Good vs Evil in “Young Goodman Brown”
The era of the Salem Witch Trials has always been a moment of history that has fascinated many. Today, there are multiple stories and related to the phenomenon. One of the most famous authors that write about this era is none other than Nathaniel Hawthorne. In his story Young Goodman Brown Hawthorne uses setting, symbolism, theme, and mood to describe a man’s struggle in fighting evil’s urges to make him stray away from his faith. Especially, in a time where religious control and accusations were at an all time high. Although this story is fiction, it may be a good depiction of how some individuals felt psychologically during such social disorder.
Every story has to have a setting. It is inevitable. However, how the setting is described can either make or …show more content…
The central theme of Young Goodman Brown could be the idea of good versus evil itself. The fear of evil is a recurring theme. First by Goodman brown being afraid of the woods. Then the nasty nature of the man. Hawthorne takes the idea a step further by centering the story on Goodman’s struggle to get away from the evil he is witnessing that keeps drawing him in. What makes matters worse is the fact that he sees everyone he knows and those he loves, on the dark side. At this moment in the story the reader can see Goodman Brown almost giving in.”But he had no power to retreat one step, nor to resist, even in thought, when the minister and good old Duncan Gookin seized his arms and led him to the blazing rock,” p. 178. Hawthorne then adds suspense by causing Goodman Brown to get away the last minute. “Hardly had he spoken when he found himself amid calm night and solitude, listening to a roar of the wind which died heavily away through the forest,” p. 179. Alas, hawthorne then reveals Goodman Brown’s experience to be a dream. Nevertheless, Goodman Brown continued to suffer the psychological
The era of the Salem Witch Trials has always been a moment of history that has fascinated many. Today, there are multiple stories and related to the phenomenon. One of the most famous authors that write about this era is none other than Nathaniel Hawthorne. In his story Young Goodman Brown Hawthorne uses setting, symbolism, theme, and mood to describe a man’s struggle in fighting evil’s urges to make him stray away from his faith. Especially, in a time where religious control and accusations were at an all time high. Although this story is fiction, it may be a good depiction of how some individuals felt psychologically during such social disorder.
Every story has to have a setting. It is inevitable. However, how the setting is described can either make or …show more content…
The central theme of Young Goodman Brown could be the idea of good versus evil itself. The fear of evil is a recurring theme. First by Goodman brown being afraid of the woods. Then the nasty nature of the man. Hawthorne takes the idea a step further by centering the story on Goodman’s struggle to get away from the evil he is witnessing that keeps drawing him in. What makes matters worse is the fact that he sees everyone he knows and those he loves, on the dark side. At this moment in the story the reader can see Goodman Brown almost giving in.”But he had no power to retreat one step, nor to resist, even in thought, when the minister and good old Duncan Gookin seized his arms and led him to the blazing rock,” p. 178. Hawthorne then adds suspense by causing Goodman Brown to get away the last minute. “Hardly had he spoken when he found himself amid calm night and solitude, listening to a roar of the wind which died heavily away through the forest,” p. 179. Alas, hawthorne then reveals Goodman Brown’s experience to be a dream. Nevertheless, Goodman Brown continued to suffer the psychological