Identity In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

"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.

    In "Young Goodman Brown," Nathaniel Hawthorne, through the use of deceptive imagery, creates a sense of uncertainty that illuminates the theme of man's inability to operate within a framework of moral absolutism.  Within every man there is an innate difference between good and evil and Hawthorne's deliberate use of ambiguity mirrors this complexity of human nature. Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown, is misled by believing in the perfectibility of humanity and in the existence of moral absolutes. According to Nancy Bunge, Hawthorne naturally centers his story upon a Puritan protagonist to convey the "self-righteous" that he regards as the "antithesis of wisdom"(4). Consequently, Young

He never finds any proof of evilness in his wife or the respected people around him, but he still chooses to be doubtful. The subtle message that the story gives is that “doubt” is the culprit and men are at fault for succumbing to it. Doubting does not make Brown’s life any better. He never trusted anybody and he were not even deceived by anybody. So the story shows that by having faith, he could have changed his life. He could have lived much more happily.

When Brown calls out to his wife, this causes a turn of events. “Faith! Faith … Look up to Heaven, and resist the Wicked One!” (Hawthorn, 1835). He is suddenly in solitude, the branch that was once ablaze was now covered in morning dew. This further solidifies that this is a test faith, that only his faith was what saved him from the harrowing dream, and what woke him from his slumber. However, he is not completely saved as he had completely changed, he had turned into a “darkly meditative, distrustful … Desperate man” (Hawthorn, 1835), who did not have a eulogy or kind word carved upon his

On he flew among the black pines, brandishing his staff with frenzied gestures, now giving vent to inspiration of horrid blasphemy, and now shouting forth such laughter as set all the echoes of the forest laughing like demons around him” (6). With the absence of his wife, this outrageous anger within Brown explodes, and he begins to let his demons out, which would make any passerby, fearful. Everyone on Earth is a sinner, but not everyone is completely evil. However, Faith, both his wife and his faith in God, were the only things keeping Brown at bay. When his wife Faith is lost, so is he because she is the only reason for him to have faith in himself and in God.

Goodman Brown is corrupted by what occurred that fateful night even if it was just a malicious dream. As it follows to a rather darken life even so, “A stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man, did he become, from the night of that fearful dream.” (Hawthorne page 271). Goodman Brown became a man pious from god because he lost faith that night even fallen from his wife Faith. The darkening of the story tainted what was believed to be righteousness, upheaving a prideful spiritual man into something becoming of a fiend.

What changes human nature? Are people bad by nature, or do people only hurt each other because they believe it’s the world that’s a bad place? Hawthorne illustrates a man who faced this struggle head on (Goodman Brown) in his short story “Young Goodman Brown.” Near the end of the short story, Goodman Brown, who once seen everyone as pure and people of God had a life changing experience. The devil told him that “sin ye shall scent out all the places.”

“Often, awaking suddenly at midnight, he shrank from the bosom of Faith, and at morning or eventide, when the family knelt down in prayer; he scowled and muttered to himself, and gazed sternly at his wife and turned away. (Hawthorne 240). Here Hawthorne transitions again to Brown’s changed life after the dream and the above quote

According to the writers of the reference center, it seems like Hawthorne tries to emphasize his main themes by having characters touch on them several times, in this case through Faith, who in the end was dammed like everyone else in town, emphasizing Brown’s learnig that sin is a part unwilling to trust anyone and doubts even his wife, contrary to the beginning where Brown’s wife was troubled by him as he observed “Methought as she spoke there was trouble in her face, as if a dream had warned her what work is to be done tonight”(Hawthorne 7). To put it in perspective, Faith was the last person that Brown suspected of falling into the traps of the devil, and upon seeing her also fall astray he knew that no one was saved and he did not want to trust anyone. The writers at the

The emergence of the Romantic era of literature was greatly catalyzed by the works of Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Romantic ideals of a flawed society and the impaired human state are prevalent throughout a variety if their works especially Poe’s The Man of the Crowd and Ligeia as well as Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown. Within these short stories, Poe and Hawthorne manipulate the novels’ structure and use devices such as irony diction to assert that selfish and insecure individuals strive to affirm his or her purity by comparing it to the flaws and sins of others and throughout this quest to scrutinize others, an individual unknowingly falls into path of delusion that leads to true corruption.

The setting in the forest represented the sins and doubt that Brown had in his life. Throughout the forest Brown is persuaded by the devil throughout the whole story. His wife warned him not to go, His wife Faith foreshadowed something bad was to come out of him going into the forest. His wife faith represented Browns faith he had in God and by being in the forest his belief slowly diminished. Which explain the reason why he no longer cared for his wife. The forest was described as a wicked place, as far as how the narrator explained it. While in the forest Brown seemed to lose his faith. He started to question his love for his wife. The forest symbolized danger and wickedness. The more time he spent in the forest the more he was losing himself

At the beginning of the story Brown is already letting temptation get to him and it starts him on his journey Hawthorne writes, “Young Goodman Brown come fourth at sunset, into the street of Salem village, but put his head back, after crossing the threshold, to exchange with his wife”. (368) His wife is the first person he meets, she is ironically named Faith and Faith is seen to represent Browns religion, innocence, or even God. Upon meeting Faith she pleas to him not to go and to stay with her she says, “pithree, put off your journey until sunrise, and sleep in your own bed to-night. Alone woman is troubled with such dreams and such thoughts, that she’s afraid of herself, sometimes. Pray, tarry with me this night, dear husband, of all nights in the year!” (368) Brown has a guilty conscious, this ius conveyed through his Faith, he knows what he is about to do and it burns in his mind. He eventually rejects these pleas, justifying that he will only do this once and he will come back to Faith, Brown says, “Well;

Brown has lost faith in the religious and the people that he had held in the highest religious regard. He is clinging on to the last sliver of faith that he has remaining. This is what I think is truly the cornerstone of his faith. I trust that his strength comes from his wife, Faith. He regularly mentions her to his travel companion that he must end their journey because he needs to go home with

Everyone experience life differently, it’s in our human nature to break the rules sometimes and experience other things. Goodman did just this he took a journey out of his comfort zone not knowing of the things he may encounter along the way. Goodman seen evil things, people dong evil things and he even lost his in mankind. Brown felt betrayed just by the people he thought he knew and by the ones he thought he was pose to follow. In reality it was Goodman himself who allowed his own mind to become corrupt with evil thoughts. Sometimes being a human being it’s hard to accept the fact that we can’t blame other people for the decisions we make, and definitely can’t blame them for the outcome that comes with that decision. Goodman life changed

   This essay will examine the main physical settings within Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, “Young Goodman Brown.” These are four in number and begin and end in the village of Salem.