1、Young Goodman BrownNathaniel Hawthorne Born in 1804 in Salem,Massachusetts.Attended Bowdoin College in 1821.Worked at Boston Custom House and Joined Brook Farm,a transcendentalist community.Died in 1864.American novelist and short story writer.Best known works include novels The Scarlet Letter,The H
2、ouse of Seven Gables,short stories collection Twice-Told Tales.Hawthorne often depicts evil at the core of human life.Goodman Brown leaves his wife Faith and goes on a journey at sunset,though Faith pleads him to stay.Goodman Brown meets his fellow-traveler in the forest who carries a serpent staff
3、with him.They move futhur toward the forest.They meet the pious dame Goody Cloyse,whom Goodman Brown knows in his community.Goodman Brown refuses to go furthur.Then he notices the minister and Deacon Gookin who are also on their way to the meeting tonight.Goodman Brown recognizes the pink ribbon of
4、his wife under black clouds.Maddened with despair,he sets forth again.Goodman Brown comes to the devils meeting.He and Faith are led to the center.At the moment they are going to be baptized into the worship,he shouts to his wife to resist the wicked.Goodman Brown seems to wake up from a dream.He go
5、es back to his village,but he has lost faith in all community members and dies a gloomy man.Symbolism in the aspect of plot:1)Leaving Faith behind:loses faith in ones heart.2)The journey to the forest:a journey to evil.3)Goodman Browns meeting with“The Devil”:the learning of ones evil side.4)The dev
6、ils meeting:the darker aspect of humanity.Symbolism in the aspect of characters:Faith:a belief in God.Goodman:an average man who considers himself“good.”The devil:the temptation.Goody Cloyse,the minister and Deacon Gookin:hypocritical Puritans.Symbolism in the aspect of theme:Goodman Browns evil jou
7、rney symbolizes a discovery of mans tendency towards evil.Setting:Time:after sunset,at night.Place:Salem village,haunted forest.The night time and the forest make a perfect combination for mystery and evil.The atmosphere created by the setting:gloomy,horrible,evil,dreamy.“.darkened by all the gloomi
8、est trees of the forest”“black mass of cloud”“the murmur of the old forest”“frightful soundsthe creaking of the trees,the howling of wild beasts,and the yell of Indians”Function of setting in the story:1)the stage for the story:a dark,haunted forest.2)as mirroring the worlds darkness and evil.1)Good
9、man Brown:an average good man who loses faith and turns to evil.Goodman Browns insistence to go to forest,as well as his suspicion of the village at the end suggests a mans discovery of the darker aspect of humanity.2)Faith:seems like a pure,good wife,while betrayals her husband and attends the evil
10、 meeting.She might be faithless and disloyal.3)The devil:allures Goodman Brown to evil.the true evil and cunning character.4)Goody Cloyse:teaches catechism while attends the evil meeting.Hypocritical Puritans 5)The minister and Deacon Gookin:seems like pious Puritans,while attending the evil meeting
11、 Hypocritical Puritans Evil is in the heart of people.All people have tendency towards evil.Once he loses faith,he joins the devils party.Keys to the Questions In American history,Salem Village is most widely known for 1692 Salem witch trails.At Salem witch trails,many people accused of witchcraft w
12、ere prosecuted by Puritans.Salem Village became the symbol of evil.It could suggest for the hero of the story the possibility of evil from the beginning.The fellow traveler symbolizes the darker,evil side of Goodman Brown.Everyone has a darker,evil self inside him.The similarity shows the kinship be
13、tween them.Evil comes down from generation to generation.Faith:faith,belief in God.Goodman:an average man who considers himself good.The forest:the dark,mysterious world.The staff:temptation that leads to evil.The congregation in the forest:all people who join the devil.Faith is very important in pe
14、oples life.1)Goodman Brown parts with his wife Faith and goes for the evil journey.2)On his way to the forest,Goodman Brown regrets to not stay with Faith that night.3)After Goodman Brown comes back to Salem Village he suspects everyone in the village including his wife Faith and leads a depressed l
15、ife.Yes.The meaning of the story will be different.If it is a dream,the central concern will not relate to peoples dark side,but to Goodman Browns suspicion without any proof.Goodman Browns gloom at the end is because his recognization of evil.If it is a dream,the reason of his gloom loses its weight.The End
