Young Goodman Brown And The Life Of Nathaniel Hawthorne

5 Pages 1340 Words

In this short story “Young Goodman Brown,” Nathaniel Hawthorne creates an image of innocence compromised in the face of the evil of the world. The way the story is presented leaves a question open as to whether Young Goodman Brown’s experience was real or a vision. Nathaniel in this story does what he often does in his fiction novels; he juxtaposes light and dark, good and evil, and innocence and experience. Doing so, he leaves issues unresolved and that hints at the moral struggle in the world without truly resolving. As well as, raising the issues about human behavior. Hawthorne brought profound moral and psychological insight into his fiction as he explains the complexities of human motivation and action. Throughout this paper Hawthorne’s own life and Puritanical beliefs are exhibited in his novel “Young Goodman Brown.” It provides detailed biographical information on the author’s life and analyzes the faith and nature of his religious perspective.
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem Massachusetts on July 4, 1804. In 1808, when his father passed away, his family moved to Raymond, Maine. He grew up with great access to the classics of English Literature because he was injured for two years and couldn’t go outside. This provided Hawthorne with much solitude. In 1891, his mother sent him back to Salem to go to school. It was at this time that he began to write poetry. He also became a bookkeeper for his Uncle William. Hawthorne entered Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Massachusetts. In 1835, “Young Goodman Brown” was published, which was one of the early stories that he included in Twice-Told Tales. But Nathaniel is most famous for his novel “The Scarlet Letter.”
At the beginning of the story Goodman Brown is portrayed as a well respected and god fairing man. He is a very religious man, which is typical because he is a Puritan. There are many examples in the story of this conflict. Brown mou...