Young Goodman Brown (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne
- First Published: 1835
- Type of Work: Short story
- Genres: Short fiction, Bildungsroman, Allegory
- Subjects: Sin or Original sin, Guilt, Faith, Corruption, Devils or demons, Satan or Satanism
- Locales: Salem, MA
“Young Goodman Brown” is a perfect example of Hawthorne's favorite theme: that human nature is full of hidden wickedness. The young hero's journey in the story is symbolic of one's journey through life, in which each individual gradually loses his or her naïveté and innocence as a result of exposure to greed, lust, envy, perversion, and the other sins of humanity.
The crowning blow to Brown's naïve conception of the world comes when he discovers that his own meek and innocent wife, Faith, is one of the celebrants at the Walpurgis Night orgy. As is often the case,...
[The entire page is 705 words long]
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