Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne Author Salem, Massachusetts, 1804 Hawthorne is most famously know for this novel, The Scarlet Letter Related to John Hawthorne, a judge for the 1692 Salem Witch Trials Hawthorne was enamored with his relative’s involvement in the trial and with Puritan culture as a whole The Scarlet Letter Author Born Works Inspiration for Work

A majority of Hawthorne’s works focused on America’s Puritan forefathers The Puritans were a group of religious zealots who came to America in the 1630s to practice their religious beliefs freely Background Information: Puritan Culture

Background Information: Puritan Culture Puritans were supposed to be solely focused on their relationship with the Lord Their people has little tolerance for ideas or any behavior that differed from what they considered the norm Any behaviors that were not done with God in mind were considered amoral.

General Information General Information Young Goodman Brown “Young Goodman Brown” is one of the greatest short stories in American literature. The story was published in 1835.

General Information General Information Young Goodman Brown Story takes place in the second half of the seventeenth century in Salem, Massachusetts Salem was a theocracy in which the Christian moral law ruled all

General Information General Information Young Goodman Brown “Young Goodman Brown” takes place around the time of the Salem witch trials, held in the spring and autumn of 1692. During these infamous trials, twenty innocent women and men were found guilty of witchcraft and executed. 

Literary Focus Transcendentalist Influence Became a part of a highly intellectual group that included Ralph Waldo Emerson Transcendentalists tried to become one with nature and abandon the evils of society True happiness and feeling of self could only come through embracing their own individual thoughts and feelings Transcendentalist Influence

Literary Focus Literary Focus Allegory An allegory is the representation of ideas through symbolic characters, figures, or events in a story YGB can be read as an allegory centering on the temptation everyone faces and on the human tendency to prejudge others.

Literary Focus Literary Focus Symbols The Forest as Eden Goodman Brown appears to represent human beings confronted with temptation The forest also represents  danger, confusion, the unknown, sin, and death

Literary Focus Literary Focus Faith Symbols, Continued Goodman Brown's wife named Faith symbolizes Brown's spiritual faith. When she is in danger he realizes he is in danger of losing not only his wife but also his spiritual faith

Themes and Focus Themes and Focus Female Purity The Fear of the Wilderness The Inevitable Loss of Innocence The Weakness of Public Morality Virtue vs. Sin Corruption and Temptation Suspicion and Distrust

Summary and Plot Overview Goodman Brown leaves his home and Faith, his wife of three months, to meet with a mysterious figure deep in the forest. It is hinted that Goodman Brown's traveling companion is, in fact, the Devil, and that the purpose of their journey is to join in an unspecified but obviously unholy ritual.

Summary and Plot Overview As their journey continues Brown discovers others also proceeding to the meeting, many of them his townsfolk whom he had considered moral beacons. He resolves to leave his mysterious partner and abandon the meeting, but his “faith” continues to waver

Character Analysis Character Analysis Goodman Brown: Faith: Recently married Puritan who lives in Salem in the 1600's He believes in the goodness of the townspeople, but has these beliefs tested His name “Goodman” is not coincidence. He is representative of those people thought to be “good men.” Faith: Goodman Brown’s wife. The Devil Figure: Mysterious man who meets Goodman Brown in the forest He accompanies him part way to a witches’ sabbath, where Brown is to be inducted into an evil brotherhood.