...The Nature of Evil in Young Goodman Brown The Nature of Evil in Young Goodman Brown In Young Goodman Brown, Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the tale of a man and his discovery of evil. Hawthorne’s primary concern is with evil and how it affects Young Goodman Brown. Through the use of tone and setting, Hawthorne portrays the nature of evil and the psychological effects it can have on man. He shows how discovering the existence of evil brings Brown to view the world in a cynical way. Brown learns the nature of evil and, therefore, feels surrounded by its presence constantly. Hawthorne creates a serious and somber tone throughout much of the story. From the start, the audience gets a sense that Brown will go through relentless agony from the devilish stranger. His diction in the opening paragraphs is a good indicator of this. He uses words such as “melancholy”, “evil”, “dreary”, and “grave” to evoke a certain mood in the reader. There is little relief from this seriousness that would suggest that Hawthorne’s attitude about the story be hopeful. Brown’s attitude and actions portray a negative view of Salem and its people. He ponders the hypocrisy of the town as well as that of the Puritans. He examines the possibility that evil and corruption exist in a town that is supposedly characterized by piety and devout faith. The story is set in seventeenth-century Salem, a time and place where sin and evil were greatly analyzed and feared. The townspeople, in their Puritan beliefs...
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...always remains the same, he can do anything, as far as depends on himself.” (Irenaeus of Lyon pg. 23) God created things to be lesser than him and how everything needs to have a beginning to learn and grow. God could have created things to be perfect but he needed people to figure things out for themselves to raise a true heart to then be blessed and receive God upon death. Irenaeus of Lyon uses good and evil as references in his presentation and how everything is born with the understanding of good and evil and need to be tempted by this evil to find a true good. “By grasping the nature of what is opposed to the sweet and good, it will never again try to taste disobedience to God.” (Irenaeus of Lyon pg. 27) Gregory also uses the true of heart from scripture for his presentation over and over again; “Blessed are the pure at heart, for they shall see God.” (Gregory of Nyssa pg. 29) He references the apostles and how they say “for no one can see God and live” (Gregory of Nyssa pg. 29) How there is a promised blessedness throughout both presentations through the discovery of self and awareness of self. Wisdom is big in the presentation of Gregory of Nyssa. “It is possible, through the wisdom perceptible in all things, to perceive aptly him who made all things in wisdom.” (Gregory of Nyssa pg. 32) He states that if people examine creation and its order we can understand some of this wisdom and if not then maybe we can understand God himself. Gregory of Nyssa and Irenaeus of...
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...Christopher Columbus is often viewed as a hero for discovering the Americas. He is was the man who sailed 3 ships to the Americas. He thought that the Earth was round so there could be a faster trade route from Europe to China. He went to the monarchs of different kingdoms, and they denied him. It was the King and Queen of Spain who took him seriously and gave him a ship with resources. He is a villain because of how he treated the Native Americans and lied to his people. Even though there were many people who benefitted from his discovery, there was a significant amount of people who were hurt by, died because of, or were displaced from the discovery. The native Americans were those people who lost from his discovery. The Indians greeted...
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...Throughout the centuries, there have been many scientific discoveries which have played an important role for the betterment of the world. Although there have also been some that have changed the world for the worse. Some are well-known and instantly come to mind when one is asked to name the most important scientific discoveries of all time, but there are other weighty discoveries that are more refined in nature - ones that are easily overlooked, regardless of the tremendous impact they may have had on the world. One of such discoveries is antibiotics which have revolutionized today’s medicine. Perhaps my choice will match up with yours, or maybe it will be vastly different. The discovery of antibiotics has proved to be a boon a boon to human welfare but some also have the opinion that they are the necessary evils. We do have Alexander Flemming to thank for this discovery back in 1928[1], when he forgot to clean up his workstation before going on holiday after which the golden age of antibiotics started. Antibiotics are the chemical substances which are produced by various micro-organisms and other living systems and are capable of inhibiting the growth of or killing bacteria and other micro-organisms. Before the discovery of antibiotics, nothing much could be done by anybody and deaths on large scale were claimed. For instance Streptococcus pyogenes was the cause of half of all post-birth deaths[2] and Staphylococcus aureus was fatal in 80% of infected wounds and the tuberculosis...
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...(Prometheus), is a free thinker who longs to learn all he can in hopes of making a contribution to his town, and being promoted to one of the scholars. However, when he presents his discovery (electricity) to the “World Council of Scholars” the group is terrified because they have never seen anything like it before. Prometheus is scorned, rejected, and sentenced to be burned at the stake because of his choosing to think as an individual. Free will is something that many people take for granted these days, but in the world...
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...proclaims the point that “If death is an evil at all, it cannot be because of its positive features, but only because of what it deprives us of” (1). This quote illustrates that if death were to be considered evil in any sense, then it would not be because of what suffering it might alleviate but rather what good would terminate when our life ends. Nagel also suggests that there are good components which, if added to one’s experience makes life better...
