...Compare and Contrast “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Lottery” By: Melissa A. Reeves Professor Andrew Smith ENGL 102-B46 LUO Thesis Statement The stories “The Lottery” and “Young Goodman Brown” both appear to show that human behavior and judgment can be flawed, even if the person’s intentions appear good to them. There is a level of fear and underlying evil in Puritan settings in both stories. I. Introduction/Statement of Thesis II. Themes and Author’s Purpose A. The Lottery i. Just because something has always been done, does not make it right or just; following the crowd can be dangerously wrong and evil. ii. The author shows through symbolism and storytelling that people can be easily influenced by society and those around them. iii. Also, the themes or persecution is addressed. B. Young Goodman Brown i. The theme is that believing that you are a righteous person does not always make you righteous. ii. The idea of doing one evil thing, but justifying it because it is only one time and he will never do it again and will be a good man afterward is addressed. III. Conclusion Symbolism found within “The Lottery” and “Young Goodman Brown” Melissa A. Reeves Liberty University Professor Andrew Smith 08/03/2014 Symbolism is found within both stories “The Lottery” and “Young Goodman Brown”. In both stories, symbols help in conveying the theme to the reader. In Shirley Jackson’s...
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...Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story, “Young Goodman Brown”, is set during the Salem witch hunts and trials in the Salem Village. The true evil of this time, I believe, is not the people accused of being witches, but the accusers, the “witch hunters”, and the people who murdered innocent people for heresay, are the true evil of this time. I believe the story itself is all a dream, a dream that represents an actual reality; a reality that shows what is thought to be good is actually evil. Young Goodman Brown, like his grandfather and father, hunted what they thought was evil, like witches, Indians, medicine men, shamans, etc. He believed the work he was doing was for the good. I believe this is a dream showing Goodman Brown that the work that he , his family, and his fellow towns people are and have done in the name of God, may in fact be the work of the Devil, maybe the line between good and evil is blurring a little for Young Goodman Brown: when he arrives deep in the forest, he sees all the people in his life that represents good: his revered pastor, the good ole Deacon Gookin, Goody Cloyse; the old woman that taught him his catechism( the principles of Christianity), and still to this day, his spiritual guide, he even thought he saw his dead father, his mother, and all the people he believed to be the most holiest of people gathered and consorting with, what he has been taught all his life, was pure evil. The old traveller...
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... Comparison and Contrast between “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Lottery” “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the two writers uses symbolism, characterization, and conflict to illustrate the hidden dark side of mankind in normal people. The characters in the stories struggle with the conflict between good and evil. To stress the theme of both stories, symbols are applied as a tool for the development of the story. Hawthorne applies objects and names to intensify the theme and Jackson uses names to bring out his theme. Young Goodman Brown sees the conflict with evil and society. The protagonists of this story deals with Satan on a personal level. He lets the evil take over his faith and beliefs, and also realizes some important people in his life can portrait evil. As he says, “My faith is gone!” cried he, after one stupefied moment. “There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name (Hawthorne, 1835). He loses faith in the many people he once looked up to, after witnessing his wife and townspeople perform a sacrifice in the dead of night. The experience distorts his view of good in people, and leaves him feeling uneasy and abandoned. In the Lottery, they also had the conflict of good and evil in society. In an annual lottery, together, friends and family would draw a piece of paper for the black box until one of...
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...The Most Dangerous Game vs. Young Goodman Brown In two of the most well-known short stories, “The Most Dangerous Game” and “Young Goodman Brown”, there are ironic similarities portraying evil between their settings, characterization, and plot. I. There happen to be different settings in both of the short stories but both of the settings adapt well with their plots. a. In the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game” the setting takes place in the early 1920’s after the First World War on a small tropical island somewhere in the Caribbean, known as Ship-Trap Island by the sailors. b. Whereas, in the short story, “Young Goodman Brown” the story is set in the late seventeenth century in Salem, a small town northeast of Boston in Massachusetts around the time of the Salem witch trials. II. The characters in both of these short stories have close similarities to each other as they both demonstrate good and evil traits, which help the plot flow. a. The main characters in “The Most Dangerous Game” are Sanger Rainsford, General Zaroff, Whitney, and Ivan. b. The main characters in the story “Young Goodman Brown” are Goodman Brown, Faith, The Old Man/Devil Figure, The Minister, Goody Cloyse, and Deakon Gookin. III. The plot of the short stories, although they are different, both exhibit evil conflicts that develop throughout the story. a. The plot in “The Most Dangerous Game” is about hunting. b. In the plot of “Young Goodman Brown” Goodman Brown has to leave one night but...
