“Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a short story that takes place in the 1690s, immediately before the infamous Salem witch trials. The story is a detailed account of the protagonist Goodman Brown’s journey through the forest, in which he experiences evil and sin of those he admired in his town of Salem. The main character experiences internal conflicts in respect to his attitude and religion. In analyzing Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown,” the vital themes, character progression, and settings filled with imagery, all provides a depth understanding of the protagonist’s outlook throughout the story, and the reason for his radical change.
There are two main theme’s depicted in “Young Man Brown,” the inevitable erosion of …show more content…
Goodman Brown in the short story “Young Goodman Brown” is the protagonist and the heart of the story. The character goes through a major change throughout the story. In the beginning he stays true to his faith and goes against evil. “The young man sat a few moments by the road-side, applauding himself greatly … And what calm sleep would be his, that very night, which was to have been spent so wickedly, but purely and sweetly now, in the arms of Faith!” (Hawthorne). He chose to not follow the evil traveller and instead return to his loving wife. The character does not learn the truth until afterwards, where his faith gets shaken and he begins to get corruptible. He participates in the witches’ Sabbath, and wakes up the next morning with no trust in his heart. “A stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man, did he become, from the night of that fearful dream” (Hawthorne). After learning there is sin and evil in every man, he never recovers. His loss of innocence is filled with void and melancholy. He believed the town of Salem was built on pure Puritan faith, but in reality the most devoted Christians can still be overthrown by
There are two main theme’s depicted in “Young Man Brown,” the inevitable erosion of …show more content…
Goodman Brown in the short story “Young Goodman Brown” is the protagonist and the heart of the story. The character goes through a major change throughout the story. In the beginning he stays true to his faith and goes against evil. “The young man sat a few moments by the road-side, applauding himself greatly … And what calm sleep would be his, that very night, which was to have been spent so wickedly, but purely and sweetly now, in the arms of Faith!” (Hawthorne). He chose to not follow the evil traveller and instead return to his loving wife. The character does not learn the truth until afterwards, where his faith gets shaken and he begins to get corruptible. He participates in the witches’ Sabbath, and wakes up the next morning with no trust in his heart. “A stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man, did he become, from the night of that fearful dream” (Hawthorne). After learning there is sin and evil in every man, he never recovers. His loss of innocence is filled with void and melancholy. He believed the town of Salem was built on pure Puritan faith, but in reality the most devoted Christians can still be overthrown by