Young Goodman Brown and The Lottery
The comparison and contrasts between Young Goodman Brown, by Hawthorne and The Lottery by Shirley Jackson in this essay takes on the themes of “the weakness of the public morality” and “blindly following traditions” respectively. The character of Goodman Brown is employed to depict the theme while the whole society members under the leadership of the Old Man Warner are employed in The Lottery.
Young Goodman Brown, by Hawthorne , The Weakness of Public Morality
In this text, the author reveals that there is corruptibility that result from the emphasis on the Puritan society on public morality and which is the cause of the weakening of the private religious faith. Despite the fact that Goodman Brown accepts …show more content…
This theme applies similarly to the theme of the weakness of public morality in the Young Goodman Brown, by Hawthorne. In The Lottery, the symbols created by the society and the lottery itself lead to violent murder each year which is a bizarre ritual that shows how dangerous it can be when people blindly follows such traditions. This theme is created from a harmless and peaceful foundation. The villagers prepare for the ritual innocently, and a quite pathetic man has been appointed to lead the occasion. All the participants are occupied with the fun-looking black box. The children are also included in the performance for they represent the continuity of the society. The lottery itself resembles handmade slips of paper (Jackson, 1983). The tradition in this context is considered a way of linking families and generations together just as it is in the case of the Young Goodman Brown where religion is considered a vital sign of faith to every member of the society. In both cases, it turns out that the society members are too naïve and ignorant to understand the reality of what they take part in. In Young Goodman Brown, the main character never understands the kind of faith that those around him subscribes to until he encounters with people from his religion in the devil's celebration in the forest. The same applies to The Lottery where the society members never understand the origin or the
The comparison and contrasts between Young Goodman Brown, by Hawthorne and The Lottery by Shirley Jackson in this essay takes on the themes of “the weakness of the public morality” and “blindly following traditions” respectively. The character of Goodman Brown is employed to depict the theme while the whole society members under the leadership of the Old Man Warner are employed in The Lottery.
Young Goodman Brown, by Hawthorne , The Weakness of Public Morality
In this text, the author reveals that there is corruptibility that result from the emphasis on the Puritan society on public morality and which is the cause of the weakening of the private religious faith. Despite the fact that Goodman Brown accepts …show more content…
This theme applies similarly to the theme of the weakness of public morality in the Young Goodman Brown, by Hawthorne. In The Lottery, the symbols created by the society and the lottery itself lead to violent murder each year which is a bizarre ritual that shows how dangerous it can be when people blindly follows such traditions. This theme is created from a harmless and peaceful foundation. The villagers prepare for the ritual innocently, and a quite pathetic man has been appointed to lead the occasion. All the participants are occupied with the fun-looking black box. The children are also included in the performance for they represent the continuity of the society. The lottery itself resembles handmade slips of paper (Jackson, 1983). The tradition in this context is considered a way of linking families and generations together just as it is in the case of the Young Goodman Brown where religion is considered a vital sign of faith to every member of the society. In both cases, it turns out that the society members are too naïve and ignorant to understand the reality of what they take part in. In Young Goodman Brown, the main character never understands the kind of faith that those around him subscribes to until he encounters with people from his religion in the devil's celebration in the forest. The same applies to The Lottery where the society members never understand the origin or the