Human Nature
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- Category: English: Novels
- Date Submitted: 09/01/2010 05:38 PM
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Human Nature
Evil is unfortunately abundant in our world today just as it was during the Puritan times of
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s day. In the short story “Young Goodman Brown,” Nathaniel Hawthorne
writes about how evil and hypocrisy can turn the faithful bitter and distrusting. The protagonist,
Young Goodman Brown, leaves his wife of only three months to journey through the forest with
the devil. During the journey, Brown struggles with his own faith and learns of the hypocrisy and
evil of society including his wife. He loses his faith in people and God. Brown dies a lonely and
bitter man. Through setting, characters, and symbolism, Hawthorne illustrates the theme that it is
human nature to be evil.
The story begins with Hawthorne abandoning his innocent wife to meet with the devil: “’My
love and my Faith, of all nights of the year this one must I tarry from thee.’” (Hawthorne 300).
Hawthorne is creating an eerie setting of night and darkness to foreshadow the evil to come.
Young Goodman Brown sets out on his journey into the forest where he meets with the devil. “It
was now deep dusk in the forest, and deepest in that part of it where these two were journeying”
(Hawthorne 304). The forest is a place of evil, deep enough for the devil to reside. Paul J. Hurley
suggests the forest is Brown’s inner evil. Hurley writes, “The forest, symbol of Brown’s retreat
into himself, is associated with images suggestive of evil” (Hurley 413). The evil forest is the
setting in which Hawthorne has prepared the reader to sense the wickedness to come. Young
Goodman Brown tries to resist the devil during the journey. As he prays, the sky becomes blue
with the exception of one black cloud over the townspeople. Hawthorne explains, “The blue sky
was still visible except directly overhead, where this black mass of cloud was sweeping swiftly
northward” (Hawthorne 305). The contrasting colors in the setting suggest an inner battle
between...
Evil is unfortunately abundant in our world today just as it was during the Puritan times of
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s day. In the short story “Young Goodman Brown,” Nathaniel Hawthorne
writes about how evil and hypocrisy can turn the faithful bitter and distrusting. The protagonist,
Young Goodman Brown, leaves his wife of only three months to journey through the forest with
the devil. During the journey, Brown struggles with his own faith and learns of the hypocrisy and
evil of society including his wife. He loses his faith in people and God. Brown dies a lonely and
bitter man. Through setting, characters, and symbolism, Hawthorne illustrates the theme that it is
human nature to be evil.
The story begins with Hawthorne abandoning his innocent wife to meet with the devil: “’My
love and my Faith, of all nights of the year this one must I tarry from thee.’” (Hawthorne 300).
Hawthorne is creating an eerie setting of night and darkness to foreshadow the evil to come.
Young Goodman Brown sets out on his journey into the forest where he meets with the devil. “It
was now deep dusk in the forest, and deepest in that part of it where these two were journeying”
(Hawthorne 304). The forest is a place of evil, deep enough for the devil to reside. Paul J. Hurley
suggests the forest is Brown’s inner evil. Hurley writes, “The forest, symbol of Brown’s retreat
into himself, is associated with images suggestive of evil” (Hurley 413). The evil forest is the
setting in which Hawthorne has prepared the reader to sense the wickedness to come. Young
Goodman Brown tries to resist the devil during the journey. As he prays, the sky becomes blue
with the exception of one black cloud over the townspeople. Hawthorne explains, “The blue sky
was still visible except directly overhead, where this black mass of cloud was sweeping swiftly
northward” (Hawthorne 305). The contrasting colors in the setting suggest an inner battle
between...