...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 she was with him. She...
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...Title: The Problem of Faith in 'Young Goodman Brown' Author(s): Leo B. Levy Publication Details: JEGP: Journal of English and Germanic Philology 74.3 (July 1975): p375-387. Source: Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Juliet Byington. Vol. 95. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001. p375-387. From Literature Resource Center. Document Type: Critical essay Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group, COPYRIGHT 2007 Gale, Cengage Learning [In the following essay, Levy examines Faith as a character, an allegorical figure, and a symbol.] Few of Hawthorne's tales have elicited a wider range of interpretations than “Young Goodman Brown.” The critics have been victimized by the notorious ambiguity of a tale composed of a mixture of allegory and the psychological analysis of consciousness. Many of them find the key to its meaning in a neurotic predisposition to evil; one goes so far as to compare Goodman Brown to Henry James's governess in The Turn of the Screw [Darrel Abel, in “Black Glove and Pink Ribbon: Hawthorne's Metonymic Symbols,” in NEQ 42, 1969]. The psychological aspect is undeniably important, since we cannot be certain whether “Young Goodman Brown” is a dream-allegory that takes place in the mind and imagination of the protagonist, an allegory with fixed referents in the external world, or a combination of these that eludes our ordinary understanding of the genre itself. The story is all three: a dream vision, a conventional allegory, and finally an inquiry into the problem of faith...
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...Another work that is also well-known throughout American literature is Hawthorne’s, Young Goodman Brown. Here, the reader is exposed to Hawthorne’s use of symbolism and ambiguity. Like The Scarlet Letter, the setting also took place in Salem. As Goodman Brown says his farewells to his wife, Faith, she is worried about being left alone while her husband embarks on a journey into the woods. Brown encourages his wife to say her prayers, as it will prevent her from any harm or evil. Throughout the story, one can notice the various symbols being portrayed with Brown and how he connects with God. Faith’s pink ribbons are one particular symbol that seemed to alter Brown’s own beliefs. Before the reader is introduced to Faith and Brown’s situation, we can see the images that are being illustrated at the beginning of the story....
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...Consider the significance of the names of the title character and his wife. How are the names symbolic? Young Goodman Brown and his wife Faith, have both symbolic names. Brown's name symbolizes youth and the good nature of humankind. Brown character is a "young man" in the story, and his youth suggests that he is still naive and innocent and he can easily be corrupted by the evil in the world. Faith's name, as Hawthorne wrote, "Faith, as the wife was aptly named", commend that Brown's wife symbolizes the hope and the innocence found in a young wife. Brown's faith in the goodness in life is symbolized through his marriage to Faith. Faith symbolize, hope and the absolute confidence in the goodness in the world, the honest and truthful belief in something. 2. List what you think each of these symbols stands for: the woods (setting), the time of day, Faith's pink ribbons, the Traveler's staff. The woods can be Brown's own mind, a place created by his subconscious, dark as the forest, where he questions his truths, his love for faith, and his beliefs on human kind. It is simply fascinating, how the forest closes behind him, taking from him the option of going back to his beliefs, once he had become unsure about them. The forest can also be the place, not where he questions but face the truth. We all tend to try to embellish the world around us, so that it meets our needs. Brown may find himself in a conflict between the idealized world he once idealized, and the world obscure...
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...evil in his uncharacteristically dark short story, Young Goodman Brown. Hawthorne does this mainly through symbolism. There is an abundance of symbols throughout the tale. These range from hair ribbons to colors and names. Regardless of specifics, these symbols allow a plentiful amount of space for personal interpretation, but one conclusion that no reader can miss is the fact that Goodman Brown is fighting desperately between two opposing forces. Through the use of symbols throughout the short story, Hawthorne allows for the assumption that there is a constant battle between good and evil that is on occasions incomprehensible to distinguish between. Some readers might find it plausible that the use of names and colors have no influence on the story and are completely by coincidence. However, to say that it was random assignment of the chosen names and colors – Goodman Brown, Faith, black and pink – is to not give full credit to Hawthorne’s talent and intentions. These devices have a tremendous impact on the story as a whole. If the names were not what they were, then the story could be taken in a whole opposite direction. It would all be based on personal interpretation. Because Hawthorne chose the names and colors that he did, readers are able to distinguish the theme that he is trying to convey, that is of, as previously stated, the battle between good and evil. Readers may not comprehend at first the evil within Goodman Brown’s companion in the forest until the staff is...
