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1、Young Goodman Brown (1835) is a short story by American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. The story takes place in 17th century Puritan New England, a common setting for Hawthornes works, and addresses the Calvinist/Puritan belief that humanity exists in a state of depravity, exempting those who are born
2、in a state of grace. Hawthorne frequently attempts to expose the hypocrisy of Puritan culture in his literature. In a symbolic fashion, the story follows Young Goodman Browns journey into self-scrutiny which results in his loss of faith.Plot summaryThe story begins at sunset in Salem, Massachusetts,
3、 as young Goodman Brown leaves Faith, his wife of three months, for an unknown errand in the forest. Faith pleads with her husband to stay with her but he insists the journey into the forest must be completed that night. In the forest he meets a man, dressed in a similar manner to himself and bearin
4、g a resemblance to himself. The man carries a black serpent-shaped staff. The two encounter Mistress Cloyse in the woods who complains about the need to walk and, evidently friendly with the stranger, accepts his snake staff and flies away to her destination.Other townspeople inhabit the woods that
5、night, traveling in the same direction as Goodman Brown. When he hears his wifes voice in the trees, he calls out to his Faith, but is not answered. He then seems to fly through the forest, using a maple staff the stranger fashioned for him, arriving at a clearing at midnight to find all the townspe
6、ople assembled. At the ceremony (which may be a witches sabbath) carried out at a flame-lit rocky altar, the newest converts are brought forthGoodman Brown and Faith. They are the only two of the townspeople not yet initiated to the forest rite. Goodman Brown calls to heaven to resist and instantly
7、the scene vanishes.Arriving back at his home in Salem the next morning, Goodman Brown is uncertain whether the previous nights events were real or a dream, but he is deeply shaken, with the belief he lived in a Christian community distorted. He loses his faith in his wife Faith; he loses his faith i
8、n humanity. He lives his life an embittered and suspicious cynical man, wary of everyone around him, including his wife Faith. Hawthorne concludes the story by writing: And when he had lived long, and was borne to his grave.they carved no hopeful verse upon his tombstone, for his dying hour was gloo
9、mBackgroundThe story is set during the Salem witch trials, at which Hawthornes great-great-grandfather John Hathorne was a judge. According to American literature scholar James Mellow, Hawthorne was plagued by guilt by his ancestors role, wrote the story to vindicate his grandfather by featuring two
10、 fictional victims of the witch trials who were witches and not innocent victims of the witch-hunt.1 It was also this ancestral guilt that inspired Hawthorne to change his familys name, adding a w in his early twenties, shortly after graduating from college.2In his writings Hawthorne questioned esta
11、blished thoughtmost specifically New England Puritanism and contemporary Transcendentalism. In Young Goodman Brown, as with much of his other writing, he exposes ambiguity.3 The plot and textual references in Young Goodman Brown reveal the Puritans as being like a city upon a hill as John Winthrop,
12、a founder of Puritanism, said, and wanting to be seen that way as good, holy men. However, their doctrine teaches that all men are inherently evil and they strive to cause each person to come to terms with this and realize their sinful nature. This hypocrisy that Hawthorne presents in his story is h
13、ow he reflects on the hypocritical teachings of the Puritans. They taught that man was inherently evil in nature much in accordance to Enlightenment philosopher Thomas Hobbes.AnalysisThemes and styleYoung Goodman Brown is often characterized as an allegory about the recognition of evil and depravity
14、 as the nature of humanity.4 Much of Hawthornes fiction, such as The Scarlet Letter, is set in 17th-century colonial America, particularly Salem, Massachusetts.5 In order to convey the setting in his work, he used literary techniques such as specific diction, or colloquial expressions, as in Young G
15、oodman Brown in which language of the period is used to enhance the setting. Hawthorne gives the characters, specific names that depict abstract pure Young Goodman Brown, and Faith. The characters names ultimately serve as a paradox in the conclusion of the story. The inclusion of this technique was
16、 to provide a definite contrast and irony. Hawthorne aims to critique the ideals of Puritan society and express his disdain for it thus illustrating the difference between the appearance of those in society and their true identities.6Literary scholar Walter Shear writes that Hawthorne structured the story in three parts. The first part shows Goodman Brown at his home in his village integrated in his society. The second part of the story is an extend
