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Dejan Vicai Aleksandra Izgarjan, Nataa Karanfilovi XIX Century American Literature 16 May 2010

Young Goodman Brown: Themes

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Table of contents
Table of contents ................................................................................................................................... 2 1. Puritanism ......................................................................................................................................... 3 2. Plot Summary ..................................................................................................................................... 4 3.1. Corruption of Puritan belief and moral........................................................................................... 5 3.2. Misconception of belief and evil in the heart of man ..................................................................... 8 3.3. Good or evil? ................................................................................................................................. 10 3.4. Dream or reality ............................................................................................................................ 12 Works Cited .......................................................................................................................................... 13

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To understand the themes found in this work, it would be best to explain the period Nathaniel Hawthorne grew up and wrote Young Goodman Brown. 1. Puritanism Puritanism began in England, in the late XVI century. When Protestant reformation idealists tried to purge the Church of England, or the Anglican Church, of impurities such as rituals, ceremonies and hierarchical structure it retained from the Roman Catholic Church after King Henry VIII broke off from the Pope. Even though by numerous acts the Church of England was officially established as an independent Protestant entity separate from the Roman Catholic Church it retained some Catholic rituals. And some believers thought that the Church of England was not pure enough, hence the terminology Puritans, they tried to purify the church. After Queen Elizabeth I died, the Puritans petitioned the new monarch, King James I, to adopt their reforms. But the King rejected most of their proposal only allowing them to reprint a new translation of the Bible, which became the King James Version. Many disenchanted Puritans left the country sailing to the New Land, where they formed new colonies and prospered. They believed that a number of them are chosen, but nobody really knew who where the chosen ones, so they all had to live a good life so that when rapture came maybe they would be the chosen ones. Puritanism generally extended the thought of the English Reformation, with distinctive emphasis on four convictions: that personal salvation was entirely from God; that the Bible provided the indispensable guide to life; that the church should reflect the express teaching of Scripture; that society was one unified whole. Puritans believed that humankind was utterly dependent upon God for salvation, the doctrine of predestination, which meant that no matter what they do or do not do would not influence Gods final judgment. No matter what, they could not influence their destinies because God has already chosen whom He shall save. Everyones fate was already sealed, but they still were afraid not to do anything that would anger God and they still had to behave according to the word of the Bible.

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2. Plot Summary Nathaniel Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown begins at a Sabbath night in the small village of Salem, Massachusetts, a little community of Puritans. When in the dusk a man named Goodman Brown leaves his home and newlywed wife Faith, to whom he has been married three months, to journey into the dark and unknown forest. "Of all nights in the year, this one night must I tarry away from thee. (Hawthorne 3). Brown leaves the certainty of his home to witness a witches meeting either out of curiosity, to see them perform their rituals, or either braving this challenge and temptation from evil forces. However on the way he meets up with an old man with a mysterious staff resembling a snake, and they go on together. Many a times Brown wishes to turn back, but finds himself unable to this as his legs continue to move. At his amazement he finds that influential citizens of the village and even members of clergy are on their way to this meeting, but he is most shocked to see his beloved wife there. At the meeting point a mysterious devil figure appears and begins to baptize newly arrived members into the ways of sin. But when Faith approaches this man and when they begin the conversion, Brown yells to his wife: Look up Heaven, and resist the Wicked One. (Hawthorne 67). It is the next day, and when Brown returns to the village, everything is as it was before, nothing seems to have changed even though what happened last night. He is wondering whether he had fallen asleep, and only dreamed a wild dream of a witchmeeting. (Hawthorne 70). He is unable to distinguish whether he really was there or not, and if anything that he saw really happened or not. Nevertheless this deeply affects Brown and he will never be the same, he changes dramatically and he is never going to be the same again. He now becomes a stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man. (Hawthorne 71). Brown lived his rest of the life a bitter man, doubting everything and everyone. Not being the man he used to be, he never appreciated things he did before and was a gloomy man. After his death, they carved no hopeful verse upon his tombstone; for his dying hour was gloom. (Hawthorne 71).

