John Goodman

Everyone sins daily, some are more excruciating than most. In the “Ministers Black Veil” the main character Mr. Hooper, appears to his service in a mysterious figure of darkness casting on his face. A black veil that symbolizes the concealed sin within his appearance. Nothing but his chin and mouth show as the disturbed people observed the veil in dismay. Mr. Hooper drifts away from the world by shielding his sin with the black veil. In the beginning, the veil appeared as…

In a forested woodland area, a being sat alone. Shrouded by darkness it appeared as if the creature was part of the night that surrounded it. A boy stumbled forewords upon noting the creature’s presence. It appeared as if the boy had no control of his limbs as he was forced towards the creature. His heart pounded against his ribcage as he was directed towards the hulking being made of the endless ebony void. “What are you?” The boy stammered helplessly. The creature forced the boy to sit on…

Ernest Hemingway’s Young Goodman Brown is an omniscient third person narrative following the diminishing of personal faith and the enlightenment of the evils behind those who deemed “good” around Goodman Brown. But what if it isn’t a dream and in fact more of realization of what the world truly consist of: sin. Brown was gives the example of a perfect Christian: from his teachings of catechism as a boy to his marriage to his beloved wife, Faith. He embarks on this journey to complete an unknown…

Are humans truly superior to the world that surrounds them? In the poem “Evening Hawk” Robert Penn Warren questions humanity's ultimate dominance of the world, and instead suggests that nature is the judge of humanity's errors. Through diction and imagery the author creates a dark apprehensive mood and shows the fragility of mankind before nature. In the poem Robert Penn Warren uses specific diction in order to develop a dark mood of unease. By using words like “black”, “scythes”, and…

The short story “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathanial Hawthorne takes place in Salem, Massachusetts. The time of the story takes place during puritan times, mostly meaning that everybody was going to end up with god if one does not sin. Sins do not make a person evil, because everybody sins, and Nathanial Hawthorne proves the theme everybody has sins throughout the use of symbolism, irony, and foreshadowing. One of the literary techniques Hawthorn uses to develop the theme everybody sins, is by…

The red stag howled its last as it dropped to the ground. The green glow from its body began to faint and vanished. Kairzo eyed the surrounding trees, vigilant of movements—another Remnant like the stag, might appear. Standing in the center of the trees, he pointed his sword forward and spun steadily, prepared to make a quick slash if something jumped at him. Mr. Enders told him that the forest became strange—small animals became rarely seen and injured lumberjacks came out of the forest—but he…

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book, “The Scarlet Letter”, and short story “Young Goodman Brown” both have an abundance of mentions of the subject of witchcraft. Witchcraft has origins that go back hundreds of years (Brief History of Witchcraft). Witchcraft was originally performed by approximately an equal amount of both men and women, but was later practiced more predominately by women (Brief History of Witchcraft). Witchcraft most often entails common or low magic worked through spells, charms, and…

The rituals at the meeting in the forest being evil in nature, but also being so similar to a traditional Christian church service causes Young Goodman Brown to lose his faith in Christianity and in religion in general. Most church services include a time period of singing and a sermon. When Young Goodman Brown describes the structure of the meeting, he notices that, “Another verse of the hymn arose, a slow and mournful restrain of pious love, but joined to the words which expressed all that…

“It was a dark and stormy night…” Sitting before the campfire with his fellow knights, Gwaine groaned. “Percival, it’s supposed to be a scary story. Not a dull tale with a trite start. We’re out on a dull mission! Keep us entertained.” “Fine.” The dancing firelight cast shadows across Percival’s face as his eyes narrowed. “What about a real story? Something more frightening than you can imagine. Something macabre.” Gwaine kicked up his feet onto a rock and grinned. “I am intrigued. Carry…

In the short story, Big Two-Hearted River: Part 1, by Earnest Hemingway, the main character Nick visited a burned down town, Seney. He hiked along a river in search for some part of the town that was not burned. As he was hiking along the river he was reminiscing about the town and watched the Trout swim about in the river, he kept on thinking that he was happy and had all that he needed. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of need, Nick was a self-actualized person who had reached each level of his…