Nathaniel Hawthorne

"Young Goodman Brown"

Born 1804 in Salem, Mass.At age four, Nathaniel had to go live with his mother's

brothers, after his father, a ship's captain, died during a voyage

His family had deep roots in Salem, dating back to Puritan ancestors in the 1600s, linked to judge of Salem witch trials

After learning of witch trial participation, he added the “w” in his last name

After attending Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, Hawthorne returned to Salem, where he spent a dozen years reading and developing his skills as a fiction writer until his death in 1864

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Hawthorne cont’dOne of most well known

and frequently read short stories is “Young Goodman Brown”(1835)- historical allegory

Lots of elements within the story are typical Hawthorne, such as the superstitious, Romantic elements and the Puritanical setting

Members of a Protestant group in England and New England in the 1600s and 1700s who opposed the Church of England

God’s elect- If not a part, then condemned to hell

Strict moral code caused them to see evil where didn’t necessarily exist; sought to eliminate satanic influence

Story true to Salem atmosphere at time of witch trials

Puritanical beliefs

Puritanical Beliefs- The ForestPuritans viewed forest

as Devil’s DomainNative American

dwelling groundsLiteral and symbolic

place of habitat for Devil in story

A trip in the middle of the night would be considered a questionable act

Young Goodman BrownHis wife, FaithSignificance of their names

Associated Colors Indications

Young Goodman Brown goes on late night trip

And the story begins…

The ForestFaith pleads with her husband to reconsider his

journey“Dost thou doubt me already?”Blesses him, hopes he finds all well when returns“He had taken a dreary road, darkened by all the

gloomiest trees of the forest, which barely stood aside to let the narrow path creep through…”

Often a place associated with danger, obscurity, solitude, confusion, the unknown, evil, sin, and death

Nothing good occurs in the middle of the night in the forest

Meeting with the DevilPasses a crook in the

roadBeholds “the figure

of a man, in grave and decent attire, seated at the foot of an old tree”

“You are late”“Faith kept me back

a while”

Begin journeying into the deepest part of the forest

YGB bears “considerable resemblance to [him]” in expression; might’ve been taken for father and son

Older man- “indescribable air of one who knew the world”

Fiend invites YGB to travel farther into the woods, telling him of his general acquaintance with people of the town

“We are a people of prayer, and good works to boot, and abide no such wickedness”

Meeting with the Devil

YGB addresses Devil as his friendTells him he wants to travel no furtherDevil lets YGB know that many have “drunk

the communion wine” with him, along with his well-acquaintance with Brown’s father and grandfather

Brown is astonished; still clings to FaithFiend offers staff to YGB, lest he become

weary on his journey See another figure in the distance…

Meeting with the Devil

Goody Cloyse Meaning of name Catechism teacherMoral and spiritual

adviserYGB is surprised to

see her in the forestWell-acquainted with

the “old friend,” who touches her with his serpent-like staff

“Bore likeness of a great black snake, so curiously wrought that it might almost be seen to twist and wriggle itself like a living serpent…assisted be the uncertain light”

“He threw it down at her Feet, where, perhaps, it assumed life, being one of the rods which its owner had formerly lent to the Egyptian magi”

Biblical AllusionsGenesis 3Exodus 7:8-12

The Devil and his Remarkable Staff

Eden vs. ForestAdam Curious about

forbidden knowledgeEncounter serpentEnticed by a treeSuffer great fall from

innocence

Young Goodman Brown

Curious about forbidden knowledge

Meets with DevilEnticed by a forestSuffer great fall from

innocence

Other EncountersThe Minister and

Deacon Gookin also spotted in the forest

YGB hears the men say, “There is a goodly young woman to be taken into communion”

YBG beholds diverse crowd baptized into perverse devil worship and commune with the enemy

“Evil is the nature of mankind. Evil must be your only happiness. Welcome again, my children, to the communion of your race”

"My Faith is gone!" cried he, after one stupefied moment.”

Faith, like Eve (desiring forbidden knowledge), loses her innocence after attending baptism

"There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come, devil; for to thee is this world given.“

At this point, YGB loses his Faith

The Journey Continues

At the last moment before his and his wife's baptism into the evil society gathered in the forest, Brown urges his wife: "Look up to Heaven, and resist the Wicked One."

“Resist the Devil and he will flee from you” Did not know if Faith obeyed YGB or notAwakes in peaceful solitude, sees pious men

and Faith carry out normal activitiesBut the damage is done, and he becomes "a

stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man" 

Communing with Evil

“And when he had lived long, and was borne to his grave a hoary corpse, followed by Faith, an aged woman, and children and grandchildren, a goodly procession, besides neighbors not a few, they carved no hopeful verse upon his tombstone, for his dying hour was gloom.”

Final Days

What is the cause of Goodman’s entering into the forest?

Is this a dream or reality?

If this were a dream, what effect does this have on Goodman Brown?

Questions Left to Answer

Everything is not always as it seems. Evil can taint those who seem upright.

That which appears to be good may, indeed, be evil.Humans tend to prejudge others based on

insufficient evidences and biased preconceptions.

Themes