“Young Goodman Brown”

Nathaniel Hawthorne

“Historical Context”
 The Puritans: English Protestants in the
16th and 17th centuries who sought to
purify the church of England from Roman
Catholic practices.
- They followed the 16th-century English
Reformation which broke away the church
of England from the authority of the Pope
and the Roman Catholic church.
 Puritans in North America
Salem Village, Massachusetts:
- After 1630, some English Puritans settled
in New England supporting the founding
of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
 - They believed in the active existence of
the devil and demons as evil forces that
could possess and cause harm to men and
women.
- There was also widespread belief
in witchcraft and witches—persons in
league with the devil.
- Puritans believed that African Americans
and Native Americans living within the
colonies are "true witches."
The Salem Witch Trials: (1692-93)
A series of hearings and prosecutions
of people accused
of witchcraft in Massachusetts. The
trials resulted in the executions of
twenty people, fourteen of them
women, and all but one by hanging.
 -Mass hysteria.
-The dangers of isolationism, religious
extremism, and false accusations.
 
According to historian 
George Lincoln Burr, "the Salem
witchcraft was the rock on which the
theocracy shattered."
 Who are the Quakers?
-Members of a Christian group formally
known as the Religious Society of Friends.

- Quakers believe in the ability of each

human being to experientially access “the
inner light” or "that of God in every
person."
 - They left the churches, stopped going
to sermons, and had their own “silent”
meetings.
- They claim to be in touch with the
“inner light”, so they tremble and shake
in their meetings.
- The Puritans considered this as
“Possession”.
The Puritans’ Intolerance with the
Quakers:
- They forbid them from living in
their towns.
- They made it illegal to be a
Quaker.
- They hanged and prisoned many
Quakers.
 King Philip’s War (1675-1676)
The last major effort by the
Indians of southern New England
to drive out the English settlers. 
- Indians vs. Colonists.
-Killing Indians and Raiding Indian
villages.
Allegory: A comparison in which
one thing (usually nonrational,
abstract, religious) is implicitly
spoken of in terms of something
concrete.
-It extends to include an entire
work or large portion of a work.
 Allegory as a literary work:
- The use of symbolic figures,
actions, or events to convey a
moral, spiritual, or political
meaning.
Is “Young Goodman Brown”
an Allegory?
 Allegorical Elements in “Y.G.B”
- Characters symbolize “good” and “bad”
actions.
- The situation/time/place illustrate abstract
ideas and historical allusions.
- Characters convey moral or spiritual meaning.
- The nonrational is presented in a concrete
way.
- Allegorical characters are psychological
.archetypes (as-if real characters)
 Archetype: A typical character,
theme, symbol, situation, or
action that recurs in cultural or
cross-cultural myths, and
represents universal patterns of
.human nature
 Archetypes are part of the
“Collective Unconscious” of
mankind.
* Collective Unconscious: The
experiences shared by a race or a
.culture
 Examples of Archetypes:
The hero, the villain, the mother
figure, the mentor (the wise man),
.the scapegoat
 Young Goodman Brown = The Archetype
of innocent youth.
- He is inexperienced with many
weaknesses.
- He seeks safety with others (Faith).
- He trusts people easily.
- He believes in the inherent goodness of
people.
- He doesn’t understand the corruption of
.people
Is “Young Goodman Brown” an
allegory of the fall of “Man”/
?Adam & Eve
Elements of Romanticism in “Young
Goodman Brown”:
-The power of the individual.
- Interior portrayal of character.
-Extreme experiences: fear, Love,
horror.
- Isolated characters from society.
-Nature (The American landscape).
- Everyday life.
 Gothic Romance:
A literary form that flourished in the late
18th. and early 19th.
Century.
- It has extraordinary or mysterious
journey.
-It involves mystery, supernatural
elements, and horror.
- The setting is usually medieval ruins or
haunted castles or forests.
 Elements of Gothic Romance:
- Morbid or gloomy events/setting.
(e.g) The forest, the encounter with
the devil, the communion.

- Emotional & psychological torment.

(e.g) Goodman Brown’s loss of faith.
-Fear, love, & horror.
Elements of Transcendentalism:

* It is a philosophical movement
that developed in late 1820s &
1830s in the U.S.
 - The belief in the inherent goodness
of people.
-Society and its institutions (organized
religion & politics) have corrupted the
purity of the individual.
 Individual self-reliance and -
independence.
- Human curiosity and
examination: A man can himself
test his faith, find God, and search
.or truth
-Rejection of traditional authority.
-Rejection of the church’s
rationalism.
-God is immanent in each person
& in nature.
-Free will vs. Divine intervention.