"Young Goodman Brown"

Paper Summary:

The paper relates that Nathanial Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" has many of the characteristics of a parable but is missing a moral ending. The paper analyzes how "Young Goodman Brown" is composed of stereotypical characters and a metaphorical plot that together create the parable-like feel of the piece. The paper then explains that Hawthorne's intention of creating a parable-like story structure with an anti-parable ending was to suggest that humans are far too complex for a parable-like morality.

From the Paper:

"The parable or morality tale is a literary genre that has transcended both culture and time. From Jesus' biblical parables to fables and fairy tales told to children to Russian author Leo Tolstoy's, "How Much Land Does a Man Need," the genre provides a stereotypical characters, symbolic items and events, and a plot centered around the communication of a moral. Like these examples, Nathanial Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" has many of the characteristics of a parable. Even the name "Young Goodman Brown" suggests that the story's main character is intended to symbolize the plight and struggles of every young man. Similarly, Faith is obviously a symbol of the young woman's similar plight in addition to a commentary on the characteristic espoused by her name, and the Devil, along with those Young Goodman brown meets on the way to his deep woods assembly are symbolic representations of those who are stereotypically most pious."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bidney, Martin. "Fire, Flutter, Fall, and Scatter: A Structure in the Epiphanies of Hawthorne's Tales." Texas Studies in Literature and Language. 50.1 (2008): 58-89.
• Davis, Clark. "Outside the Custom House? On the Philosophy of Shyness." Common Knowledge. 12.3 (2006): 410-419.
• Deins, Tim. "Hawthorne, Sacrifice, Sovereignty." Discourse. 27.2&3. (2005): 179-197.
• Hawthorne, Nathanial. "Young Goodman Brown." The Literature Network. 1835. The Literature Network. 13 July 2008. <http://www.online-literature.com/hawthorne/158/>.
• Ullen, Magnus. "Reading with 'The Eye of Faith:' The Structural Principle of Hawthorne's Romances." Texas Studies in Literature and Language. 48.1 (2006): 1-36.

More papers on "Young Goodman Brown":

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• Analytical Essay # 129609 : "The Paranoia of "Young Goodman Brown"
• Analytical Essay # 83653 : "Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" "

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