Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown and Transcendentalism Essay

â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† and Transcendentalism A reading of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† indicates that the author adheres to some, but not all of the Transcendentalist beliefs of the nineteenth century, especially in its symbolism and in its emphasis on personal responsibility. Morse Peckham in â€Å"The Development of Hawthorne’s Romanticism†explains some aspects of Hawthorne’s Transcendentalist beliefs: But another theme begins to appear, a matter which now involved Hawthorne in the gravest difficulties, the theme of American simplification, that notion that was so common among American Romantic Transcendentalists; not only is world redemption possible, but America is the predestined†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Young Goodman Brown† takes place in Salem, Massachusetts. Salem village: It was â€Å"the center of the witchcraft delusion, in the witching times of 1692, and it shows the populace of Salem Village, those chief in authority as well as obscure young citizens like Brown, enticed by fiendish shapes into the frightful solitude of superstitious fear† (Abel 133). In Young Goodman Brown Goodman Brown is a Puritan husband who lets his individualistic impulses lead him into a personal encounter with the devil himself. Goodman Brown, according to Levy, â€Å"is Everyman† (117). Fogle writes that he is â€Å"a naive young man who accepts both society in general and his fellow men as individuals at their own valuation† (15). The tale begins when Brown is starting to set out into the woods for a secret meeting. Faith, Browns wife, asks him not to go because she would be lonely and troubled by dreams. Goodman Brown responds that this one night I must tarry away from thee. When he says his love and his Faith, he is talking to his wife, but he is also talking of his faith in God. Faith wears pink ribbons on her cap. They are symbols, â€Å"an explicit link between two conceptions of Faith, connecting sweet little Faith of the village with the woman who stands at the Devil’s baptismal font† (Levy 123); â€Å"a badge of feminine innocence† (Abel 130); â€Å"they represent theShow MoreRelated Transcendentalism and Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown Essay3499 Words   |  14 PagesTranscendentalism and â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† manifests characteristics of the onetime Transcendentalist beliefs of its author in its abundance of symbolism and in its emphasis on individuality and personal responsibility.    Let us briefly review the life of the author up to and including his brief acceptance of Transcendentalism. Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, to a family that had been prominent in the area since colonialRead MoreAn Analysis Of Edgar Allan Poe And Ralph Waldo Emerson1090 Words   |  5 Pagesas the â€Å"most significant fiction writer of the antebellum period† (P.369). One of the unique characteristics of Hawthorne’s literary work was his use of multiple and conflicting interpretations. Hawthorne forces his readers to make their own interpretations and demonstrates how interpretation is a form of self-expression (P.370). In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s text â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† Hawthorne uses a variety of techniques that separate him from English writers. Hawthorne leaves many clues orRead MoreAnalysis Of Hawthorne s Young Goodman Brown 2018 Words   |  9 Pagesassumed over Hawthorne’s, typically considered allegorical, â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† that critics have come to a deadlock. 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