LOTERY DEATH OF A SALESMAN

A detailed Summary of LOTERY DEATH OF A SALESMAN

The two short essays written by Jackson and Hawthorne are both thought provoking and full of evil. Many symbols are used to help develop the themes of both stories. The authors unveil the stories in such a way that you really don't know what the outcomes are going to be, but you do know that they will involve insights into morality - of both the main characters and the societies in which they live. Hopefully, by discussing the two short stories, their differences and similarities will be thoroughly explained.

From the very beginning, "Young Goodman Brown" has a sense of apprehension about the ominous journey the title character is about to undertake. Even when he departed from his wife Faith, it made me feel as though something regrettable was about to take place. I guess that was Hawthorn's first clue to the reader that there was something out of the ordinary ahead. Young Goodman Brown is venturing into the woods to meet with the Devil, and by doing so, he leaves his unquestionable faith in God with his wife. He resolves that when he returns, he will "cling to her skirts and follow her to Heaven.

The first real sign of evil is when he met up with the man (Devil) in the woods.

Normally when a person enters a crowd of people they are greeted, but not Mrs. Hutchinson for she is obviously leaving. Nearer the climax the hints of foreshadowing almost give away the secret. It is obviously going to make a major impact on somebody's life. The people knew that every year there was going to be a lottery, and they maintained a sense of humor to accompany their disgruntlement. Participating in the drawing was a necessity to them, and for reasons not discussed, they accepted it. Another hint to suggest the horrible event that was about to occur is when Old Man Warner says, "Bad enough to see young Joe Summers up there joking with everybody", thus indicating that the lottery was no joking matter.

Goodman believes this is Faith and he yells out her name only to be mimicked by the echoes of the forest, as if his calls to Faith were falling on deaf ears. A pink ribbon flies through the air and Goodman grabs it. At this moment, he has lost all faith in the world and declares that there is "no good on earth." Young Goodman Brown in this scene is easily manipulated simply by the power of suggestion - the suggestion that the woman in question is his Faith. Because of this, he easily loses his faith.

At this point, Goodman Brown goes mad and challenges evil. He feels that he will be the downfall of evil and that he is strong enough to overcome it all. This is another demonstration of Brown's excessive pride and arrogance.

During Young Goodman Brown's journey through the wood he came across a familiar old woman he'd learned from. His faith is harmed because the woman on the path is the woman who "taught him his catechism in youth, and was still his moral and spiritual adviser." The Devil and the woman talk and afterward, Brown continues to walk on with the Devil in the disbelief of what he had just witnessed. Ironically, he blames the woman for consorting with the Devil but his own pride stops him from realizing that his faults are the same as the woman's. Brown again decides that he will no longer continue on his errand and rationalizes that just because his teacher was not going to heaven, why should he "quit my dear Faith, and go after her". At this, the Devil tosses Goodman Brown his staff and leaves him.

and leaves him alone and depressed. His life ends alone and miserable because he was never able to look at himself and realize that what he believed were everyone else's faults were his as well. His excessive pride in himself led to his isolation from the

and fell over the congregation, which cast a veil of evil over the devil worshippers.

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Category: Novels