Nathaniel Hawthorne
"Nathaniel Hawthorne's work is typically fraught with symbolism, much of it deriving from his Puritan ancestry; a great-great uncle was actually a judge in the Salem witchcraft trials" (Roth 76). Not surprisingly, Hawthorne was obsessed with the twin themes of sin and guilt. Author John Roth notes that "A number of recurring thematic patterns and character types appear in Hawthorne's novels and tales. These repetitions show Hawthorne's emphasis on the effects of events on the human heart rather than the events themselves" (76). Because he is speaking of what we later would come to call the unconscious, Hawthorne extensively employed the use of symbolism, which bypasses the conscious, logical mind to tap into its more dreamlike processes. "The story begins as a conventional allegory, creating the expectation that the characters will consistently exhibit the abstractions they symbolize" (Levy 116). "Young Goodman Brown" is an allegory whose characters play a major role in displaying the determination of what to believe and what not to believe. The short story represents one man's wild journey to leave his faith, home, and security temporarily behind to take a chance with the devil on an adventure into a dark forest. In his short s
The Bible. 2nd ed. New York: Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1953. Having read the entire story, one can interpret this on two levels. Goodman Brown may feel, as he says, that the exploration of this inner forest may be a sin. It is easier by far to follow the accepted path of faith, to walk, as the Church itself often terms it, "in the Light". By walking in the light, that is, by following precisely the tenets of Christian life and by avoiding all situations where morality does not cleave itself into clear areas of black and white, one feels safe, clean, and virtuous. By doing this, one also misses out on the depth, the richness, that a fuller experience of life might offer, but it is unquestionably an easier path. Lang, H.J. "How Ambiguous is Hawthorne?" Hawthorne: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1966. 89-94.
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Approximate Word count = 1775
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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