Young Goodman Brown Essay

1. The two main settings in “Young Goodman Brown” are the forest and the colonial village of Salem, Massachusetts. The two different times of the setting are very important to the symbolization of the story. In the beginning of the story, Goodman Brown sets out on his journey at sunset; to set out at sunset it symbolized darkness, which in turn symbolizes evil. This presets the tone of the story. In the end when he is returning home, the time changes and it is daylight, and this symbolized innocence and a sort freedom from the terror he had just experienced.

The dialogue, action and motivation revolve about the characters in the story (Abrams 32-33). It is the purpose of this essay to demonstrate the types of characters present in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown,” whether static or dynamic, whether flat or round, and whether protrayed through showing or telling.

Goodman Brown, a young man who was only married for three months, left his home and his wife, Faith, to go into the forest and spend the night on some mission that he will not explain. Even though Faith has strong feelings about his journey and begs him not to leave, Brown has made his decision and leaves everything behind.

Nathaniel Hawthorne, in his short story “Young Goodman Brown,” details the frailty of human morality when he has the story’s protagonist (Goodman Brown) journey through the forest on All Hollows Eve to witness/participate in a witches’ Sabbath just to see what evil/sin is all about. During Young Goodman Brown’s journey, his faith is shaken as he witnesses those he respects the most also journeying to and participating in the witch’s Sabbath. In “Young Goodman Brown,” Nathaniel Hawthorne demonstrates that an idealistic faith in our fellow man’s righteousness could lead to disappointment, distrust, and fear.

"Young Goodman Brown" begins when Brown is starting to set out into the woods for a secret meeting. Faith,

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “Young Goodman Brown,” is an attention grabber that leaves you with an ambiguous finale. Goodman Brown, the protagonist, struggles with doubts in his life that takes him on an adventure in the forest. As he travels through the forest Goodman’s excessive curiosity leaves him with a different perspective on life. Hawthorne leaves many clues in the story that symbolizes faith and evilness in the characters.

Verisimilitude in “Young Goodman Brown” In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “Young Goodman Brown”, the main character was left wondering whether the occurrences were a dream, or in fact reality. However. it is the author’s intriguing story telling technique that creates such an atmosphere that even the readers are left asking whether or not it was a dream. Hawthorne’s writing style and use of literary elements such as plot, characterization and theme, portrays a compelling, verisimilar story that many readers at some point in their lives can relate to.

(..) and that there is also evil everywhere as well. The scenery in the woods revealed to Goodman Brown the uncertainty of human nature and the way he would now continue to interpret people. During the ceremony in the woods, Goodman Brown’s description of Salem starts to become dark, gloomy, and he points out the hypocrisy that is

In “Young Goodman Brown”, Hawthorne uses historical references as a back drop for the story. Hawthorne’s family was directly linked to the Salem witch trials. A relative of his was a witch trail judge His personal experience with the time frame has influenced his work greatly. ("Hawthorne, Nathaniel (1804 - 1864). " 363).

Short story, Young Goodman Brown, by Nathaniel Hawthorne is set in Puritan New England. Hawthorne uses symbolism, description, scenery, and Goodman’s journey to illustrate and symbolize the battle of good versus evil.

The use of certain thematic elements in “Young Goodman Brown” help readers understand how the main character lost his faith and became bitter towards religious people. In the year 1804, Nathaniel Hawthorne was born to Massachusetts Bay colonists; Nathaniel Hathorne and Elizabeth Clarke Manning in Salem, Massachusetts. Hawthorne’s great-grandfather, John Hathorne, had the role of judging during the Salem Witch Trials in 1692 (Means).

Young Goodman Brown, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, told the story of a faithful man who experienced a journey through a series of supernatural endeavors; however, the tribulations he endured were a result of him leaving the sheltered congregation he spent his entire life in. The progression of the man’s tale underwent a sequence of ups and downs as he faced his petrifying conclusion. Throughout the short story, Hawthorne utilized the significance of the setting and characterization to highlight how turning back from a community can lead to the downfall of man. As the story progressed, Hawthorne used the setting as a transition of Goodman Brown’s descent from a faithful Puritan man to a sinful and untrustworthy one, illustrating his downfall.

Nathaniel Hawthorne “Young Goodman Brown," an innocent young man bids farewell to his wife Faith, who asks him to stay quite longer. Brown insists that he must leave that very evening. While venturing into the gloomy forest, a fifty-year-old man approaches him bearing a strange resemblance. The man has a living serpent that almost set Goodman Brown to turn back. The companion reminds him that his ancestors had walked the same path. A woman Goody Cloyse approaches resembling a witch and from such instances Goodman seats down and he is determined not to go any further. Goodman brown suddenly starts to hear voices and among them the lamentation of his wife back at home. He later sees an alter surrounded by around four blazing trees with sinners and criminal in attendance. Therefore, this paper is going to expound about the virtue of endurance as the main theme in all the three stories. It will later cover the motifs of female purity and their symbol in society.

Young Goodman Brown protagonist struggles with Puritanism is a reflection of Hawthorne personal conflicts with Puritanism. Hawthorne uses the story of Young Goodman Brown to illustrate Puritanism's disconnection between

   Q. D. Leavis states that “perhaps the persecuting aspect of their way of life was peculiarly present to Hawthorne because of the witch-hanging judge and the Quaker-whipping Major among his ancestors” (30). This is a reference to one instance of historical allusion in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown.” This essay will explore a variety of historical incidences referred to in this short story.