Nathaniel Hawthorne

“Young Goodman Brown”

Nathaniel Hawthorne 1804-1864

• Born in Salem, Massachusetts

• Puritan Background

• Ancestor of John Hathorne – one of the three judges in the Salem Witch Trials

Hawthorne’s Background

• Began writing after college at Bowdion College in Maine

• Spent many years in seclusion – starving artist

• Held many jobs including writer, publisher, working at a custom house, and consul in England

More Background

• Married Sophie Peabody in 1825

• Was friends with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Herman Melville, and President Franklin Pierce

His Themes in Writing

• Moral allegories

• The sinful man

• Hypocrisy• The Dark

side of Human Nature

• Religious in Nature

His Most Famous Works

• Novels– The House of Seven Gables– The Scarlet Letter

• Short Stories– “The Minister’s Black Veil”– “Young Goodman Brown”

Who were the Puritans?

• Wanted a “pure” church– No candles– No Images– No stained glass windows

• Rejected the “showy” church of England

• Led very somber lives governed solely by a strict interpretation of the Bible

• No “nonsense” – dancing, gambling, drama, etc

Basic Beliefs of the Puritan Church

• Jesus Christ is the Son of God – died on the cross for all everyone’s sins

• The whole Bible is the word of God and it is to be followed to the letter.

• The belief that these ideas are fact are known as a person’s faith

Basic Beliefs of the Puritan Church

• Faith is what is necessary to get into heaven.

• If you don’t go to heaven you go to hell.

• Sins, as defined by the Bible, are to be avoided and cut out of life

• A catechism is a book that is used to teach basic principles of the church

The Infamous Puritans• The Salem

Witch Trials put the Puritans prominently in the history books

• Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible put it in Literature classes forever

And Now, Nathanial Hawthorn’s Short Story

“Young Goodman Brown”

…my favorite short story of the year…

Some Basics…

• Characters– Young

Goodman Brown

– His wife, Faith

– Mysterious man in the forest with a strange looking staff

Some Basics…

• Minor Character’s Notes…– Constable: person in law

enforcement– Deacon: position in church

held by congregation member

– Goody: abbr. of “goodwife”, female version of goodman

– Reverend: pastor– Sabbath: day of rest in the

Judo/Christian church – in this case, Sunday

YGB as an Allegory

• What is an allegory?– A story where everything is a

symbol– Used commonly to instruct

especially in religious matters– Some famous allegories are:

• Dante’s Divine Comedy (more famous though is the first part commonly known as Dante’s Inferno

• John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress

The Allegory of Young Goodman Brown – Basics

• The Snake Satan – The Devil

• Why? – See Genesis Chapter 3

The Allegory of Young Goodman Brown - Basics• The Forest

• Evil / Sin

The Allegory of Young Goodman Brown – Basics

• Stars / Sky / Heavenly Bodies

• Heaven / Connection with God

The Allegory of Young Goodman Brown - Basics

• White Purity

• Red Sin

• Pink ????

The Allegory of Young Goodman Brown - Basics• Fire

• Hell

The Allegory of Young Goodman Brown – now, not basic• Young Goodman Brown

• The common Christian man – brown is neutral

• Faith• A Christian’s faith

• Witches• Satan / Evil

One Last Thing for Tomorrow…Another literary term feather

for your literary term cap…

• Imagery: words and phrases that re-create vivid sensory experiences for the reader. Usually imagery is visual, but often it is written to the senses of smell, hearing, taste, and touch

Assignment for Tomorrow…

• Read “Young Goodman Brown”

• There will be a basic quiz tomorrow on the PowerPoint and the story– PowerPoint is online for

your viewing enjoyment

• Underline in pencil examples of imagery – for effort points