"Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne and "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" by Flannery O 'Connor both have characters who allow their lives to be changed by the threat of evil. A detour taken wreaks havoc on the family in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" whereas, the wrong path taken in "Young Goodman Brown" leads Brown to despair. Brown and the Grandmother have different attitudes and take separate approaches toward evil. However, they both eventually end up isolated from society. Evil exists in both stories as journeys are made down the wrong path. The symbolism in both stories represents lack of faith and death. Brown is a good example of how discovering the existence of evil brings one to view the world in a skeptical way. The loneliness
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The grandmother is a manipulative woman. Rather than going on a trip to Florida, she wants to take a trip to Tennessee. After reading the newspaper, she informs the family about The Misfit being loose from the Federal Penitentiary and heading to Florida. She uses this reasoning to persuade her family to change their travel plans. She desperately wants the children to see an old plantation that she had visited when she was young in a town called Toomsboro. Unfortunately, while on the side road looking for the plantation, the family tragically ends up in the path of The …show more content…
While trying to find the plantation in "A Good Man is Hard to Find," the family turns on the side road, which is off the beaten path and looks like it had not been traveled in months. While in the desolate area, the family has a wreck. The Misfit happens to be in the truck that stops to help them. After the grandmother realizes who The Misfit is, she desperately tries to "save" him, repeatedly asking him to pray. After refusing any help, the Misfit blames Jesus for everything wrong in his life. "Jesus thrown everything off balance" (365). Both stories make reference to the darkness in the sky. The Misfit remarked, "Ain 't a cloud in the sky. Don 't see no sun but don 't see no cloud neither" (363). As Brown looks up to the heavens to pray, a dark cloud appears, rather than the bright sun. The darkness is symbolic of the uncertainty and doubt they are facing. As Brown leaves the path of righteousness, he runs wildly into the forest, which represents the symbolism of him taking the evil path. While Brown is in the forest, he sees witches meeting to induct many people from his village into an evil brotherhood. At one point he hears Faith 's voice fading away into the crowd and he finally surrenders to darkness. Young Goodman Brown cries out, "My Faith is gone!" (319). All of these events are foreshadowing evil which will result in their spiritual death or physical
The grandmother is a manipulative woman. Rather than going on a trip to Florida, she wants to take a trip to Tennessee. After reading the newspaper, she informs the family about The Misfit being loose from the Federal Penitentiary and heading to Florida. She uses this reasoning to persuade her family to change their travel plans. She desperately wants the children to see an old plantation that she had visited when she was young in a town called Toomsboro. Unfortunately, while on the side road looking for the plantation, the family tragically ends up in the path of The …show more content…
While trying to find the plantation in "A Good Man is Hard to Find," the family turns on the side road, which is off the beaten path and looks like it had not been traveled in months. While in the desolate area, the family has a wreck. The Misfit happens to be in the truck that stops to help them. After the grandmother realizes who The Misfit is, she desperately tries to "save" him, repeatedly asking him to pray. After refusing any help, the Misfit blames Jesus for everything wrong in his life. "Jesus thrown everything off balance" (365). Both stories make reference to the darkness in the sky. The Misfit remarked, "Ain 't a cloud in the sky. Don 't see no sun but don 't see no cloud neither" (363). As Brown looks up to the heavens to pray, a dark cloud appears, rather than the bright sun. The darkness is symbolic of the uncertainty and doubt they are facing. As Brown leaves the path of righteousness, he runs wildly into the forest, which represents the symbolism of him taking the evil path. While Brown is in the forest, he sees witches meeting to induct many people from his village into an evil brotherhood. At one point he hears Faith 's voice fading away into the crowd and he finally surrenders to darkness. Young Goodman Brown cries out, "My Faith is gone!" (319). All of these events are foreshadowing evil which will result in their spiritual death or physical