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3.1. Corruption of Puritan belief and moral Hawthornes story was influenced by his heritage, Puritan belief, culture and the setting of his hometown Salem. His ancestors, whom he had assumed to be fishermen, hard working men, were actually famous founders of the city as well as influential political and spiritual leaders. More to the point they were Puritans, and Hawthorne looked at them with mixed feelings of pride and guilt. The teaching of the Puritan doctrine tells that all men, regardless of origin and status, are stripped of their free will and are confined into a world created by the Bible. Only through self-examination, doubting and belief that they are sinners and unworthy of Gods grace can they become true believers and followers. When Adam has eaten the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, man broke the Covenant of Works, which God made with Adam as the head of all mankind, the Lord mad a new deal with Abrahams people. This new covenant stated that going to Heaven was not for all. Which meant that nobody had a secured place in Heaven, so they had to work hard all their life, and behave as model citizens so that maybe when they die they could be elected to Heaven, and gain Gods grace. Of course, this led to Puritan believers recognizing the negative aspects of their lives and humanity rather than admiring and appreciating the gifts they posses. As the second generation of Puritans was born in America they lacked the zealousness of the first. Wanting membership within the congregation made what would come to be known as the Half-Way Covenant an attempt by the church to solve this problem. The Covenant allowed the children of church members to be baptized and become part of the congregation, thus bolstering membership. But in order to be a full member and receive communion the conversion experience was still necessary. Much like the journey, this conversion experience, in which Brown placed so much significance, the fact that further doubt was now placed upon new members of the church would cause later problems in Puritan society and Salem itself. In the story Brown goes through a conversion experience, and it should be about a sudden realization either by divine intervention, vision or perhaps dream. Hawthorne creates a scene where we cannot decide if whether it is dream or fact, he makes a dream journey. Of course many elements are included to show that the hand of the Devil is involved at the Witches Sabbath; the old man, who is a devilish figure, takes up the shape of the deceased Browns father; also, the staff which at one point turns into a serpent, a feared animal by

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Christians for its close relations with evil. Moreover, Hawthorne points out that the consequences for mistrusting and self-doubting yourself and your neighbor does not lead to peace, contrary to what Puritan doctrine teaches, it only creates further confusion and misery. Another example of Puritan fanaticism is the Salem hunt for the alleged witches, which also, just like Browns conversion experience cannot be determined if it was real. Hawthorne used the history of his time and his knowledge, to argue and question such beliefs. By showing the failures of Puritan doctrines dealing with conversion experiences, he was talking about the possible consequences of the Second Great Awakening (the Second Great Awakening was a religious revival in the religious history of America. It was characterized by revivals led by evangelical Protestant ministers. Out of this a new religious movement was born, it included numerous increases in interest and developing a sense of redemption). Nevertheless the main statement that Hawthorne wants to give in Young Goodman Brown is that in a distrustful society personal experience or vision can be misinterpreted and lead into false belief. Baring this in mind, it is clear that Puritan ideology, that wanted to create peace can only come back to haunt them. As Brown could not tell if he was dreaming or not he began to doubt and question everyone around him, because he was shocked that even clergymen can sway to evil forces. Instead of realizing benefits and truth from his experience Brown only gains the ability to see evil and sin in his fellow villagers. Upon returning to the village he becomes gloomy, distrustful and doubtful. While he lived his rest of the days miserable, he kept it to himself, unlike Hawthornes ancestors, and other witch hunters who were spreading confusion and falsely accusing fellow villagers of witchcraft. Apparently one must be self-denying and mistrustful to be worthy for Gods grace. Puritan teachings said that evil lurks everywhere, even in the heart of the man. Perhaps this venture into the dark forest to see the witch meeting was just an act of self-examination for Brown, to see whether he is worthy of Gods love, or simply he wanted to be brave in the face of temptation. Whatever the reason may be, it led him away from a secure home and a loving life, and forever ruined him as a man. His religious belief was so strong that when he learnt the truth, that everyone is capable of evil even the elected members of the clergy. This left him devastated and incapable of trusting anyone ever again. Brown is not even sure if it was a dream or not, but he is still struck by his epiphany and scarred for life. This kind of faith can only lead to sadness and misery. In order to understand Brown's own background as it pertains to his duty as a Puritan, Franklin returns to Cotton's original Catechism:

