Shaffer 1 Josh Shaffer Sarah Velasquez Literature of America January 30, 2013 The Loss of Faith In the story

Young Goodman Brown, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the character Goodman Brown to take a critical look at those who claim to maintain lives of piety. In particular, he examines how our actions often contradict the beliefs we claim to uphold. The main character in the story, Goodman Brown, a young Puritan man who is both pious and respectable, represents the social norm in the Puritan colonies. As Brown is faced with challenges regarding his faith, he strays further from the Puritan ways he is meant to epitomize. Through Goodman's actions, Hawthorne scrutinizes the contrived sense of piety he perceives in the Puritans. Hawthorne uses the setting and symbolism in the story Young Goodman Brown to show that faith can be subverted by fear and hysteria. The setting of the story in Salem, Massachusetts has great significance to the story. The fact that it is set in the same place where the infamous Witch Trials happened creates the basis for Hawthornes idea that faith can be subverted by hysteria. It is well known that during the witch trials many innocent people were burned at the steak by their fellow pious townspeople. Despite the fact that they perpetrated such cruel acts, these people considered themselves to be honest and pious people. Similar to the way Puritan townspeople of Salem became demented by

Shaffer 2 hysteria in the Witch Trials, Goodman is demented by his surreal experience in the story which, as far as Goodman knows, may be only a dream. The forest setting, with its narrow, shrouded path, acts as a symbol of Goodmans divergence from his beliefs. As he follows the path deeper into the forest his connection to his faith is weakened until the point when it is severed completely. Hawthorne expresses this by saying, The road grew wilder and drearier and more faintly traced, and vanished at length, leaving him in the heart of the dark wilderness. The enveloping darkness is not only the darkness of the night, but is also symbolic of Goodmans irrevocable rejection of his faith. The progressive faintness of the path also represents Goodmans deepening bewilderment. Like anyone whose foundational belief system collapses, the once righteous path which Goodman followed has transformed into one of darkness and obscurity. What began as a beaten path has led to a labyrinth with no way out. The names of the characters themselves are used as a source of symbolism and irony throughout the story by Hawthorne. Goodman personifies that which is honorable and respectable. Goodman even says about his family, We have been a race of pious men and good Christians since the days of the martyrs. Goodman confidently asserts that he is above the corrupt ways of the old traveler; however, his actions constantly contradict his claims. Despite repeatedly telling the old traveler that he will go no farther and must turn back, he continues to follow the older man deeper into the forest and stray further from his good Christian ways. There is an increasingly distinct dichotomy in the story between who Goodman claims to be and who his actions show him to be.

Shaffer 3 The old traveler is a clear representation of the devil in the story, tempting Goodman to stray from his righteous ways. He says to Goodman, Take my staff if you are so soon weary. The offering of the staff to Goodman, which is described as having twists that give it the appearance of a menacing serpent, symbolizes the temptation to sin which Goodman is faced with. Despite the distinct similarities between the mysterious old traveler who carries the serpentine staff in the story and the snake that tempts in the Garden of Eden, Goodman continues to follow him. Goodmans lack of conviction can also be seen as a statement about the superficiality of faith. In spite of an asserted conviction, many rely on sin and vice to get through their lives just like Goodman relies on the serpentine staff. In addition, Hawthorne uses language to show the connection between the old traveler and the devil. The old traveler says to Goodman, I helped your grandfather, the constable, when he lashed the Quaker womanand it was I that brought your father a pitch-pine knotto set fire to an Indian village. Unlike the snake in the Garden of Eden, however, the travelers words make his true identity obvious to Goodman Brown; yet, Goodman continues to follow the shrouded path into the forest. It is made evident that Goodman has finally abandoned his faith through the use of symbolism. When he sees the pink ribbon that Faith wore caught on the tree branch he says, My Faith is Gone! In this instant, faith in both his wife and his religion are lost simultaneously. At this point Goodman has abandoned everything and submits fully to the devil worshippers. Despite his proclamations of being a good Christian, Goodmans faith has been shattered completely by a moment of hysteria. However, upon facing the lurid rock pulpit, Goodman says, Faith! Look up to heaven, and resist the wicked one. Here Goodman once again reaches out in despair for the faith he has just rebuked. This frivolousness which Goodman displays is

Shaffer 4 comparable to the way many exercise their own faith: embracing it when it is convenient and renouncing it when it isnt. Despite the nightmarish events he has just experienced, when Goodman walks out of the forest and back into the town, everything appears to be perfectly normal. The people who he has just seen committing the worst form of blasphemy have returned to their ordinary, pious lives. In addition, Faith approaches Goodman filled with joy and with the pink ribbons, which represent her purity, once again in her hair. Instead of coming to the conclusion that it was all just an absurd dream, Goodman is unable to look at anyone in the town the same. Goodmans distorted view of the townspeople shows that the experience has bereaved him of his faith in God and those around him. Hawthorne uses this total loss of faith which Goodman suffers to express the idea that the faith can be easily subverted by fear and hysteria.

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Best Piece Reflection Form

Title of Assignment: Date of Assignment: Goodman Brown Essay January 20, 2013

Course in which assignment was completed: Literature of America

Briefly describe the assignment. What steps did you need to take in order to complete this assignment? What resources, software, skills were required to complete this assignment?

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Complete this form with an essay response ( page 1 page; BCMHS Academic Report Format) addressing the following questions.

Why did you choose this work sample as your Best Piece? What should the reader expect to find? What impressions do you hope the reader gains about you as a learner after viewing this piece? What did you learn as a result of completing this assignment? How will you use this knowledge / experience in the future?

I chose this piece of work as my Best Piece because, in addition to meeting the criteria for the Best Piece work selection, I felt that the assignment was interesting and helped me to improve my writing skills. The assignment was challenging because the story Young Goodman Brown was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in the 1800s and much of the vocabulary was completely foreign to me. As a result, the assignment forced me to think critically and put a significant amount of work into the essay. The reader of this Best Piece can expect to find that I am able to think critically and analyze various elements of fiction within the story. Some of the major elements I looked at include symbolism, setting, and irony. The reader will see that I have a firm grasp of these concepts and that I am able to interpret them and explain them clearly in the essay. I hope that this will show the reader that I possess strong writing and critical thinking skills. From completing the assignment, as I stated earlier, I learned about various elements of fiction and how to interpret and explicate them in an academic paper. In addition, the story improved my critical thinking skills and introduced me to a plethora of new vocabulary terms. The knowledge I gained from this assignment will be useful for future writing assignments and other situations where I must think critically based on challenging literature.