The Scarlet Letter And Young Goodman Brown - 1206 Words

Influenced by his Puritan background, Hawthorne focused on individuals and their relationships within their community. Works by Nathaniel Hawthorne such as The Scarlet Letter and Young Goodman Brown focus on the issues and hypocrisies of a Puritan society. Hawthorne explores the view that many fundamentalist religious groups have in regard to the alienation of members of a society who have been judged as sinful, while also uncovering the hidden evil in everyone, including the most honorable of preachers. He accomplishes this by developing plot lines, which focus on interactions of ignorant but wicked religious characters with sinful but relatable protagonists. Throughout these two stories, the forest serves to represent evil and the unknown; however, it also represents truth, as it is the place where secrets come out and people express their true selves. In the very beginning of Young Goodman Brown, Goodman Brown’s wife Faith, advises him to wait until sunrise of the next morning to start his journey into the forest instead of leaving at night time, suggesting that Brown is traveling towards, and into the ominous darkness. This darkness represents everything evil, or the devil’s abode, so by having Faith urge her husband not to travel during the dark nighttime, it can be inferred that she is attempting to help him avoid the devil. However, Brown does not listen to the advice of Faith, and ventures deep into the path of sin, eventually coming to a terrifying realizationShow MoreRelatedCompare And Contrast Scarlet Letter And Young Goodman Brown1485 Words   |  6 Pageshumiliate her and Goodman Brown’s hopelessness af ter seeing people he trusts conversing with the devil. In Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hester gains a new strength from the letter A after recognizing the evil nature of Puritan society. Whereas in Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† witnessing Puritan’s hypocrisy first hand, Goodman Brown falls into despair and confusing. Although depicted in different lights, Hawthorne’s characters in The Scarlet Letter and â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† ultimately revealRead More Romanticism in Scarlet Letter, Ministers Black Veil, and Young Goodman Brown2077 Words   |  9 PagesAmerican Romanticism in The Scarlet Letter, The Ministers Black Veil, and Young Goodman Brown      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Nathaniel Hawthorne took elements of the European romanticism and reshaped them into a new literary form that is called American Romanticism. The American Romanticists created a form that, at first glance, seems ancient and traditional; they borrowed from classical romance, adapted pastoral themes and incorporated Gothic elements (Reuben 22). Some of the definable elements of romanticismRead More Hawthorne Critiques Puritan Society in His Works, Young Goodman Brown and The Scarlet Letter1773 Words   |  8 PagesNathaniel Hawthorne Critiques Puritan Society in His Works, Young Goodman Brown and The Scarlet Letter Many American writers have scrutinized religion through their works of literature, however none had the enthusiasm of Nathaniel Hawthorne. A handful of Hawthornes works are clear critiques of seventeenth century Puritan society in New England. Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown and The Scarlet Letter illustrate his assessment by showing internal battles within characters, hypocrisy in religiousRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter, By Nathaniel Hawthorne979 Words   |  4 Pageswell-known dark romanticist and author of â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† and â€Å"The Scarlet Letter,† displays a love for story and symbols. Goodman Brown in â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† chooses to question his faith and sells himself out of everyone because he does not believe in anyone. Whereas Hester in â€Å"The Scarlet Letter,† was thrown away from everyone because of her actions. Hawthorne’s usage of light and dark imagery in both, â€Å"The Scarlet Letter,† and â€Å"Young Go odman Brown,† represents good and evil, and the difficultyRead MoreEssay Sin, Guilt, and the Mind of Nathaniel Hawthorne1490 Words   |  6 PagesHawthornes family and specific events in his life influenced his writing. Readers can easily recognize how Young Goodman Brown incorporates facts about his Puritan ancestors. Father Hooper in The Ministers Black Veil may be symbolically paralleled to Hawthornes ancestors, trying to hide a sin they have committed. His descendants remarks on him in The Custom House introduction to The Scarlet Letter mix pride in Hawthornes prominence and a sense of inherited guilt for his deeds as judge. HawthornesRead MoreNathaniel Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter1631 Words   |  7 Pageshis The Scarlet Letter and â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†, illustrates the difference between good and evil as well as the separation between the new and old generation and how the youth challenges the way of traditional Puritan society. This can be seen by Goodm ans Brown’s character, the younger women at Hester Prynne’s public condemnation, Roger Chillingworth and Arthur Dimmesdale, and Hester’s relationship with her daughter Pearl. Nathaniel Hawthorne is most famous for writing The Scarlet Letter, whichRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter, By Nathaniel Hawthorne1422 Words   |  6 Pages The eighteenth-century author, Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts. He was most famous for his writings The Scarlet Letter, â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† â€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil† and an abundant array of other books and short stories. The stories that are mentioned contain a copious amount of symbolism throughout the entirety of each book. All the stories that he ever wrote have an underlying meaning and the symbolism was hidden within in the names, characters, placesRead MoreEssay on Young Goodman Brown769 Words   |  4 Pagesmain focus of the story â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† by Nathaniel Hawthorne is the triumph of evil over good. A supposedly good man is tempted by evil and allows himself to be converted into a man of evil. This is much like the situation that ari ses in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, where two people are tempted to sin and give in thus submitting themselves to the power of the devil. In this novel, the area where the devil resides is strictly parallel to that in â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;AsRead MoreSymbolism Is The Use Of Symbols To Signify Important Meaning1305 Words   |  6 PagesNathanial Hawthorne). In the Scarlett Letter, there are several references to symbolism. The first and the most obvious symbolism used in The Scarlett Letter is the scarlet letter â€Å"A† on Hester’s chest. This letter has the meaning of sin and Hester wears it as punishment. The â€Å"A† stood for adultery, the crime Hester committed. The society she lived in went against these things and had strict punishment for it. Another form of symbolism in The Scarlett Letter is Hester’s daughter, Pearl. Hester namesRead MoreEssay Theme of Alienation in Literature929 Words   |  4 PagesHawthorne, such as Young Goodman Brown, The Ministers Black Veil, and The Scarlet Letter, all contain characters that face these types of conditions. Goodman Brown, Minister Hooper, and Hester Pryne are isolated from society because of their guilty consciences, and desire to hide their shame. Eventually, each character is given a chance to redeem themselves and avoid damnation. In the short story, Young Goodman Brown, the character of Goodman Brown has an experience