Young Goodman Brown
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"Young Goodman Brown" (1835) is a frequently taught and anthologized short story by American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne.
[edit] Summary
It is believed that Hawthorne wrote Young Goodman Brown to illustrate his fealings. This story was indeed a myth; To him, this "myth story" was his feelings. This short story takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, New England during the Puritanical witch paranoia of the 17th century. The main character, Goodman Brown, departs from home and from his wife, Faith, late in the evening to meet with a grim figure deep in the woods. Upon meeting this person, there are many indications that this forbidding figure may in fact be the Devil, who proceeds to guide Goodman Brown further into the dark forest to witness a demonlike, frenzied ritual attended by Salem's supposedly "good" Christian townsfolk. It is later implied that the entire experience was simply a dream/nightmare, though Goodman Brown seems to endure a psychological scar consistent with the story's theme of retribution for any contact with the Devil or his works. Afterwards, Brown lives out his days as an embittered and suspicious cynic, deeply wary of all people around him, especially his wife Faith.
One possible moral of the story pertains not so much to Young Goodman Brown's encounter with "evil" but rather to the way he personally deals with his experience/dream. Another interpretation is that the dream/experience is a metaphor for religious disillusionment (i.e. "loss of faith").
[edit] See also
- American literature
- Gothic literature
- Lucifer (aka the Devil, Satan, etc.)
- Puritan
- Salem witch trials
- Satanism
- "The Birth-Mark"
- "The Minister's Black Veil"
- "A Terrible Vengeance"
- "Viy (story)"
- Witch trial
[edit] External links
- Young Goodman Brown Study Guide
- Full summary and analysis of "Young Goodman Brown" including important quotes
- Young Goodman Brown at American Literature