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Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: Q: A:

What hath GOD done for you? God hath made me, He keepeth me, and he can save me. Who is God? God is a Spirit of himself, and for himself. How many Gods be there? There is but one God in three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. How did God make you? In my first Parents holy and righteous. Are you then born holy and righteous? No, my first Father sinned, and I in him. Are you then born a Sinner? I was conceived in sin, and born in iniquity. What is your Birth-sin? Adams sin imputed to me, and a corrupt nature dwelling in me. What is your corrupt nature? My corrupt nature is empty of Grace, bent unto sin, and onely unto sin, and that continually. Q: What is sin? A: Sin is the transgression of the Law (the Ten Commandments). (McCabe 5)

Catechism teaches how a good Christian should behave, and what should one do, what rules to obey. Also it points out to follow the Ten Commandments, and if only Brown knew that it is almost impossible to follow these rules as such, he would have not been so surprised to see what he have seen in the forest. Hawthorne combined historical elements from his lifetime, Puritan background, and personal experience to give us a glimpse at a community which is dysfunctional. Where individuals doubt not just themselves but their neighbors as well, a healthy atmosphere for faith could not exist. Even if this conversion experience was the highlight of faith and election, this catechism only gave a possibility for doubting that as well. How and why would anyone believe there is salvation if they are being taught that no matter what they are marked for life as sinners and this cannot be undone, there is no existence of a reality where one could achieve Gods love. Puritanism can be viewed as a cycle of sowing misery and pity, and the belief that no one is really worthy of Gods grace, yet they still had to follow strict rules and obey them, and this gave hope that perhaps God will be merciful. Hawthorne intended to point out the old error of Puritanism, and tried to weave his story around this idea of fanatical faith leading to destruction and pain.

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3.2. Misconception of belief and evil in the heart of man The forest, dark and evil, represented the deceitful and dark nature of human heart. Everything outside the community was considered to be mysterious and evil, because it was believed that anything unknown and untouched by civilization was bad. So to break the rules of the community was to break one of the Ten Commandments, anyone who did go against this was then shun from society. Browns journey can also represent not just a physical venture, but a look inside of his heart, a way to find out what he really believes in. Such a revelation made him a sad, dark, distrustful and desperate man. The purpose of this kind of depravity was to strengthen the belief in religion and become a true Puritan. After returning to the village and completing his journey, he was unable to comprehend what he has learned, that evil is there no matter who or what someone is. He was utterly shaken by the fact that even the most appreciated and respected men could be sinners, and could not understand this, because the foundation of Puritan belief suggests that they are morally correct and could not be evil. Yet Brown still needs to learn that even though religion states that there is a demon or devil figure out there to tempt you, evil is not something that influences a person, but it is in all of mens hearts. Also this journey of a conversion experience was also a philosophical and psychological examination of ones hell, which is seeing what is in ones heart. Every person bears good and evil within oneself. The Church demanded obedience and following the rules without any questions asked, this is what made Browns opening of eyes such a terrible experience. He did not know better, to him, and other Puritans as well, only good people existed, the ones who were zealous and religious, and bad people who were outcasts, and evil. Yet again, he could not fathom the fact that evil lurked everywhere. His venturing into the forest was examining himself if he was evil too. After the forest, he loses faith in religion, and this could be a result of Puritans confronting their repressed evil, also this should teach them of the insignificance of worldly possessions and that they should depend on the fact that there is an afterlife for which they should strive. Even though religion was an influential establishment, Church could not spread its beliefs just by simply striking fear into the hearts of men, this could only lead to questions. Ultimately, nobody is really born good or evil, but rather a balanced unit. Such harsh penance and sense for redemption in Puritan belief was adopted from the fact that every man

