The story that Hawthorne writes can only be explained by first understanding the nature of academic training; as a psychologist and historian (Person 43). It is a complex tale that transcends analyses of average brains. The short story Young Goodman Brown formulated by Hawthorne Nathaniel is an elucidation of Satanism, Puritanism and deviltry in the village of Salem in New England.
In this context, different aspects of the story have been tackled. These aspects of literary concern include the theme of the story, the structure of the tale, the critical thought employed, the symbolism used and the imagery applied. In other words, it is an analysis of the story in the light of the enlisted aspects. The aspects have been tacked the way they are enumerated but the paper commences by highlighting what should be expected of the short story and the author. In addition, this analysis includes views of Person Leland on the same story. At the end of the analysis, the whole discussion has been wrapped up in a conclusive manner that leaves room for future different academic directions.
Person (42) observed that Young Goodman Brown remains to be one of the most complicated tales of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Although Person writes that Hawthorne's work was an effort to come to terms with the 1692 witchcraft, it may seem, on the other hand, that the author was naturally smart and capable of writing a similarly complex story even in another setting. In trying to explain more on the theme, Hawthorne considers Satanism a reality and a somewhat justified move for one to indulge in. On the other hand, Person views the short story as leaving some bit of hope to the readers; that although evil exist, not everybody can become a partaker. He illustrates this by interpreting that since Goodman Brown was only dreaming, then it is probable that in real world, he may not have joined the evil characters. However, it is common knowledge that sometimes, if not most times, and also basing on Hawthorne's training in Psychology, dreams depict reality.
When it comes to the critical thought, Person continues to write that Hawthorne was not convincing enough. This is because, at a glance, he presented Goodman Brown as having been in a dream thereby rendering the whole event probably unrealistic. This paper however treats the whole story as a wonderfully constructed piece; in terms of its structure and organization of ideas. The story begins with a character biding the other goodbye because he was traveling. He then meets a friend who had been waiting for fifteen minutes and the two proceed with the journey (Hawthorne 11). The fifteen minutes delay was explained by Goodman Brown's wife's delay: She was convincing the husband not to travel. The destination and the purpose of the travel remains suspended for the better part of the short story. It is a splendid formation of ideas when the gradual increase in characters is considered. The two also meet some two more clergy (Hawthorne 115) making it a critically thought plot. This can further be demonstrated by the role each of the characters plays. It comes to the reader's notice that one of the persons met taught Catechism to Goodman Brown and further was instrumental in being part of way-leading. Above all, it dawns on the readers that it was not a real journey.
Probably the most well used tool is symbolism. The name Young Goodman Brown has a wealth of possible interpretations. Although 'Brown' was a family name stretching from the grandfather (Hawthorne 11), 'Young' and 'Goodman' are much symbolic. This particular 'Brown' was truly young compared to his colleague and 'good' in the sense that he was a Christian. Person Leland also considers him 'good' since he ideally remained morally upright but on the contrary, this context perceives him as symbolically equally 'bad'. This is because he succumbed into the bad ways of the devils. Other instances of symbolism use are the sunset, the staff, the pink ribbons and the land itself. 'New England' is a symbol of old practices while 'Salem' which means peace actually stands for 'confusion' in this context. In this analysis, the pink ribbons are representatives of destruction; a ribbon turned into a branch which paved way to Goodman Brown's encounter with the devils. The sunset represents Goodman Brown's disappearance.
Person Leland also comments on the use of symbolism. He writes that the forest setting was very purposeful in the sense that in it, Goodman Brown crossed over to another world in which speculation about others was the order of the day. The impact of the forest however is greater than that because we do not see an exit process from the it. In this paper's view, Hawthorne is presenting deviltry as a bottomless pit without much hope of its cessation but an optional co-existence. This is illustrated by the fact that in Goodman Brown's nightmare, holy men and women spent time with victims of witchcraft (Hawthorne 115) for instance the woman who taught Goodman Brown Catechism. In addition, although Person (43) presents Goodman Brown's union with evil figures as 'tolerable' since he only fell asleep in the middle of the forest, this write up does not consider anybody in society immune from moral corruption, manipulation and a consequent shift of stance.
Several phrases have been used in a manner suggestive of imagery. For instance, in Hawthorne (9), Goodman Brown thought of a 'devilish Indian' behind every tree. With reference to the 'clock of the Old South', Goodman Brown delayed his friend for fifteen minutes. Further, the friend's staff resembled a black snake. When they reached into the heart of the forest and met the two clergy, the old dame's simple statement meant a whole world to Goodman Brown. These images point out to something else other than the normal semantics.
The short story Young Goodman Brown by Hawthorne Nathaniel is a wonderful piece of that literature that relates the existence of satanic acts in an expectedly peaceful Christian village of Salem. The role of this paper was to analyse the short story in its own (paper's) perspective against another critic's view. This has been done by analyzing the theme of the story, its structure and the critical organization of thought. In that order, the symbols and images used in the communication of the message have also been examined. This piece of literature is excellent bearing in mind that the author of the story had a background in Psychology. It therefore succeeded in passing the intended message in form of a dream.