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...Similarities found in Hawthorne’s Literature “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a story that shows an evil perspective of the world. Hawthorne truly shows the truth that hides behind closed doors, or one could say the evil truth that hides deep into the woods. The journey he entailed was an eye opening experience that changed Young Goodman brown forever. In “The Ministers Black veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne the minister also has an experience that changes him forever. The minister openly chooses to show that he is a holy man, but evil is still present in his life. The veil symbolizes the evil that he has chosen to live with. Evil, Symbolism, and everlasting impact are all very present thematic connections in “Young Goodman brown” and “The Ministers Black veil.” In Hawthorne’s literature, “Young Goodman brown” and “The Ministers Black veil,” evil is the most prominent theme. To a certain degree the devil consumes both men in the literature. In “The Ministers Black Veil,” evil has already been explored, but evil is equally as present. (Barry 16) Hawthorne never reveals what...
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...self-conflict in the fictional short stories of “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and “The Rocking Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence. Both main characters want to be pleasing and accepted in their tumultuous worlds. However, both fall short in finding their place in a dark, cold world. Outline 1) Fictional Short Stories to compare and contrast a. “The Rocking Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence b. “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorn 2) Main Characters a. Young Goodman Brown b. Paul 3) Nature of Characters (Similarities) c. Confused d. Lost e. Torn between two worlds f. Wanting to do well, but pressure pushes them to give in to temptations and wants. 4) Story Similarities g. Other people’s actions or feeling seem to drive the characters h. Family and other relationships are important i. Both characters seem pulled towards “worldly” forces 5) Story Ending j. Although they both try so hard to succeed and do well, they fail. Torn Between Two Worlds In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”, (Kennedy, X.J. and Gioia, D. 2013. p.90), you are quickly thrust into the world of a young man who appears to have it all; passionate love...
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...The Allegorical Young Goodman Brown The story about Young Goodman Brown centers around the allegory of a man pitted against his past and his desires to reach beyond that which his benighted heaven would put before him. The allegory is Christian due to the references in Young Goodman Brown to the devil and Satan; it only seems logical that the crux of the story is based upon the religious imagery of Hawthorne's New England in the times of Salem and active religious strife. The beginning of the story mentions the goodman's wife, Faith. The names of the characters alone serve as an indication of what Hawthorne puts as an obvious religious allegory with the goodman and faith soon to be pitted against an unspeakable evil. The goodman even swears that after this night he will "cling to her skirts and follow her to heaven." The devil awaits Young Goodman Brown as he states that the clock of the old south was striking but a few minutes past (Hawthorne is stating how quickly the devil can move--intensifying the airs of the preternatural). Young Goodman Brown replies to the devil that faith was keeping him away--Hawthorne's play on words should not be overlooked as this also leads to the realization that a man (a good one) can deal with the devil and possibly win. At this stage in the story the reader still has hope for the goodman who must now deal with what he feels is his duty honor-bound. A "good man" in Hawthorne's day was a person who came from a proper lineage. This very...
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...A Young Man’s Inability to Accept Reality A choice that everyone has in life is to decide whether or not to be good or evil. Not everyone will choose the path of well-being and righteousness, In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown,” Hawthorne illustrates a young man’s inability to accept the reality that there will always be evil in the world due to his strong Puritan belief. Goodman Brown was part of a religious sect that expected human begins to act a certain way. In the beginning he is faced with a decision to stay at home in Salem Village with his wife Faith, or to venture into the forest to meet with the devil himself. This is symbolic to Brown because if he makes the decision to meet with the Devil, then he is leaving his faith in God behind. When Goodman Brown decides to leave his village, he begins to worry about how the town’s people will react when finding out about his meeting with the devil. He states, “My Father never went into the woods on such an errand, not his father before him” (Hawthorne 625). This explains the matter of his father and grandfather, and how they...
