Young Goodman Brown Setting Analysis

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s allegorical story “Young Goodman Brown” is set in Salem, Massachusetts during the late sixteen hundreds in a time of religious hysteria and only a few generations after the infamous witch trials. Although "Young Goodman Brown" is a fictional tale, it is based on the cynical environment of Salem during this time period. The short story is filled with many literary elements, leading you to question what did exactly happen to the main character at the conclusion. When analyzing a story like "Young Goodman Brown", one must recognize that the story is at whole symbolic. In the text, symbols are used to uncover the truth of the characters. The role of Faith as both a character and a spiritual element are crucial to both the

The author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, is letting the readers know that something horrible is about to happen to Goodman Brown.

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.

“... A hoarse cry came from his lips as he realized he had reached too far and lost his balance … he struggled up to the surface and cried out, but the wash from the speeding yacht slapped him in the face.”What did you feel there. Were you scared as he fell off the boat into the water? You may have felt this way because of the mood. In the story, “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, the mood changes a lot. It goes from a pitch black night falling off a yacht, to a sunny afternoon walk on the beach, then after that a whole other mess of things. All these things make you feel different because of mood. Mood sets the tone through characters, the places they go, and the things they experience.

Since the beginning of time, there has always been day and night, evil and light. Throughout history, the basis of good versus evil has emanated. Good and evil has etched its place in every culture whether taught through passed down stories, depictions written on tablets, stones, or parchment paper. In the story, Young Goodman Brown, Hawthorne reveals the traveler as a figure that highlights one goal. Emphasis is placed on the traveler’s methodology as he employ’s several techniques to manipulate and deceive the vulnerabilities of Goodman Brown. Hawthorne carefully stresses the traveler’s demeanor, features, setting and communication methods in detail. What is Hawthorne trying to say about the intricate interaction between Goodman Brown and the traveler?

The first setting in young Goodman brown was set in Salem village. This is significant to the story because the witch trials were held in Salem, Massachusetts.

The setting of a work can be the most powerful literary devices an author uses in their work. Setting refers to a location or time in which a work is set. Setting has a wide range of possibilities. The setting of a work may be as simple as a single room or may be as complex as the author or character's psychological state of mind. Authors can use setting to enhance the theme of their works. One author in particular is Nathaniel Hawthorne. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote “Young Goodman Brown” in 1835. His time period influenced the theme of his work. The theme Hawthorne chose was the weakness of public morality. In “Young Goodman Brown” Hawthorne shows this theme through the perspective of a Puritan man, Goodman Brown. In the story Hawthorne

Mood is a literary element that evokes certain feelings or vibes. Authors, actors, and directors use various elements and techniques to convey moods in key scenes or story. In the Monkey’s Paw short film, the actors and the director used these elements and techniques. In the Monkey’s paw short film, the director made sure that there was intense music when something was going to happen. The actors made amusing or interested facial features to make the scene more sensible.

Mainly, Hawthorne uses the plot to create verisimilitude. The short story heavily reflects the reality of the 17th century. The story begins with young Goodman Brown leaving his wife, Faith, behind to embark on a journey into the forest at dusk. However, the author maintains a mysterious atmosphere by withholding the reason for the journey.

"Had Goodman Brown fallen asleep in the forest and only dreamed a wild dream of a witch-meeting? (387)" The story "Young Goodman Brown" is portrayed as a straight forward tale of a man on a venture. It is not overly difficult to comprehend or interpret, however it does have several great ambiguities. As Hawthorne's tale has a great deal of symbolism, it is all in retrospect to the ambiguous entities within the tale. The formalistic approach will be used to analyze the ambiguities in the story, mainly focusing upon the use of dark and light contrasts. The questions of why did Goodman Brown leave his wife Faith and venture into the forest and was his journey into the forest a reality or a dream bring a grand weight of ambiguity upon the

“Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a complex tale with many hidden meanings and themes. Hawthorne uses literary devices to propel his story further into speculation of the unknown world. In his essay, Fogle uses examples of irony and symbols of opposites to convey the mystery behind Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown.” Without both ambiguity and clarity, the story would not portray an atmosphere of doubt which is at the core of Hawthorne’s tale.

Young Goodman Brown, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is an eerie story filled with ambiguity. The storyline can be seen as linear. Young Goodman Brown, the protagonist, leaves his village to go on a journey into the woods then experiences this and that until he reaches the gathering of evil worshippers. While it sounds straightforward, Hawthorne uses a lot of rhetorical devices to make his story frightening and leaving the reader to ponder the goodness of humans. He uses techniques such as allegories, symbolism, and foreshadowing. Besides his writing style, however, religion plays an important role in the story. The use of religion starts the story and sets the theme of good versus evil. Puritanism greatly influences Hawthorne’s tale. It can be inferred that Young Goodman Brown is a story where Hawthorne criticizes and indicts the Puritan society by adding Puritan values and beliefs to it.

In the short story of “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the setting is a very important aspect in providing symbolism to certain events. The setting of a dramatic work or story is defined as the overall setting of a narrative detailing the general location, historical time, and social undermining in which its action occurs. The setting of a story is just as important as the characters that are involved within the story. It is a necessary aspect that has influence on every narration. Which is a subject that has not gained much attraction and attention as other parts of the story, but is certainly a very interesting topic to discuss. This essay will give an in-depth analysis of the various techniques that Hawthorne used to convey

Ronan states Goodman Brown is “both a Hawthorne and a son of Burroughs—“ the holy man” whose hanging is portrayed in “Main-street” as the ultimate symbol of the witch trials’ injustice”( Ronan 279). As Goodman Brown continues to walk with this older man he starts to get nervous say “too far too far!’ exclaimed Goodman, unconsciously resuming his walk” (Hawthorne 388). Although Goodman Brown knows what he is doing is wrong, he continues walking in the woods with the traveler. Goodman Brown states “My father never went into the woods on such an errand, nor his father before him. We have been a race of honest men and good Christians, since the days of the martyrs. And shall I be the first of the name Brown, that ever took this path”(Hawthorne 388). Again, the importance of family history in the role of guilt regarding Puritan values and practices emerges as the traveler enlightens Goodman Brown about his father and grandfather. The traveler states “ I helped your grandfather, the constable [lash a] Quaker women smartly through the streets of Salem...I brought your father a pitch-pine knot, kindled at my own hearth, to set fire to an Indian village, in King Philip’s war” (Hawthorne 388). This is also the first time when the reader sees the traveler as more than a normal man, but the devil.

  “Almost all literary theorists since Aristotle have emphasized the importance of structure, conceived in diverse ways, in analyzing a work of literature” (Abrams 300). This essay will explore some interesting points in the structure of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown,” considering the time-frame, foreshadowing, suspenseful incidents, climax and denouement (Axelrod 337).