Analysis of Young Goodman Brown Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Analysis of Young Goodman Brown - Essay ExampleHawthorne skillfully uses irony, the photograph of madness, and symbolism, to heighten the effect of his story. Young Goodman Brown, is replete with irony. This irony is most obvious in Hawthornes characterizations of the people in his story. The author peoples his narrative with Puritans, whose outbound words and behavior contradict their inner motives and covert actions. Young Goodman Brown himself is the foremost example of this. The relay station deliberately sets out on his rendezvous with the D annoyance. He is eager to savor the evil pleasures that await him, and makes haste on his present evil purpose (Hawthorne, 8). He makes several empty protestations to the Devil, and decl ares his intentions to terminate his evil quest. However, he does not turn back it is only talk Too far Too far exclaimed the goodman, unconsciously resuming his walk (Hawthorne, 17). He remains conscious of the fineable purpose that had brought him thit her (Hawthorne, 41), but continues to travel the path to perdition. Goody Cloyse, wears the guise of the pious and exemplary dame, who had taught him his catechism in youth, (Hawthorne, 26) but is a witch, complete with broomstick and evil incantations. Hawthornes irony makes him suggest, tongue-in-cheek, that her muttering is a prayer, doubtless (29). The supposedly holy minster, and Good old Deacon Gookin (Hawthorne, 61), are equally given to vice downstairs the facade of saintliness. Hawthorne paints all Puritan society with its grave, reputable, and pious people, these elders of the church, these chaste dames and dewy virgins (57) in vivid colors of sin and dissolution. Even the hymn sung at the satanic gathering is cloaked in the slow and mournful strain, such as the pious love, but joined to words which expressed all that our disposition can conceive of sin, and darkly hinted at far more (Hawthorne, 59). This pervading irony makes the reader acutely conscious of the incongru ity between the authors depiction of his characters, and the impression they create as the narrative progresses. This irony is further strengthened by the calm ending of the story in the town, with the characters again displaying their saintly demeanors. Hawthornes use of irony is very effective in highlighting the hypocrisy of Puritan life. Hawthorne paints the character of young Goodman Brown with a bold touch of madness. The protagonists ring of defenses against the temptations of the Devil tumble down in quick succession his forbears, a race of honest men and good Christians since the days of the martyrs (Hawthorne, 17) are close acquaintances of the devil the dignitaries of New England, who Goodman Brown thinks are a people of prayer, and good works to boot, and abide no such wickedness Hawthorne, 19) are revealed to be sinners the pious trio of Goody Cloyse, the minster and Deacon Gookin are exposed in their true colors of wickedness. Finally, when his belief in his wife, Fait h, is demolished, Goodman Browns moral foundations crumble, and he abandons himself to despair and madness. The author uses vivid imagery to describe this development. The paragraph depicting young Goodman Brow