Similarities Between Young Goodman Brown And The Man In The Black Suit

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While reading “The Man in the Black Suit” by Stephen King and “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, many similarities and differences were noticed. Throughout both stories interactions with the devil take place that make the characters more evolved. The characters are shown in depth using the environment, manipulation, and the devil himself. First of all, in both short stories the environment plays a role in making the characters more evolved. In the story “The Man in the Black Suit,” the environment makes Gary, the young main character, feel fear. On his way to go fishing in the forest, Gary describes the environment as “...tangled corridors of forest, leg-breaking deadfalls, ravines where anything might live. Until that Saturday …show more content…
In “The Man in the Black Suit,” the boy describes the devil as wearing black. “A man was standing above me, at the edge of the trees. His face was very long and pale. His black hair was combed tight against his skull and parted with rigorous care on the left side of his narrow head. He was very tall”(King). The young boy states that the devil has “...black hair combed tight against his skull.” This description simply describes an average person. Also, Gary says the man “...was very tall.” Saying the devil is very tall shows that the boy uses a very broad term to describe the devil. In “Young Goodman Brown,” Mr. Brown also claims that the devil has average looks. He states “...the figure of a man, in grave and decent attire, seated at the foot of an old tree. He arose at Goodman Brown's approach and walked onward side by side with him”(Hawthorne). The devil seems to be quite friendly with walking “...onward sidy by side” with Young Good Brown. Also, a reader can assume that just like in “The Man in the Black Suit,” that the devil just appeared out of the Young Goodman Brown describes the devil wearing “...decent attire.” This shows that both Young Goodman Brown and Gary describe the devil as being “normal.” However, throughout both stories the devil is portrayed differently. For example, in “The Man in the Black Suit” the boy describes the devil as some sort of monster. “...he was not a human being, …show more content…
I thought of her making bread, of the curl lying across her forehead and just touching her eyebrow, of her standing there in the strong morning sunlight, and the terror swept over me again, but not for myself this time”(King). The devil tells the young boy that his mother is dead. This makes the boy very upset due to the phrase “...terror swept over me.” A reader can infer that only the devil could do such a horrific thing. Almost the same event happens in “Young Goodman Brown.” The devil uses love to manipulate Mr. Brown and convince him to continue the journey through the forest by telling him that his wife has died. “My Faith is gone! Cried he, after one stupefied moment. “There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come, devil, for to thee is this world given”(Hawthorne). Young Goodman Brown is very upset after the devil has convinced him that his wife has died. From the statement “There is no good on earth..” a reader can assume that Mr. Brown is in extreme distress. Even though both stories involve the devil manipulating both Gary and Young Goodman Brown, the devil is manipulating them for different things. The devil tells Gary that his mother has died so that he can eat him. The devil states"I’m going to kill you and eat your guys, little fisher boy”(King). The devil only manipulated the little boy to eat him. By saying “...little fisher boy” the reader will know that the boy is very young and the devil sees him as food. ON the contrast, in “Young