Literary Analysis Of Nathaniel Hawthorne 's ' The Scarlet Letter '

Conflict and symbolism in Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”, Hawthorne in this story portrays these two elements that enhance the way the story is written. The story “Young Goodman Brown” first takes place in a small town with brown and his wife faith. Then in the story brown leaves faith to go in an adventure that he would later wish he hadn’t gone in. Brown takes a journey through part of the woods that are really scary and comes across the devil himself to later find out that faith was evil and that many from his town were also evil and had a secret evil organization or cult. Through the use of conflict and symbolism, Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” portrays what Brown’s journey represents.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter expresses various themes of dark romanticism using symbolism. One of the more obvious symbols is that of the scaffold, which is present throughout the story. Upon in-depth exploration, I discovered this use of symbolism relates both literally and metaphorically to the dark romantic themes present in Hawthorne’s tale. First, let me discuss the scaffold and its constant presence in the story. The townspeople, Hester, and Dimmesdale use the scaffold on numerous occasions; most often, its use is to shame, harass, and isolate Hester Prynne so that she will confess the name of her child’s father. However, at times, the scaffold is used as a sanctuary and a confessional for others.

     The main focus of the story “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is the triumph of evil over good. A supposedly good man is tempted by evil and allows himself to be converted into a man of evil. This is much like the situation that arises in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, where two people are tempted to sin and give in thus submitting themselves to the power of the devil. In this novel, the area where the devil resides is strictly parallel to that in “Young Goodman Brown”.

During the 17th century, a Puritan commonwealth presided over Boston and was known for its strict adherence to religious, moral and social codes. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes rhetorical strategies in order to denounce the Puritan system of beliefs and bring to light the hypocrisy of the Puritan community as he tells the agonizing story of a young woman who was condemned by society.

In the nineteenth century novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes different origins of allusions and archetypes to emphasize how individuals in order to encourage individuals to forgive sins and work towards redemption.

Nathaniel Hawthorne comes from a bloodline that is associated with the Salem witch trials in 1692. His great-great-grandfather was a puritan that took part in the executions during the witch trilas, explaining Hawthorne’s fondness with the religion. Nathaniel Hawthorne is known for his interest in the News England Puritan past. Most of Hawthorne’s writings implement the Puritan ways and faith in which most of the characters act upon or main faith is revolved around. “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Scarlet Letter” are both one of Hawthorne’s many pieces that are prime examples of the Puritan religion affecting his writing. Through the story Hawthorne uses many allegories representing Christian, but also puritan faith and many symbols relating to them also.

Nathaniel Hawthorne was a brilliant writer of the 19th century. Hawthorne created a novel that reflected the time period of the Puritans in New England. The Scarlet Letter contains a representation of the people during that time period but can also be related to the reader’s time period. Originally, God created the world with complete perfection until man fell, and sin entered the world. In the eyes of God, a sin is a sin. There is no worse sin that one can commit. Man is the one that decided that one sin could be more harshly judged than another. Hawthorne uses the theme of sin to show the importance of one’s faith and conviction and how those principles relate to fallen sinners.

In “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Minister’s Black Veil” Nathaniel Hawthorne writes about a recurring theme of sin. Although sin is present in both of these works, the way that the characters come to deal with this innate sin of humans is very divergent. In both works sin is somehow concealed from others and keeps them from reaching a point of goodness. “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Minister’s Black Veil” can be considered counterparts and both depict the theme of sin and evil.

In “Young Goodman Brown”, the reader is taken on a journey with a Puritan man named goodman Brown. The reader takes this journey with an evil counterpart who takes him down the literal path of sin. Nathaniel Hawthorne, like most gothic authors, used symbols to elaborate further on some of his major themes including the hypocrisy within the church. He shows the reader that there is more than meets the naked eye with people, places, and everyday object.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, “Young Goodman Brown”, is filled to the brim with symbolism. As with many works of the Puritan literary time period, Hawthorne’s inclusion of various biblical allusions are used to seemingly shape the story into a cautionary tale of acting against God’s favor. The main symbol that stands out in this story is an Old Man that represents the devil Himself.

Influenced by his Puritan background, Hawthorne focused on individuals and their relationships within their community. Works by Nathaniel Hawthorne such as The Scarlet Letter and Young Goodman Brown focus on the issues and hypocrisies of a Puritan society. Hawthorne explores the view that many fundamentalist religious groups have in regard to the alienation of members of a society who have been judged as sinful, while also uncovering the hidden evil in everyone, including the most honorable of preachers. He accomplishes this by developing plot lines, which focus on interactions of ignorant but wicked religious characters with sinful but relatable protagonists.

Symbolism is a tool often used by authors to express a deeper meaning in order to help understand the work. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses this tool in order to develop the characters in a more complex way. Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism to uncover the true nature and emotions of the main characters Hester, Dimmesdale, and Pearl.

Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the conflict of right and wrong in the story of Young Goodman Brown while incorporating his messages to the reader. Young Goodman Brown’s name can be very deceiving due to the temptations he faces throughout the book. When Young Goodman Brown enters the woods with his wife Faith to send her on a mission, his true faith will come out to see if he can resist the temptations of the Devil. Young Goodman Brown’s faith becomes tested when the choice between doing the right thing or doing the wrong thing arises.

Young Goodman Brown” Literary Analysis The short story “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a very good book to read and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. In the story, Goodman Brown leaves his wife to set out on a journey with the devil. Along the way, he ponders over the situation of being sinful. He ends up seeing the religious people of his community at a satanic meeting and has second thoughts about their individual characters.

This story again reinforces the severity of defying the supernatural, and the strong belief the puritans held in the actuality of a figurative God and Devil. This story repercussions the idea that there is nowhere to hide from these supernatural powers.