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...Destruction of Faith: The Story of Young Goodman Brown The story of “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, chronicles the dream of a young man struggling with his beliefs in the Puritan society in Salem. In the dream, Goodman Brown is forced to examine evil as it exists in men and struggles to maintain the balance with the good that he knows. He becomes acutely aware of evil through his encounter with the devil, and is completely disillusioned from the experience. The significance of the text relies heavily on the reader being able to discover the meaning of Goodman Brown’s encounter in the woods. The story begins with Goodman Brown’s leaving his wife Faith to run a late night errand. Though she makes an attempt to deter his departure he still goes. Faith is his conscience, the purveyor of something good, which is what Goodman hopes for. Hawthorne writes that Goodman Brown believes Faith “is a blessed angel on earth; and after this one night, I’ll cling to her skirts and follow her to heaven”. Goodman Brown hopes that Faith, his love, will redeem him after he completes his “evil purpose” (Hawthorne). When he encounters the devil he uses the pull of his conscience, “Faith”, as the reason for his late arrival, he states that “Faith kept me back awhile” (Hawthorne). Goodman’s statement magnifies his awareness of his conscience and faith in God, as he accepts that the meeting in the woods will not bring good but evil. When he encounters the “fellow traveler”...
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...A Comparison of Symbolism in “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Lottery” Symbolism is when the author uses an object or reference to add deeper meaning to a story. Symbolism in literature can be subtle or blatant; it can also be used sparingly or considerably. An author may repeatedly use the same object to convey deeper meaning or may use variations of the same object to create an overarching mood or feeling. Many authors use symbolism to further foretell and capture the important elements of the story. Both Nathaniel Hawthorne in “Young Goodman Brown" and Shirley Jackson in “The Lottery’, use symbolism in these short stories. The stories both contain symbols describing evil. Hawthorne’s symbolism describes good versus evil, while Jackson's symbolism reflects the evil nature within society as a whole. The first two characters that Hawthorne introduces, Young Goodman Brown and his wife Faith, are both symbolic in their names. Brown's name symbolizes youth and good nature. Brown is a young man throughout the story, and his youth suggests that he has yet to be corrupted by the world and is still innocent. Hawthorne writes, "Faith, as the wife was aptly named, thrust her own pretty head into the street, letting the wind play with the pink ribbons on her cap, while she called to Goodman Brown" (Hawthorne 331). Faith’s name symbolizes the trust and virtue that is found within a good wife. It may also hint at the faith that Young Goodman Brown struggles to hang Haney 2 onto. As...
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...Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” and Thomas Wolfe’s “The Child by Tiger” show many similarities in each stories structure. Even though they were written in different time periods as well as different cultures, there is a unity in their conflicts, themes, and author’s purpose. Good and evil both exist in the world. Humans are good natured, but occasionally, evil is known to show up. Experiencing something tragic for the first time can be confusing and traumatizing. Two stories that illustrate young men dealing with evil are Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” and Thomas Wolfe’s “The Child by Tiger.” The protagonists of each story, Brown and Spangler, deal with the evils of this world but in different ways. Brown lets the evil take over his faith and beliefs while Spangler comes to an understanding that human beings can be both good and evil. "Young Goodman Brown," is a short-story of tragedy and personal loss. Hawthorne reveals the power of betrayal and the unsurmountable fear of evil. In this case, the source of these is the very foundation of a young man's faith. "Young Goodman Brown" is both memorable and perplexing because it is partially the story of Hawthorne's own self-discovery and a strong condemnation of the rigid fundamentalist system of belief that forms the core values of America to this very day. Unlike Washington Irving's earlier thriller, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," where the terror is ghostly and headless, Hawthorne unveils the murky dark...