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...Discoveries are able to provide a change in perspective or outlook on the world. This is evidenced though the Robert Frost’s poetry, “Fire an Ice” and “Home Burial”, Rachel Perkins musical “One Night the Moon” (2001) and Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now” (1979). The composers are able to inform their respective audiences with messages about the discovery of the human condition, in particular, relationships between loved ones and the destructive nature of man kind. Robert Frost’s “Home Burial” and Rachel Perkins “One Night the Moon” both effectively explore the nature of relationships between husband and wife. They both reflect on the emotional experiences of the couple and the different mechanisms of the heart. Frost and Perkins are...
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...In Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll appears as a gentlemen who would not be related to evil at all. However, he deeply knows that all men are both good and evil. With good and evil existed in equal parts in himself, Dr. Jekyll keeps the pleasurable and sinful side of his personality well hidden which increases the repression. Dr. Jekyll believes that the two opposing elements, good and evil, should be separated from each other because he can not balance them well when they are mingled. As a scientist, he knows well the associated risk of using himself as a lab rat, but the temptation to dissociate good and evil is too strong. Put it differently, the nature of discovery allures him to find the solution after spotting a problem...
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...of symbols to indicate or represent a concept or idea. Symbols are used in literature to give things a meaning beyond their literal one, and as a way for readers to see further than what is stated in text. This allows them to come to their own conclusions and it contributes to the theme and mood of the text to make it more effective. In Macbeth, nature symbolism is used to reflect the events in society through the weather atmosphere, and animals. Light and darkness imagery is used in correlation with chaos as well; night and darkness being used to cloak evil, and light and dark used to suggest the occurrence of evil events . Sleeplessness, another symbol, is also used to show how the chaos causes the characters in Macbeth to fall apart, from how they caused sleeplessness for themselves to how it drives them to self destruct. In William Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, symbols are constantly used to illustrate growing chaos, evil and destruction which suggests that Scotland is on a path to its downfall. First of all, the motif of nature and disruption in the natural world is used to suggest that something unsettling has or will happen. For one, animals are used to illustrate the chaos occurring after Duncan's death. In the scene...
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...Frankenstein walks slowly though a cemetery with a torch light in his hands. He looks forth and sees Elizabeth and Clerval’s graves, a look of sickness fills his face. I wasn't sure I'd be able to face your graves. My regret very nearly kept me away. I didn’t think my work would kill. A problem solver I thought, like a loved one. I thought my creation would solve my problems, the loss of my mother. The one who loved, when love wasn’t seen to be needed. Frankenstein pauses in thought. My creation, a murderer. A murderer of innocent. I thought its species would one day bless me as it creator and source but instead it is now seeking hatred upon me. I wanted my creation to be new life a perfect species not a monster. I wanted others to see...
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...Action, There Is an Equal and Opposite Evil Reaction The constant war between good and evil exists in every aspect of the world whether it be within the individual or within his or her environment. Environmental and societal influences affect the development of such good and evil forces in a person. The inverse of this statement is true as well because the nature of society and the environment is derived from their members and objects. Similarly, objects and people are given their negative or positive connotations by other influences around them because not everything is inherently evil or good. However, there is a balance between the polar opposites that is naturally maintained in the environment, nature, society, and the individual....
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...to the hospital. {Investigation Discovery, TV Series} ~ But in her presence, I was seized by an accursed shyness that paralyzed my tongue, and the things I had planned to say were left unuttered. {American Winston Churchill} ~The look of the marquis, threatening him, paralysed his tongue. {O Henry, Roads of Destiny} -There was nothing nefarious about what she did. (Flagrantly wicked or impious/extremely...
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...aromatherapy, massage, herbalism, etc. doing whatever was necessary to provide the right treatment for their patients or clients. Today what we are accepting as the inventions/discoveries of modern science are also to be found in much more ancient shamanic belief systems and they are embedded in healing traditions from thousands of years ago. Typically with shamanism, the curanderos’ knowledge of healing is passed down from relatives. So I did some research on Eduardo’s family. When Eduardo was a healer, his daughter hadn’t paid much attention to his work. After his passing, she spontaneously received the don of healing and knew how to cure. She became a well known healer in Las Delicias. It seems to me that curanderism in Peru is usually the first point of call for anyone suffering from any sickness or issue. It has proven effective for people for thousands of years but there is still some idea of orthodox medicine. This is because it’s doctors refuse to treat the while person or to acknowledge the possible existence of God/spirit and the human soul. Eduardo was sought by people to treat a wide range of social, spiritual, psychological and physical problems. It ranged from headaches, back pain to anxiety and illnesses caused by “loss of soul.” A common illness that stood out to me was the evil eye. This is an issue for...
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...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 side of 17th...
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...shame for his transgressions. The shift in Equality’s appraisal of his actions is understandable because the leaders of the society deliberately took away his individuality and withheld significant information from him. In the beginning of the novel, a strict code of laws is introduced. Equality 7-2521 wrote “We have broken those laws. The laws say that men may not write unless the Council of Vocations bid them so. May we be forgiven!” (7). Equality felt culpable for his actions because he had been taught about the evils of...
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