The Powerful Influences Of Evil In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

Words: 460
Pages: 2
Open Document
Many people have fallen to the powerful influences of evil. Even the most upright, holy person could fall victim. In the short story Young Goodman Brown, the use of symbolism gives emphasis to this point. Goodman Brown, like many before him, has fallen victim to the influential forces of evil. The clouds that hung over heaven, the serpent like staff, and the forest are all used as symbolic influences in this short story to show Goodman Brown's loss of faith. Clouded thinking often causes a person to make irrational decisions. This concept is portrayed in the short story when the clouds cover Goodman Browns view of heaven. The text says the cloud was black in color, perhaps symbolizing that evil is clouding his mind. Before the cloud has even
Show More

Related Documents: The Powerful Influences Of Evil In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

Immigration: Nathaniel Hawthorne Essays

Jose Torres Instructor Cox ENGL 1302 13 November 2013 Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”: Good vs. Evil Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the most astounding writers of early American short fiction. This author “also wrote some of the finest short fiction in American literature” (Werlock, par. 1). One of his famous short stories is called “Young Goodman Brown”. This story first appeared in print in 1835 (Ellis, par. 28). The story takes place in the Puritan time period in the seventeenth…

Words 1803 - Pages 8