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...The Child by Tiger and Young Goodman Brown, it is apparent that each author attempts to prove the inherent evil nature of mankind. Regardless of the goodhearted nature various characters outwardly portray, they each have a dark side within themselves. This can be seen through the character Dick in The Child by Tiger and in the character Faith in Young Goodman Brown. In the beginning of each respective story, the reader is led to believe that both Dick and Faith are considered to be religious, kind, and credible individuals. However, by the end of each story, the reader begins to question true nature of each character and whether or not they are actually evil. Outline: I. Synopsis of The Child by Tiger and Young Goodman Brown II. Examination of Dick’s transformation from a good man to a murderer * Dick begins as a religious, gentle, role-model * The evil around him provokes his dark side to emerge III. Examination of Faith’s role in Young Goodman Brown * Her name is synonymous with trust, belief, and hope * When Goodman Brown sees her in the forest, he no longer trusts her or any of the other “good” characters from his village * He begins to believe that she has hidden evil inside and her “goodness” is just a façade. IV. Discussion of how characters react differently to evil and how the authors are trying to prove that evil exists within everyone. V. Conclusion on how common theme of the existence of evil in both characters in in...
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...Not So Obvious Evil Comes in Many Forms "Young Goodman Brown", written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and "The Rocking Horse Winner", by D.H. Lawrence, share a similar theme as both protagonists are young men finding themselves in unscrupulous situations. While Young Goodman Brown is being impacted by what appears to be an overwhelming fear of sin itself, Paul is facing issues of pride, greed, acceptance, and love; they are both fighting a common enemy, moral corruption. While Brown had and that was fairly recognizable, Paul had an adversary one would not normally expect. In the story of “Young Goodman Brown” the main character Goodman Brown is faced with a decision as to whether or not to join the legion of evil doers in his Puritan community. He comes face to face with the devil himself once he enters a forest. The devil does not hesitate to let Brown know that he has been waiting for him and begins encouraging him to leave the life he knows and become one who will recognize all sin. Goodman Brown is under the assumption that those around him are innocent and pure because they attend church and share his same religious convictions. Once he leaves his home and wife, Faith for the night to venture into the forest, he soon realizes that all those good and kind hearted people he has known his entire life are associates of the devil. Satan has been waiting patiently for Goodman Brown to join him and once Brown enters the forest he uses the relationships Brown has with those in...
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...Essay #2 Interpretations of Young Goodman Brown Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story of Young Goodman Brown is a story of an impressionable and curious young man who ventured into the forest in Salem, Massachusetts to witness the witches Sabbath. Brown leaves his young bride Faith against her wishes to go on this journey, feeling some guilt as he walked away from her, “Poor little Faith!” thought he, for his heart smote him. “What a wretch am I, to leave her on such an errand!” (Hawthorne 606). Once in the forest Brown meets the Devil. As Brown and the Devil continue their walk through the woods the Devil tells him stories of his own Father and Grandfather walking this same dark path that Young Goodman Brown has taken. “Good goodman Brown! I have been as well acquainted with your family as with ever a one among the Puritans; that’s no trifle to say” (Hawthorne 607). Goodman Brown enters the woods and has many ghostly and confusing experiences that changed his life forever. Brown wasn’t sure when he awoke in the woods if his experience was a dream or if it really happened however; the events that he witnessed changed his life forever. “Be it so if you will. But alas! It was a dream of evil omen for the young goodman Brown. 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 614). Michael Tritt wrote his interpretation of the Hawthorne’s story, “Young Goodman Brown” and The Psychology of Projection...
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...composition The Fall of Good Men “My love and my faith”, replied young Goodman Brown, “of all nights in the year, this one night must I tarry away from thee” (Hawthorne 158). Hawthorne gives a very small and at first unnoticed hint in one of the very first sentences. Although undersized, the hint is showing a bigger picture, and underlines how the rest of his story will unfold. Since the story is filled with so much controversy surrounding Faith, and the loss of the one thing a man needs most, it’s a very effectively utilized allegory. Deception, corruption, and sheer hate cause complete and utter destruction, which is what Young Goodman Brown found himself bound by. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story is not just another problematic tale that gets your mind ruminating. With all of the detailed symbols and metaphors used by Hawthorne, it takes time to see that his story has significant ties to several Biblical narratives. It embodies the chronicles of mans fall, and his separation from God and faith. This story bleeds symbolism, even the most clear cut things like Young Goodman Brown’s name has a meaning behind it. Hawthorne didn’t just use any old name, he put meaning behind it. Young Goodman Brown symbolizes youth and good nature. Brown is a young man throughout the story, and his youth suggests that he has yet to be corrupted by the world and is still innocent. Browns wife Faith undoubtedly symbolizes actual faith in God; just as God is with us, during Browns journey in the forest...
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