The Dangers of the Norm and Be

A detailed Summary of The Dangers of the Norm and Be

The Dangers of the Norm and Beliefs in "Young Goodman Brown"

One of the most dangerous things that a person can do to themselves is become totally set in their ways. A person become so set in their way of life that if something comes along and alters it in the slightest little way it can disturb them psychologically. A great example of this is in Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, "Young Goodman Brown." In the story, the character Goodman Brown is extremely set is his belief structure. He believes deep down that all people are God-fearing Christians and they lead completely moral lives. Then suddenly, his world is thrown into upheaval when what could've been a dream, but was in fact reality, interfered with his beliefs and he could no longer trust his fellow man. Hawthorne's story "Young Goodman Brown" deals with the dangers of living in the norm by showing the strictness of the Puritan religion, temptation of man, and loss of faith.

To quote the movie Dogma, "It's good to have beliefs, but I just think it's better to have ideas. I mean, you can change an idea. Changing a belief is a little trickier. People die for them. People kill for them." Now, it is a good thing to have beliefs, but in selecting a belief structure one

with an anal retentiveness to Puritanism, which he follows to a "T." But, he is susceptible to temptation like all humans. Which is why he goes on his midnight journey with the mysterious journey.

religion. Their life of persecution and non-diversity is slightly chaotic. He presents Brown

Once in the forest, Young Goodman Brown is met with "the figure of a man, in

Throughout the short story Brown is searching for faith in what appears to be an increasingly corrupt world. Faith takes on a double meaning in this story, for Faith is used both as the name of Young Goodman Brown's pretty young wife and the spiritual devotion of Young Goodman Brown to the Puritan Faith. The dual usage of Faith in this short story, along with its theme of devil worship amongst Puritan society draws the reader in, and leaves the story imprinted on his brain for a long time to come. As the story opens, Young Goodman Brown is about to enter the forest to partake upon an "evil purpose." He leaves behind his sweet, pretty, young wife of three months, who wears pretty pink ribbons in her hair, urging her to "Say thy prayers, dear Faith, and go to bed at dusk, and no harm will come to thee." Young Goodman Brown is hesitant about leaving his Faith behind to go on such an errand, to venture into the forest where "the devil himself could be at my very elbow!"

that she skipped along the street and almost kissed her husband before the whole village." Young Goodman Brown looks sternly and sadly into her face, and passes on without a greeting. "Had Young Goodman Brown fallen asleep in the forest and only dreamed a wild dream of a witch-meeting?" It does not matter, for Young Goodman Brown becomes "a stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man." He shrinks from the bosom of Faith, and he dies a "hoary corpse" It does not matter that Young Goodman Brown rejected the Devil at his fiery altar that night in the forest. The Devil has claimed his Faith in humanity in another way.

Brown is faced with the inner turmoil of his faith because what he once used a s crutches have now been knocked out from under him. He now has a new outlook on man, God, and religion. Brown's faith has changed from his ori

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Approximate Word count = 1493
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English