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possesses the original sin, that is when Adam ate the forbidden fruit, and it only led to confusion misery and unnecessary deaths, such as the Salem witch trials. The ultimate goal of Christian religion was to provide an afterlife worthy of spending the remaining time side by side with God, but Puritan belief was even stricter, because they believed that there a few chosen elected ones and so they had to be fanatical believers in order to seem worthy in Gods eyes. Also because they did not know who these elect were, they had to be exceptional believers to hope to be amongst those chosen. This kind of belief led to constant pressure from their peers, as they were always judged, and that meant that they were doubtful of themselves too. But the biggest battle a Puritan had fight was to ensure their hearts will stay pure, that they will not be contaminated by evil and that they will not be influenced by evil forces. Puritan doctrine in final led to a sense of awareness of depravity, helplessness and the illusion that they are sinners no matter what. This would give the man a belief that they no longer had to depend on themselves or people; they just had to blindly follow the Bibles instructions and believe that at the end God will reward them with eternal afterlife. Brown, after his conversion experience instead of feeling enlightened, and realizing that the material world is not important, in Puritan belief, was blinded by the fact that he sees evil in everyone, and sentenced himself to closing his heart to others and never regained trust in his fellow villagers. Hawthorne combined fact and imagination to create scenes, such as the journey into the dark forest, which depict the battle between mans heart and the errors of Puritan belief. Also he viewed his Puritan ancestors as stern believers because of their rigid rules and strict beliefs, and the constant tensions between flesh and spirit. He dared to go as far as posing the question whether man is good or evil, but never gives a clear answer; he just hints us clues so that the readers could decide for themselves. Even though Hawthorne had a skeptical outlook on life, and when he published Young Goodman Brown he had already lived the major part of his life in isolation, he still believed that society was important. Moreover this skepticism helped him to develop a unique writing style. Even in todays society, the theme of evil in mans heart is recurring, with dishonest corporate executives and misleading politicians, and especially members of the clergy misusing their powers. This theme will linger around as long as people are easily manipulated either by faith or other influences.

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3.3. Good or evil? It is hard to decide sometimes what is good or evil, but there are some universally accepted wrong moral decisions, for example to take another mans life, also to some communities certain immoral actions seem normal. A Puritan punishing a heretic seems just and good in another Puritans eyes, of course this seems inhumane to someone who is not of the same belief. It is certainly hard to make out whether something is either evil or not, but it all depends on culture, influence and religion, as all of these influences a persons view on moral goodness. Of course, seeing as Brown was brought up as a Puritan it was a great shock for him seeing highly respectable people, and especially seeing his wife Faith at the Witch meeting he thought they had all abandoned their righteous paths. But Brown did not know any better, and to him what these people did was just as bad as sinning, disregarding the fact that he may have just dreamt the whole thing, for him it was hard to believe that people inside the community sin. Yet he is so convinced that something happened that night in the forest, and he is changed forever. The Puritan teaching sculpted a fine believer out of him, and that is why it is hard for him to accept that man cannot really follow the Ten Commandments, besides man is not perfect and nobody can really be good all the way, no-one is born clean either way. The best man can hope for is to learn to differentiate evil from good, and to find a perfect balance in between. Probably many Puritans went through similar experiences as Brown did, and perhaps they were as confused as he was. Their fundamental beliefs were shaken to the core, and Browns answer to that was to shut himself up and be miserable until the end. It is not easy accepting another point of view, especially if your whole life you are being taught that there is only one way of living your life. The most curious thing about Browns experience is that at the same time he doubts his neighbors but himself as well, his heart is swayed and he is unsure if he is walking down the good path. He has nobody to turn to and no-one to seek answers from, it is only logical to assume what he did was the only reasonable thing to do, taking into account the time and beliefs of that period. However that does not justify his actions, but only points out errors and flaws of one religion; and that if there are any questions or doubts contradicting that doctrine there probably will not be any answers. Of course if that same doctrine promises punishment for insolence who dares to say anything against it, or even ask something in that fashion. Poor Browns best choice was to suffer alone until his death.

