Allegory In Young Goodman Brown

Words: 1248
Pages: 5
Open Document
Throughout our lives we might encounter challenges that might make or break us. These challenges are thrown at us to test our skills, faith or even knowledge. However, the challenge is not just to succeed, the challenge is to push ourselves to succeed on our missions throughout our lives. The test can be either to find ourselves and reconnect with God or the test of knowledge and experience in our life. The test that is in "young Goodman brown" is philosophical as it is an allegory of the fall of mankind in life. Furthermore religion can play a key role in allegories, as we experienced it in the story "Young Goodman Brown" where it talks about Goodman Brown setting off on a journey that is so important that it was bestowed upon him by God to test his faith. His journey commences when he walks into the woods which was called the "Devils Playground". Goodman Brown lost himself for a short period of time that he had to commit sins to recognise …show more content…
Connolly he focused on the "Attack of Puritanic Calvinism" in which Richard H.Fogel stated that "Hawthorn refused to constrain himself to a single doctrine and by proceeding on by indirection"(JSTOR:Attack on Puritanic Calvinism). This is experienced by Goodman Brown as he starts his journey to retain his faith. This indirection meant that it was not his to plan but it is like stating I will go where ever my heart takes me. Faith was his motivation as it was both for his religion and his wife, since faith had a double connotation in his life. Furthermore according to Gordon and Tate's "Hawthorn deals with the unhappiness due to the depravity of the heart"(JSTOR: Attack on Puritanic Calvinism) as it means the heart is corrupt and unhappy. This unhappiness is experienced by Goodman Brown as he is separated from his wife and he lost his innocence. Moreover, Young Goodman Brown while he was unhappy his heart was full of vices that he had to extinguish in order to gain back his
Show More

Related Documents: Allegory In Young Goodman Brown

Young Goodman Brown Allegory Analysis

Good Vs. Evil An allegory is a short story or work of art that represents another meaning. Many times these allegories are represented through symbolism, which is using the meaning of an object to represent something of a different meaning. A strong example of a good allegory would be, the short story “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In the story, Hawthorne, uses symbols to represent the pure goodness and the vicious evils of the world. Hawthorne uses symbolism to show the good through…

Words 476 - Pages 2

My Kinsman, Major Molineux: Questions On America

an allegory of America winning its freedom? The story…

Words 829 - Pages 4

Young Goodman Brown Essay

Terry Thompson Professor Kelly EH102 March 1, 2015 Young Goodman Brown The story of “Young Goodman Brown” is a prime example of allegory .In that nothing is ever as it seems. Young Goodman Brown seems to be wrestling with his demons through the story only to find it was just a dream. Young Mr. Brown though pious by nature doubted his “faith’. He like so many others at that age past, present and future question their beliefs. Mr. Hawthorne (Hathorne)…

Words 415 - Pages 2

Religious Symbolism In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

the Young Goodman Brown work oppose the ideas of Heaven and Hell. This story is, in a few words, an allegory about the evil and the loss of one’s faith. Therefore, this essay will discuss how and to what effect Hawthorne uses religious symbolism in this short story. To begin with, I have to say that many of the symbols that Hawthorne uses in his stories refer to a Puritan imagery. Therefore, to understand the story and its meaning, it is necessary to consider the timeframe. Young Goodman Brown…

Words 244 - Pages 1

Young Goodman Brown Rhetorical Analysis

Alina Kato Mrs. Hallberg AP Literature 12 January 2024 Metaphorical Summary of Young Goodman Brown The allegory “Young Goodman Brown” by Hawthorne explores an internal conflict and journey of the protagonist, Goodman Brown, as he undergoes a crisis of his faith and builds doubt after betraying events occur for him. The quest begins when Brown steps foot into the forest, which turns the landscape into a metaphor for the unknown, evoking an atmosphere full of darkness and doubt. The forest, with its…

Words 322 - Pages 2

midterm prompt c Essay

Lorrinda Whitman, Prompt C Young GoodmanBrown/The Birthmark The story is about a man named, Young Goodman Brown, who is a man of little faith. He is tempted by the evil and eventually succumbs because his curiosity is too strong and in his weakness in faith. Goodman Brown can’t help himself from wanting to know what lies behind the forest. What Brown encountered was not what he expected, because he discovers that his ancestors were in league with the devil. Brown then decides that he might as…

Words 1067 - Pages 5

Young Goodman Brown And The Tell Tale Heart

“Young Goodman Brown,” by Hawthorne, and “The Tell Tale Heart,” by Poe, offer readers the chance to embark on figurative and literal journeys, through our minds and our hearts. Hawthorne is interested in developing a sense of guilt in his story, an allegory warning against losing one’s faith. The point of view and the shift in point of view are symbolic of the darkening, increasingly isolated heart of the main character, Goodman Brown, an everyman figure in an everyman tale. Poe, however, is concerned…

Words 2577 - Pages 11

Young Goodman Brown Essay

Young Goodman Brown” From what Goodman Brown has shared with me I believe his unconscious mind has taken him on quite a trip. His inner phyc has revealed his true desires and they will not go away simply by smothering them. He must learn to face these impulses before they control him, but the first step is learning where they derive from. Goodman’s journey has revealed to me that his id is to see what the devil has to offer and he is curious about the sins of this world. His ego, however, is his…

Words 512 - Pages 3

Accepting Faith In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

Hawthorne’s story of ‘Young Goodman Brown’ centres around a young married man living in a strict puritanical society who, on the eve of Halloween, leaves Faith, his aptly named wife, and ventures into the forest where he meets up with the devil. The text recounts Goodman Brown’s journey to and from sin, and the unintended consequences and insights it engendered. Interpreting this story at face-value, it appears to be a simple allegory regarding the importance of not giving up ones’ faith though…

Words 900 - Pages 4

Compare And Contrast Young Goodman Brown And The Minister's Black Veil

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short stories “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Minister’s Black Veil” there is an overarching motif of unpardonable sin. Hawthorne, born in Salem Massachusetts in 1804, was born into a struggling Puritan family in which he had never met his father, who died when he was a young boy. The tragedies and hurdles he faced as a child created the vivid imagination and overall grim and unpleasant mood that is present in his writing. Although these stories have very distinctive plots…

Words 1798 - Pages 8