Literary Analysis of Young Goodman Brown - 808 Words

Hawthornes ambiguous ending in Young Goodman Brown leaves the reader asking one question. Had Goodman Brown fallen asleep in the forest and only dreamed a wild dream of a witch hunting? Most readers of this allegory try to answer this question, believing that Goodman Brown did in fact take the dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest. Hawthorne himself has avoided answering the question, and has instead left it up for the reader to decide Goodman Browns fate. The reader can never be certain about what actually happened in the forest; the reader can, however, be certain, not only of the nature and stages of Goodman Browns despair, but also of its probable cause. This can be seen through Faith, Browns†¦show more content†¦But his weak mind begins to suspect that all men are evil, even if they are respected members of the community, as were his father and grandfather, according to the story. Doubts about his ancestors spread, until Goody Cloyse, Deac on Gookin, the parson, and finally Faith herself fall victims to his corrupt state of mind. The symbolic representation of such increasing doubts is given in the sequence with the devil. The devil is Brown; Faith the exact counterpart, representing Browns heavenly side. The devil is Browns darker side, which believes that evil is the nature of man. In the forest, the dark side of Brown overpowers the good side. What actually happened in the forest must remain, as Hawthorne chose to put it, a question. What happens once Goodman Brown emerges from the forest is clear enough; Goodman Brown lived and died an unhappy, despairingShow MoreRelatedLiterary Analysis Of Young Goodman Brown895 Words   |  4 Pages In the story of â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† the setting of Salem village is characterized as a place of evil and darkness. Salem is a place known for witchcraft, especially during the Salem witch trials, were women who were accused of being witches were killed. Most of the story takes place in the forest at night. While on his journey into the forest, the narrator comes a across a mystery man. While on his trip the narrator comes to the realization that he does not truly know the people from the villageRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of Hawthorne s Young Goodman Brown 1175 Words   |  5 Pages1101 7 July 2017 Symbolism in â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† is a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and was set during the 17th Century Puritan Era. The story was published in 1835 during the Romantic Era. Nathaniel Hawthorne was known for being the master of symbolism. His novels and short stories have been embedded with suggestion and imagination. The dense symbolism that Hawthorne writes could imply multiple interpretations. â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† has quite a few themes andRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of Young Goodman Brown By Nathaniel Hawthorne1822 Words   |  8 PagesLiterary analyzes of â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a story about a normal man that ventures into the forest to meet an old man who attempts to tempt him into going deeper into the woods to worship the devil. After the old man convinces him that everyone that he loves and respects is going to the devil’s ceremony he gives in. In â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†, Hawthorne effectively uses symbolism to portray the theme that putting one s faith in others leads to weaknessRead MoreYoung Goodman Brown964 Words   |  4 PagesENGL 303 23 June 2013 Essay Assignment One: Reader-Response Criticism Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† is a short story in which the author attempts to convey several different messages or themes throughout the literary piece. Themes in literary works can sometimes be better understood by analyzing the piece with a specific literary criticism technique. A few of these literary criticism techniques include Marxist, Formalism, and Reader Response just to name a few. Given Hawthorne’sRead MoreYoung Goodman Brown882 Words   |  4 PagesLiterary Analysis of Young Goodman Brown Many aspects of human nature have changed over the centuries, but one thing that people have in common is the temptation of evil. From Adam and Eve eating fruit from the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden to the Iraqi hijackers who flew two airplanes into the World Trade Centers on September 11, 2001 killing thousands of innocent people, evil has always been a part of this world. In an effort to portray the corruption of the Salem witch trials, NathanielRead MoreEssay on The Ambiguity in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown1587 Words   |  7 PagesThe Ambiguity in â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†      Ã‚  Ã‚     The literary critics agree that there is considerable ambiguity in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown.† This essay intends to illustrate the previous statement and to analyze the cause of this ambiguity.    Henry James in Hawthorne, when discussing â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† comments on how imaginative it is, then mentions how allegorical Hawthorne is, and how allegory should be expressed clearly:    I frankly confess that I haveRead MoreFiction Essay - Young Goodman Brown and the Lottery1051 Words   |  5 PagesFICTION ESSAY WRITING STYLE USED: APA OUTLINE I. THESIS: A thorough analysis of Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery† and Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† reveals that different literary elements, such as tone and setting, are used to convey the characters’ arrival at dark, sinister places. II. INTRODUCTION III. SHIRLEY JACKSON’S â€Å"THE LOTTERY† A. Setting the tone: Peaceful and relaxing B. Irony: Even though the mood is relaxing, there is a premonition of something bad toRead More Ambiguity in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown Essay1743 Words   |  7 PagesAmbiguity in â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚         There is no end to the ambiguity in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†; this essay hopes to explore this problem.    Peter Conn in â€Å"Finding a Voice in an New Nation† makes a statement regarding Hawthorne’s ambiguity:      Almost all of Hawthorne’s finest stories are remote in time or place. The glare of contemporary reality immobillized his imagination. He required shadows and half-light, and he sought a nervous equilibriumRead MoreNathaniel Hawthorne s Young Goodman Brown1312 Words   |  6 PagesWithin Nathaniel Hawthorne s short story Young Goodman Brown (p.317), Young Goodman Brown travels through a dark and mysterious forest late at night. Ignoring the pleas of his pure wife Faith, he ventures deep into the woods with many dangers around him, only to emerge in the morning a changed man with bewildered views on his own Puritan life and the Puritan community around him. At the cause for this change in mindset, the dream of an old man symbolizing the devil appears, showing him the communityRead MoreMy Psychoanalytic Views of Two Short Stories1454 Words   |  6 Pagesradical, when put into life situations they actually make perfect sense. Psychoanalytic Literary Criticism refers to literary criticism or literary theory which, in method, concept, or form, is influenced by the tradition of psychoanalysis begun by Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalytic literary criticism is a very common method of analyzing stories such as The White Heron by Sarah Orne Jewett, Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allen Poe. Sylvia, a shy