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The conversion probably made Brown into a whole man, meaning that as he has seen evil, and somewhat experienced it by almost being baptized by the devil, now has knowledge of both sides, this of course utterly confuses him because he never had any similar experience, and was always thought in the manner of doing the right things and punishing the wicked ones. But believing in such a way only causes pain and suffering, and leads to denying the existence of other ways than the one taught. Adding to the fact that nothing is good or evil, as written in blood, but it all depends on who is viewing it, when someone is stripped of the power of distinguishing whether something is right or wrong, bad decisions are bound to happen. Puritan ministers were generally well educated and promoted certain ideals but religion was strict and did not allow any straying off the path of righteousness, and true believers were always on the lookout for evil influence and unfortunately sometimes saw it where none existed. Young Goodman Brown, can be interpreted in many ways, we can view Brown as a Faustian figure who is curious to venture onto the other side, to seek knowledge and bravely stand before the unknown, we can disregard the morality of good and evil, because his journey is more than that. Also this short story can be viewed as a rebellion against religion gone bad and filled with errors. And as such an adventurer seeing both sides of the coin, and knowing both halves of the human heart Brown is of course questioning his own beliefs. But this knowledge, this taming of the unknown brings him down; he cannot believe and fathom these things happening in the forest and chooses isolation so he would not suffer so much.

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3.4. Dream or reality Throughout the story we are left with no answer to whether this was a real experience or just a dream. It had real elements to assume it was real, the forest, all the people he had met there, also what happened in the forest seemed real. On the other hand the appearance of the devil is suggesting this is a dream, because there is no real evidence to back this up. Even though we cannot interpret whether it was a dream or not, Hawthorne uses this to ridicule Puritan belief, by pointing out that maybe the conversion experience Brown and the Puritans had was a simple realization of truth, not the epiphany they were searching for. Also on a psychological level this would prove to be a dream because it may had been Browns subconscious creating a dream. He was wondering what truth is and perhaps he got the answer through the dream by figuring out this on his own, because he knew the answer in his heart, and he just needed a sort of justified mean to get this epiphany. Hawthorne did not put too much importance or gave any hints to point either way, because it did not really matter if it was real or not, to Brown it was a real experience nevertheless. This just shows that a decisive battle be it religious nature or something else, can be fought not just physically but mentally also, and it shows that it is hard to accept something new and something unknown into your heart if it has been closed by some beliefs. In order for Brown to explore himself, to journey into his own heart this must had been a dream, because Puritan belief required its believers to blindly follow, and seeing as Brown was a believer he had to make real scenario for his adventure without breaking any rules or disobeying religion. And because Brown was doubtful he could not share what he has found out nor was he allowed, so he chose the bitter end of gaining knowledge which is to take it to the grave with him. Regardless of this short story being a dream or not, Hawthorne tried to point out the wrong sides of zealousness and fanatical belief. Brown was only one of the many people who paid a hefty price for blindly following faith.

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Works Cited Cummings, J. Michael. Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) A study guide. cummingsstudyguides.net. cummingsstudyguides.net, 2008. Web. 4 Apr. 2010. Gregory, Leslie. The text of Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown with links for the primary symbols and images.. itech.fgcu.edu. itech.fgcu.edu, 1998. Web. 4 Apr. 2010. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Young Goodman Brown New York: Knickerbocker Press, 1835. Book Kaul A. N. The American Vision New Haven: Yale University Press, 1963. Book McCabe, E. Michael. The Consequences of Puritan Depravity and Distrust as Historical Context for Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown. itech.fgcu.edu. itech.fgcu.edu, 1998. Web. 4 Apr. 2010. Shoemaker, Jacqueline. Hawthorne's Realm of Morality: Biographical Contexts for "Young Goodman Brown". itech.fgcu.edu. itech.fgcu.edu, 1998. Web. 4 Apr. 2010. Soler, Angie. The Journey Into the Puritan Heart: Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown". itech.fgcu.edu. itech.fgcu.edu, 1998. Web. 4 Apr. 2010.