Nathaniel Hawthorne

“Young Goodman Brown”

Nathaniel Hawthorne 1804-1864

• Born in Salem, Massachusetts

• Puritan Background

• Ancestor of John Hathorne – one of the three judges in the Salem Witch Trials

Hawthorne’s Background

• Began writing after college

• Spent many years in seclusion – starving artist

• Held many jobs including writer, publisher, working at a custom house, and consul in England

His Themes in Writing

• Moral allegories

• The sinful man

• Hypocrisy• The Dark

side of Human Nature

• Religion in Nature

His Most Famous Works

• Novels– The Scarlet Letter: Dealt

with consequences of characters who violated the community’s imposed morality

• Short Stories– “The Minister’s Black Veil”– “Young Goodman Brown”

• One of the first American authors to explore the hidden motivations of his characters.

Who were the Puritans?

• Wanted a “pure” church– No candles– No Images– No stained glass windows

• Rejected the “showy” church of England

• Led very somber lives governed solely by a strict interpretation of the Bible

• No “nonsense” – dancing, gambling, drama, etc

Basic Beliefs of the Puritan Church

• Jesus Christ is the Son of God – died on the cross for all everyone’s sins

• The whole Bible is the word of God and it is to be followed to the letter.

• The belief that these ideas are fact and known as a person’s faith

Basic Beliefs of the Puritan Church

• Faith is what is necessary to get into heaven.

• If you don’t go to heaven you go to hell.

• Sins, as defined by the Bible, are to be avoided

• A catechism is a book that is used to teach basic principles of the church

The Infamous Puritans• The Salem

Witch Trials put the Puritans prominently in the history books

• Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible put it in Literature classes forever

And Now, Nathanial Hawthorne’s Short Story

“Young Goodman Brown”

Some Basics…

• Characters– Young

Goodman Brown

– His wife, Faith

– Mysterious man in the forest with a strange looking staff

Some Basics…

• Minor Character’s Notes…– Constable: person in law

enforcement– Deacon: position in church

held by congregation member

– Goody: abbr. of “goodwife”, female version of goodman

– Reverend: pastor– Sabbath: day of rest in the

Judo/Christian church – in this case, Sunday

YGB as an Allegory

• What is an allegory?–A story where everything is a symbol

–Used commonly to instruct, especially in religious matters

Allegory• An extended

metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative, are equated with the meanings that lie outside the narrative itself.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVtP-qc_jBU&feature=related

• Hennessey explanation (use for notes)