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...The authors Shirley Jackson and Nathaniel Hawthorne, both frequently use different tone, style, symbols, and imagery within their stories “The Lottery” and “Young Goodman Brown.” Symbols are utilized as an enhancement tool to stress the theme of a story. The two short stories written by Jackson and Hawthorne are both thought provoking and full of evil. Many symbols are used to help develop the themes of both of the stories. The short stories both share the use of symbols, tone, style, and imagery to express different thoughts when reading them. Hopefully, by discussing the two short stories, their differences and similarities will be carefully explained. Jackson establishes the setting of "The Lottery" at the beginning of the story. On the morning of June 27th, a sunny and pleasant summer day, in the village...
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...Setting and Symbolism in The Young Goodman Brown and The Rocking-Horse Winner The battle between good and evil is as old as Satan’s rebellion against God and his being cast from heaven with his fellow fallen angels that the Bible tells about in the Book of Revelation chapter 12, verses 7-12. Writers of fiction have been using this struggle for just about that long. The short stories The Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and D.H. Lawrence’s The Rocking-Horse Winner illustrate the battle between good and evil with elements of symbol and setting. Drawn from the author’s Puritan background1, The Young Goodman Brown begins as the protagonist is embarking from his New England village home in the last light of the day, on a journey in the night. Hawthorne gives the first hint of the darkness as the setting for evil in Goodman’s farewell admonition to his newlywed wife Faith, when he instructs her to say her prayers and go to bed at dusk, the time when the light is gone and darkness reigns. The atmosphere at the beginning is clean and pure. The wind has a gentle, innocent feel as it plays with the pink ribbon on Faith’s cap. As Goodman’s journey continues the setting becomes progressively darker, and increasingly evil, as he travels through the haunted forest. At the end of his trip the darkness is dispelled by light in a clearing. It is not the good light of the setting sun, it is lit with an evil illumination from the fires of Hell. The setting is very different in The...
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...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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...Hawthorne’s Life through Symbolism Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American writer who is very well known for his use of symbolism. In many of Hawthorne’s short stories, he uses symbolism to express the conflicts he faced within his life. Some of these short stories include “Young Goodman Brown,” “Minister’s Black Veil,” “The Birthmark,” and “Rappaccini’s Daughter.” Within his work, Hawthorne tells great tales where each character faces a different issue in which they must make a decision such as one’s that Hawthorne had to make. Some decisions Hawthorne made in his very own life were his families’ beliefs of Puritanism and if he should follow their beliefs, conflicts with learning about his father and grandfather, marrying his wife, and how he remained isolated, a recluse, away from the world. In “Young Goodman Brown,” Hawthorne uses symbolism to tell the story of a young man who goes on a journey from his innocent world into an evil world. In the beginning of the story the reader is introduced to two characters, Young Goodman Brown and his wife, Faith. Hawthorne uses their names as the first piece of symbolism, Young Goodman Brown means a young man, who is good natured, and his last name “Brown” also means he is dull and just blends in the background. Morgan 2 Brown is married to Faith, whose name is also symbolic. Faith’s name is used as not only Goodman Brown’s wife, but it is also used as his faith. This is shown when he says, “My love and my Faith,” (Young Goodman Brown...
