Vicai 1

Dejan Vicai

Aleksandra Izgarjan, Nataša Karanfilović

XIX Century American Literature

16 May 2010

Young Goodman Brown: Themes

Vicai 2

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

Vicai 3

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 God’s final judgment. No matter what, they could not influence their destinies

because God has already chosen whom He shall save. Everyone’s 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.

Vicai 4

2. Plot Summary

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “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 witch-

meeting.” (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).

Vicai 5

3.1. Corruption of Puritan belief and moral

Hawthorne’s 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 God’s 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 Abraham’s 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 God’s 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

Brown’s father; also, the staff which at one point turns into a serpent, a feared animal by

Vicai 6

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 Brown’s 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 Hawthorne’s 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 God’s 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 God’s 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:

Vicai 7

Q:   What hath GOD done for you?  A:   God hath made me, He keepeth me, and he can save me.  Q:   Who is God?  A:   God is a Spirit of himself, and for himself.  Q:   How many Gods be there?  A:   There is but one God in three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.  Q:   How did God make you?  A:   In my first Parents holy and righteous.  Q:   Are you then born holy and righteous?  A:   No, my first Father sinned, and I in him.  Q:   Are you then born a Sinner?  A:   I was conceived in sin, and born in iniquity.  Q:   What is your Birth-sin?  A:   Adams sin imputed to me, and a corrupt nature dwelling in me.  Q:   What is your corrupt nature?  A:   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 God’s love.

Puritanism can be viewed as a cycle of sowing misery and pity, and the belief that no

one is really worthy of God’s 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.

Vicai 8

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. Brown’s 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 men’s hearts. Also this journey of a conversion

experience was also a philosophical and psychological examination of one’s hell, which is

seeing what is in one’s 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 Brown’s 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

Vicai 9

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 God’s 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 Bible’s 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 man’s 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 today’s society, the theme of evil in man’s 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.

Vicai 10

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 man’s life, also to some

communities certain immoral actions seem normal. A Puritan punishing a “heretic” seems

just and good in another Puritan’s 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 person’s 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

Brown’s 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 Brown’s 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 Brown’s best choice was to suffer

alone until his death.

Vicai 11

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.

Vicai 12

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

Brown’s 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 it’s 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.

Vicai 13

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.