Young Goodman Brown and the Lottery Symbolism Use In: "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Lottery" The authors, Shirley Jackson and Nathaniel Hawthorne, both frequently use symbols within their stories "The Lottery" and "Young Goodman Brown." Symbols are utilized as an enhancement tool to stress the theme of each story. Hawthorne uses names and objects to enhance the theme, and Jackson mainly utilizes names to stress the theme, although she does have one object as a symbol of great importance to the theme. The stories both contain symbols describing evil. The majority of Hawthorne's symbols describe religion (both good and evil), but Jackson’s symbols reflect the evil nature within society as a whole. There exists a symbolic act in each story. …show more content…
Symbols are important in each story to define the theme. Close observation of the symbols within each story proves to one their
The hazards of following tradition or living according to society norms; doing things just because society accepts and follows.
To begin with, the use of symbolism creates obscurity, and causes the reader to examine the story. To further explain, the symbols also causes the reader to look deeper into the story's meaning, as it creates an interaction between the story and the reader. As a result, it enhances the effectiveness of the story. For example, a quote in the story states, “We all dancer an Owl dance, a Friendship dance, and a couple of Circle dances”(Sears 21).
In Chapter 12 from HTRLLP, the author describes in detail the usage of symbolism in different types of literature. Developing the information happens
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” and Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” both tell stories using literary techniques of tone, symbolism, and irony that help to convey stories that leave the reader baffled by their ending. Although Hawthorne and Jackson utilize these literary techniques in a different way, both of the stories end with a sense of darkness.
The stories we read in class had a lot of distinct similarities in each story. One similarity I saw was; all the stories introduced their settings in the beginning. Also, all the stories explain some truths about the world we live in. For example, in The Lottery, this story shows the danger of blindly following traditions of the community was so used to playing the lottery, that it has become a normal habit for them not realizing the damage this “lottery” is causing them and the people who has to lose their life for it. Another example, in The Lottery, is when Mrs. Delacroix turned against her good friend Tessie by picking up the largest stone to kill her which shows that there are certain friends you may have and when certain situations happens, their true colors will show and they may not have been a true friend to begin with. Also, in Young Goodman Brown, along his spiritual journey he encountered people he knew already, but then those people started to act the total opposite of what Goodman thought of his friends. This shows that in life, not everything is what it seems, no matter how you see it. Another example is
Award-winning and movie-prone novels incorporate many literary devices, and these methods empower the story to a new level. In this case, one of these devices is symbolism, and The Book Thief is an extraordinary example that contains symbolism. There are three overlapping symbols in The Book Thief, and these symbols are bread, an accordion, and books. As well as the differences, the list of similarities between these symbols continues on forever.
In “The Lottery”, Jackson, the title itself is ironic, taking part in a drawing assuming to win a high-value prize. Jackson also used third person narration to convey the traditions of this lottery, and how no one once stopped to think about why they are doing this, and how unhuman this lottery really was. Hawthorne too uses third person narration in “Young Goodman Brown”, however, does so with a slightly different purpose. The protagonist, Goodman Brown would be in search of his own heart and even
In the short stories The Cask of Amontillado and The Lottery, both the authors have skillfully used symbolism to create intriguing stories that capture the reader’s attention. The use of symbolism makes a reader see objects as more than what they actually are. Edgar Alan Poe and Shirley Jackson have both used symbolism to create suspense in their stories and leave the readers shocked with an unexpected ending. These symbols are portrayed within the attire of the characters, the names of the characters, and the time and setting of the story. The symbols also provide a foreshadowing to the events that are to unfold in each of the stories.
Uncle bob, I have read “ the lottery” and Hawthorne's story “Young Goodman Brown. There is symbolism in these two stories. According to the book literature, symbolism refers to the use of symbols in works of art and in other words of expression.”
Have you ever wondered what something meant, like the symbols of a story? Do you ever pay attention to it? You probably haven’t, but symbols are a good thing to look for in a book. The symbol helps you grasp the story more, helps make an understanding, and it can also help you predict the next action and more. Like in the stories: “Once Upon a Time” by Nacline Gordimer, “Night Calls” by Lisa Fugard, and “Quilt of a Country” by Anna Quindlen.
For example, in “The Gift of the Magi” the symbolism effects the theme because it tells us to always appreciate what we have and to always be generous, grateful, and thoughtful no matter what situation one is in. Once, both of the characters found out they sold their prize possessions they were not mad at eachother which shows that their love for each other and money will never get in their way of their relationship. In The Scarlet Ibis the symbolism effects the theme because the brother did not appreciate Doodle while he was alive, but now since he is dead the narrator realized all the great traits about him. Next, both of the authors used very intense words that allow readers to paraphrase them. In the short story “The Gift of the Magi," the author wrote, “When Della reached home, her intoxication gave way a little to prudence and reason. She got out her curling irons and lighted the gas and went to work repairing the ravages made by generosity added to
In the literary short story, the protagonists, the central characters of the short stories “The Lottery” and “Goodman Brown uses allegory or symbolism to convey dark, menacing evil in the township of people with innocence on the surface; however, underneath the so-called righteous township unveil sin and malice. The main characters of both stories struggle with innocence and purity, faces unforeseen conflicts, and the end results lead to a life changing outcomes. “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the authors convey conflict with man versus society, and both uses symbolism to convey a message to the readers.
Symbolism in literature is used to give an entirely different meaning which is more significant and much deeper to a story using objects representing other objects and giving them a sense that is different from their literal meaning. The meaning of the symbols used to depend on the reader, and there is no universal meaning for symbols used because their purpose is inherent in the symbol itself. In both stories, the authors use symbols to give different meanings to their story.
Certain aspects of a text have a deeper meaning beyond than what is on the surface. “The Open Boat” is a short story written by Stephen Crane about Crane’s own experience being shipwrecked while traveling to Cuba. Another text that was read in class is “To the Lighthouse” written by Virginia Woolf and concentrates on Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay’s life and their trips to the Isle of Skye. While looking through these texts, I found some symbols through literary analysis that were used to portray a deeper understanding about the stories overall plot. Through my own literary analysis I have chosen to: discuss how symbols contribute to the stories core theme, allow for reflection on character conflicts, and how they can be viewed in different aspects.
The symbolism and imagery used by Nathaniel Hawthorne in Young Goodman Brown to develop a theme are very bold and straightforward. Rather than hiding away the symbolism for the reader to discover, he makes it so obvious to the point where it is almost ridiculous. A notable central theme of Young Goodman Brown is that of the hypocrisy of religion, which is arguably why Hawthorne wrote the story in the first place. For example, when Goodman Brown actually starts examining his faith, he finds holes in his own religion. In fact, there are accounts from the time period of the story of Puritans being kidnapped by Native tribes and refusing to return to their old lives.