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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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...Critical Reading 1. Preview. Look “around” the text before you start reading. ... 2. Annotate. Annotating puts you actively and immediately in a "dialogue” with an author and the issues and ideas you encounter in a written text. ... 3. Outline, Summarize, and Analyze. ... 4. Look for repetitions and patterns. ... 5. Contextualize. ... 6. Compare and Contrast. When you write about literature . . . Some Tips for Academic Writers Sentence Style 1. Use simple sentences as rubrics (pointers). 2. Use compound sentences to suggest balance and to present pairs of ideas of equal value. 3. Use complex sentence to emphasize the most important ideas and to subordinate less important ideas. 4. Avoid "empty" sentence frames that say little or restate the obvious. 5. Use present tense when referencing details in a literary work except for passages written in the past tense. 6. Incorporate short, key quoted phrases into analytical sentences. 7. Avoid the use of such words and phrases as "you" and "the reader" that often lead to wordiness. 8. Avoid the phrase, "In conclusion," when opening the concluding paragraph. 9. Avoid gratuitous complements and superlatives. Paragraph Development 1. Use Pattern 1 paragraph frames for most paragraphs in the body of academic essays. 2. Begin body paragraphs with claims as topic sentences that repeat key concepts from the thesis sentence. 3. Always introduce the speaker, context, and/or significance of block quotations. 4. Always...
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...In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown,” setting is the foundation for the events that Goodman Brown experiences. The setting, some details of which may seem unimportant, results in Goodman Brown’s loss of faith near the story’s end. In addition, Hawthorne uses contrasting settings throughout the story, symbolizing the struggles Brown faces on his journey while highlighting the idea that environment can compel people to travel different paths other than the ones they may have chosen. At the outset of the story in Salem, Brown, only three months married, is forced to part ways with his wife, Faith, for the first...
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...Elizabeth Cady Stanton Biography: Where did Elizabeth Cady Stanton grow up? Elizabeth Cady was born in Johnstown, New York on November 12, 1815. She had 10 brothers and sisters, however, many of them died during childhood. Only Elizabeth and four of her sisters lived well into adulthood. Her last brother, Eleazar, died when he was 20 years old leaving her mother depressed and her father wishing that Elizabeth was a boy. Elizabeth (sitting) with Susan B. Anthony Not Fair for Women Growing up Elizabeth was exposed to the law through her father Daniel. He was a lawyer who also served as a judge and a U.S. Congressman. She learned that the law was not the same for men and women. She learned that only men could vote and that women had few rights under the law. She didn't think this was fair. She thought she was as good as any boy and should be given the same opportunities. Going to School When Elizabeth reached school age she wanted to go to school to learn. Not many women went to school in those days, but her father agreed to send her to school. At school Elizabeth was an excellent student. She won awards and proved that she could do as well or better than most of the boys. After high school, Elizabeth wanted to go to college. She quickly learned that girls were not allowed into the major universities. She ended up going to a college for girls where she was able to continue her studies. Abolitionist and Human Rights Elizabeth began to believe...
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...Republic of Moldova State Pedagogical University “Ion Creangă” Foreign Languages and Literature Faculty English Philology Department DIPLOMA PAPER Figurative Language, Language Shaped by Imagination in Katherine Mansfield’s Short Stories Submitted by: the 4th year student Paşcaneanu Mariana Group 404 Scientific adviser: Tataru Nina Senior Lecturer Chişinău 2012 Contents INTRODUCTION 2 CHAPTER I: SHORT STORY AS A FORM OF FICTION 5 I.1.Common Characteristics of a Short Story as a Form of Fiction. Its Plot and Structure. 5 I.2. Figurative Language. Definition. Function. 9 I.3. Imagery – Language that Appeals to the Senses 11 I.3.1. Simile, Metaphor and Personification. 13 1.3.2. Symbol and Symbolism. 26 I.3.3 Allegory. 30 CHAPTER II: LANGUAGE SHAPED BY IMAGINATION IN K. MANSFIELD’S SHORT STORIES 36 II.1. Figurative Language, Symbolism and Theme in "Her First Ball": 37 II.2. Katherine Mansfield – Techniques and Effects in A Cup of Tea. 41 II.3. Literary Colloquial Style in “Miss Brill” by K. Mansfield. 49 II.3.1. Lexical features—Vague Words and Expressions 49 II.3.2 Syntactical and Morphological Features 52 II.3.3 Phonological Schemes of the Figures of Speech 55 II.4. Simplifying Figurative Language in K.Mansfield’s Short Stories 60 CONCLUSION 64 BIBLIOGRAPHY 66 APPENDIX 70 INTRODUCTION Figurative Language is the use of words that go beyond their ordinary meaning...
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