1. Nathaniel Hawthorne
“Young Goodman Brown”

2. Nathaniel Hawthorne 1804-1864 Born in Salem, Massachusetts
Puritan Background
Ancestor of John Hathorne – one of the three judges in the Salem Witch Trials

3. His Themes in Writing Moral allegories The sinful man Hypocrisy
The Dark side of Human Nature
Religious in Nature

4. His Most Famous Works Novels Short Stories The House of Seven Gables
The Scarlet Letter
Short Stories
“The Minister’s Black Veil”
“Young Goodman Brown”

5. Who were the Puritans? Wanted a “pure” church
No candles
No Images
No stained glass windows
Rejected the “showy” church of England
Led very somber lives governed solely by a strict interpretation of the Bible
No “nonsense” – dancing, gambling, drama, etc

6. Basic Beliefs of the Puritan Church
Jesus Christ is the Son of God – died on the cross for everyone’s sins
The whole Bible is the word of God and it is to be followed to the letter.
The belief that these ideas are fact are known as a person’s faith

7. Basic Beliefs of the Puritan Church
Faith is what is necessary to get into heaven.
If you don’t go to heaven you go to hell.
Sins, as defined by the Bible, are to be avoided at cut out of life
A catechism is a book that is used to teach basic principles of the church

8. The Infamous Puritans
The Salem Witch Trials put the Puritans prominently in the history books
Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible put it in Literature classes forever

9. And Now, Nathanial Hawthorn’s Short Story “Young Goodman Brown”
…my favorite short story of the year…

10. Some Basics… Characters Young Goodman Brown His wife, Faith
Mysterious man in the forest with a strange looking staff

11. Some Basics… Minor Character’s Notes…
Constable: person in law enforcement
Deacon: position in church held by congregation member
Goody: abbr. of “goodwife”, female version of goodman
Reverend: pastor
Sabbath: day of rest in the Judo/Christian church – in this case, Sunday

12. YGB as an Allegory What is an allegory?
A story where everything is a symbol
Used commonly to instruct especially in religious matters
Some famous allegories are:
Dante’s Divine Comedy (more famous though is the first part commonly known as Dante’s Inferno
John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress

13. The Allegory of Young Goodman Brown – Basics
The Snake Satan – The Devil
Why?
See Genesis Chapter 3

14. The Allegory of Young Goodman Brown - Basics
The Forest
Evil / Sin

15. The Allegory of Young Goodman Brown – Basics
Stars / Sky / Heavenly Bodies
Heaven / Connection with God

16. The Allegory of Young Goodman Brown - Basics
White Purity
Red Sin
Pink ????

17. The Allegory of Young Goodman Brown - Basics
Fire
Hell

18. The Allegory of Young Goodman Brown – now, not basic
The common Christian man – brown is neutral
Faith
A Christian’s faith
Witches
Satan / Evil