The Symbolism of Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown Essay

The Symbolism of â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† shows the reader the author’s power as a symbolist. Frederick C. Crews in â€Å"The Logic of Compulsion in ‘Roger Malvin’s Burial’† explores the symbology that prevails in Hawthorne’s best short stories: . . . I chose this one tale to analyze because it illustrates the indispensability, and I should even say the priority, of understanding the literal psychological dramas in Hawthorne’s fiction. Like all of his best tales, this one is packed with symbolic suggestions and invite a moralistic reading. . . . (111). Peter Conn in â€Å"Finding a Voice in an New Nation† states his evaluation of Hawthorne as a†¦show more content†¦Commenting on the rich symbolism of Hawthorne’s tales or short stories, Edmund Fuller and B. Jo Kinnick in â€Å"Stories Derived from New England Living† state: â€Å"Hawthorne’s unique gift was for the creation of strongly symbolic stories which touch the deepest roots of man’s moral nature† (31). Stanley T. Williams in â€Å"Hawthorne’s Puritan Mind† says that the author was forever â€Å"perfecting his delicate craft of the symbol, of allegory, of the few themes and oft repeated character-types which were to haunt forever the minds of those who know New England† (42). Let us begin with the opening lines of the story: â€Å"Young Goodman Brown came forth at sunset, into the street of Salem village. . .† What is Goodman Brown symbolic of? 1. According to Levy, he â€Å"is Everyman. The bargain he has struck with Satan is the universal one . . . . Initially, he is a naive and immature young man who fails to understand the gravity of the step he has taken . . . [which is] succeeded by a presumably adult determination to resist his own evil impulses† (117). 2. Fogle writes that he is â€Å"a naive young man who accepts both society in general and his fellow men as individuals at their own valuation, [who] is in one terrible night confronted with the vision of human evil . . . † (15). 3. Q. D. Leavis in â€Å"Hawthorne as Poet† states that â€Å"the relevant point is that Young Goodman Brown is Everyman in seventeenth century New England† (35). And what is SalemShow MoreRelated Symbolism in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown Essay2380 Words   |  10 PagesSymbolism in Young Goodman Brown  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚      Edmund Fuller and B. Jo Kinnick in â€Å"Stories Derived from New England Living† state: â€Å"Hawthorne’s unique gift was for the creation of strongly symbolic stories which touch the deepest roots of man’s moral nature† (31). It is the purpose of this essay to explore the main symbolism contained within Nathaniel Hawthorne’s tale, â€Å"Young Goodman Brown.†    Stanley T. Williams in â€Å"Hawthorne’s Puritan Mind† states that the author was forever â€Å"perfectingRead MoreAmbiguity And Symbolism In Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown1952 Words   |  8 Pagespeople. The short story called Young Goodman Brown is a good example of how people are trapped in this war and gives a somewhat description of what it could be like in a losing fight against evil. The message of the story is that everyone has a dark nature in them somewhere, whether it can be triggered by something traumatic, or by their surroundings as they grew up to adulthood from only knowing that. The premise of the story is mostly about how Goodman Brown leaves Salem village to undergoRead MoreAllegory And Symbolism In Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown728 Words   |  3 PagesIt is hard to read beyond the third paragraph of â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† without finding allegory and symbolism. The opening seems realistic--Goodman Brown, a young Puritan, leaves his home in colonial Salem to take an overnight trip-- but his wifes name, â€Å"Faith,† immediately suggests a symbolic reading. Before long, Brown’s walk into the dream-like forest seems like an allegorical trip into evil. The idea that Hawthorne shows by this trip is that people are attracted to sin through temptation whichRead MoreSymbolism in Nathaniel Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown Essay468 Words   |  2 PagesSymbolism in Nathaniel Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown Nathaniel Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown is full of symbolism throughout the story. Perhaps the most interesting examples of symbolism include the title character, Young Goodman Brown, as well as his wife, Faith, and the woods that Young Goodman Brown enters on his journey. Included are many allusions to Christianity and also to evil and sin. These references are expressed mainly through characters and settings in the story. TheRead More Symbolism in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown Essay examples2488 Words   |  10 Pages     Ã‚   Nathaniel Hawthorne’s tale, â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† is rich in symbolism, as this essay will amply illustrate. Hugo McPherson in â€Å"Hawthorne’s Use of Mythology† explains how the author’s â€Å"inner drama† may be expressed in his symbolism: The imaginative foundation of a writer’s work may well be an inner drama or ‘hidden life’ in which his deepest interests and conflicts are transformed into images or characters; and through the symbolic play of these creations, he comes to ‘know’ the meaningRead MoreAllegory and Symbolism in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†1203 Words   |  5 PagesNathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† is an excellent example of the use of allegories and symbolism as a form of satire on Puritan faith. According to Frank Preston Stearns, author of The Life and Genius of Nathaniel Hawthorne, â€Å"Hawthorne may have intended this story as an exposure of the inconsistency, and consequent hypocrisy, of Puritanism† (Stearns 181). Throughout the story of â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† Hawthorne tries to infuse as many symbols and allegories as he can to enhance the overallRead More Symbolism in Nathaniel H awthornes Young Goodman Brown Essay1278 Words   |  6 PagesSymbolism in Nathaniel Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes symbolism throughout his short story Young Goodman Brown to impact and clarify the theme of good people sometimes doing bad things. Hawthorne uses a variety of light and dark imagery, names, and people to illustrate irony and different translations. Young Goodman Brown is a story about a man who comes to terms with the reality that people are imperfect and flawed and then dies a bitter death from the enlightenmentRead More Symbolism in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown Essay example2781 Words   |  12 PagesIn Nathaniel Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown the use of symbols contributes to the development of the storys plot. Symbolism is used as a means to uncover the truth about the characters. The author, in an attempt to manifest the moral aspects of his society, uses many kinds of symbols to support his points. When analyzing an allegory like Young Goodman Brown, the reader must realize that the story is in its entirety, a symbol. Hawthorne, through his writing is trying to convey the contradictingRead MoreSymbolism and Allegory in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown Essay2297 Words   |  10 Pages   Ã‚   The main characters in Hawthornes story Young Goodman Brown are Goodman Brown, his wife Faith and the stranger who accompanies Goodman Brown in the forest. At the beginning of the story Brown is bidding his wife, Faith farewell at their front door. Taking a lonely route into the forest, he meets an older man who bears a fatherly resemblance to both Brown and the Devil. Later that night Brown discovers to his amazement, that many exemplary villagers are on the same path including, GoodyRead More Essay on Symbols, Symbolism, and Allegory in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown726 Words   |  3 PagesSymbols, Symbolism, and Allegory in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown Symbolism is a literary technique that is used to clarify the authors intent. Sometimes it is used to great effect, while other times it only seems to muddle the meaning of a passage. In Young Goodman Brown, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses objects and people as symbols to allegorically reveal his message to the reader. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses different people as symbols throughout Young Goodman Brown. The largest symbolic