and had power over, to be perfect and controlled. The ancient wooden door symbolizes the sacred and restricted lifestyle

born into a family of past businessmen, judges, and seamen. All of which were strict

The brilliant work of Nathaniel Hawthorne has been critiqued and praised by numerous scholars for generations. The gothic style and gloomy tones within Hawthorne’s writing is extremely prevalent through his symbolism and themes, which has been seen as a staple of his work. Nathaniel Hawthorne is credited to be one the greatest and most influential American writers in history. Similar to Edgar Allen Poe, Hawthorne is most famous for his short stories and his impact in the Dark Romanticism genre. Hawthorne’s ability to take his dark past and use it as a creative tool for writing truly exhibits Hawthorne as not only an author but an artist. I Chose Nathaniel Hawthorne because out of all the authors, I loved his writing style and themes the most. I am fascinated by his troubled past and the Salem witch trials. One of my favorite books to read in high school was the “Crucible”, which is a play about the Salem Witch trials; so, reading Hawthorne’s work feels like my favorite fantasy reimagined. One of my favorite aspects about Hawthorne and his short story “Young Goodman Brown” is the relationship Hawthorne has with the reader. Hawthorne gives a lot of creative power to the reader to theorize and contemplate. Hawthorne is known for his open-ended endings which leaves the reader constantly pondering and reflecting on the story to truly understand the story and theme. It is not just about the feeling and excitement you get while reading a story, but how you can take that