"Young Goodman Brown" was published in 1835, when Nathaniel Hawthorne was 31 years old. Hawthorne was born and reared in Salem, Massachusetts, a village still permeated by its 17th century Puritanism. When he was four, Hawthorne's father died, and from that point on he was surrounded mostly by females: two sisters, a maiden aunt, and a retiring mother who was not close to her children. He had little contact with his deceased father's family, but his maternal relatives were supportive and saw to it that he attended college, the first in his family to do so (Turner 33). During four years at college, despite his reclusive nature, he established close friendships with his male classmates, several of which he maintained for life. These four …show more content…
On the other hand, he felt guilt for his ancestor's part in witch trials and intolerant prosecution of Quakers. In "Young Goodman Brown" the devil tells Brown that "I helped your grandfather, the constable, when he lashed the Quaker woman so smartly" (Hawthorne 2131). Historians of Hawthorne's day were harshly critical of the witch trials and inflexible Puritan ideology of the 17th century. Many current publications and lectures condemned the cruel intolerance of Puritans, and Hawthorne anticipated reader interest as an added incentive for using his Puritan heritage as a background for his work. "Hawthorne's fullest display of witch lore is in one of the first tales he wrote, 'Young Goodman Brown"' (Turner 67). When Brown marveled that Goody Cloyse, who had taught him his catechism was in the forest after dark (Hawthorne 2131), he referred to an historical witch.
Hawthorne had a skeptical, dual-outlook on life. By the time “Young Goodman Brown” was published he had chosen to spend approximately one-third of his life in self-imposed isolation. Though he chose isolation, it was entirely contrary to his beliefs. Hawthorne believed society to be all-important. During his college years, associations with people and exposure to current ideas convinced him of the need for social responsibility and humanistic concern (Johnson 35). Hawthorne felt that the human self has meaning and value only through reciprocal
Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote Young Goodman Brown based on morals and what Easterly in "Lachrymal Imagery in Hawthorne's 'Young Goodman Brown' " calls "spiritual maturity" (Easterly 339). In the short story, Goodman Brown, a young Puritan leaves his wife of three months to watch a witch ceremony in the forest. During this point in time, Puritans based their lives on teachings of religion and morality; therefore, witch-meetings were surely immoral, and they betrayed the commitment of God. Dwelling in the forest throughout the night, Goodman Brown experiences an event that changes his entire perspective of life. In one night, the event destroys "his relationship with his wife Faith, isolates him from his neighbors, and destroys his ability to
In the Nathaniel Hawthorne tale, “Young Goodman Brown,” we see and feel the solitude/isolation of the protagonist, Goodman. Is this solitude not a reflection of the very life of the author?
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
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.
"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
Nathaniel Hawthorne's works are notable for their treatment of guilt and the complexities of moral choices. "Moral and religious concerns, in short, are almost always present in Hawthorne's work"(Foster, 56). Given Hawthorne's background, it is not a stretch of the imagination to say that his novels are critiques of Puritanism. Hawthorne lived in the deeply scarred New England area, separated from Puritanism by only one generation. His grandfather had been one of the judges in the Salem Witch Trials. Personal issues include the various ways Hawthorne's family and specific events in his life influenced his writing. Readers can easily recognize how "Young Goodman Brown" incorporates
Nathaniel Hawthorne Critiques Puritan Society in His Works, Young Goodman Brown and The Scarlet Letter
Young Goodman Brown is a short story where the main purpose is to show the social issue of religion during the Puritan time. Although the author Nathaniel Hawthorne had not being living in that time, he came from a long line of Puritans. He wrote Young Goodman Brown to show the flaws of the Puritans’ view of religion. They made God seem heartless and mean spirited, someone who just used humans for entertainment. The short story Young Goodman Brown demonstrates that people should test their faith of their religious beliefs and even people considered upright can fall short of their own religious faiths from temptations and imperfections. In addition, the story shows that there is some degree of evil nature in everyone because of the freewill
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.
Young Goodman Brown is a short narrative written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Just like many of his other works, the story is set in the 17th century Puritan New England, and the author primarily addresses the puritan beliefs at the time which state that humanity exists in a state of degradation and God holds some unconditional love to humans by giving them unmerited grace. “The author mainly focuses on underlying tensions within the puritan way of life” (Jaynes, 2006). He thus uses symbolism to showcase the story of Young Goodman Brown’s journey. The main character delves deep into self-scrutiny and ends up losing his beliefs and virtue.
Nathaniel Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown illustrates vividly how society and culture can very much influence a person's sense of identity and belonging, or in the case of Young Goodman Brown the lack thereof. Being a Puritan man in a society that scorned the ways of witches and the devil, Young Goodman Brown grew up with a very pious outlook on life. Yet when it occurs to him to look at life a little bit differently, Young Goodman Brown receives more than he has bargained for. The journey he embarks on sheds a whole new light on his society that not only creates a struggle between himself and his fellow men but also one within himself.
Although many modern religions preach messages of morality, it is common for individuals and their own personal biases to skew the image of these groups. Puritanism was one such religion; despite its positive intentions, its followers were often misguided in their beliefs and actions. In Young Goodman Brown, Nathaniel Hawthorn expresses his disapproval of the Puritan religion and comments on its many faults, including the hypocrisy of its followers, their self-righteousness, and their obsession with polarizing good versus evil.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short novel “Young Goodman Brown” was published in 1835. Hawthorne was born and raised in Salem, Massachusetts, a village still saturated by its 17th century Puritanism. His father died when he was just four years old, he was left to be rastised by his mother and sister along with aunts. It was Hawthorne’s maternal side of the families that were supportive and watched over him to make sure that he finished college and he went on to become the first one in his family to do this (Turner 33). Hawthorne had put himself through twelve years of isolation in the top floor room of his mother’s house. Hawthorne wanted to make sure that he mastered the art of writing. He was researching the history of England when he discovered his family’s connection to the Salem witch trials and his puritan heritage. Hawthorne
Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne provides historical, societal, religious, scientific and biographical contexts. The story is set in the period of the Salem Witch Trials in Puritan New England. The story describes Brown's journey into the depths of the forest, where he believes that he sees many of the members of his community, including his wife Faith, attending a satanic ceremony. The narrator implies that Brown may be sleeping, but either way the experience was real. It affected Brown very much. The story is often read as Hawthorne's condemnation of Puritan ideology, as it proposes that Puritan doctrine could strain so much doubt that believers were doomed to see evil-whether or not it truly existed-in themselves and