nathaniel hawthorne
DESCRIPTION
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. His Themes in Writing. Somber background of Puritan Life The sinful man Hypocrisy - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Nathaniel Hawthorne 1804-1864
• Born in Salem, Massachusetts
• Puritan Background
• Ancestor of John Hathorne – one of the three judges in the Salem Witch Trials
His Themes in Writing
• Somber background of Puritan Life– The sinful
man– Hypocrisy
• The Dark side of Human Nature– Religious in
Nature
His Most Famous Works
• Novels– The House of Seven Gables– The Scarlet Letter
• Short Stories– “The Minister’s Black Veil”– “Young Goodman Brown”
Who were the Puritans?
• Very strict: simple worship• Pure churches: no statues,
tinted windows, or music• Long hours in prayer
– Faith and knowledge of Bible more important than good works
• Clergy consists of men of equal rank: no women
• Deep belief in predestination- only the elect would go to heaven.
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
Some Basics…
• Characters– Young
Goodman Brown
– His wife, Faith
– Mysterious man in the forest with a strange looking staff
YGB as an Allegory
• What is an allegory?
– A story in which each element symbolizes something more
• Author’s main interest is the deeper, ulterior meaning
– Symbols are always related, attempting to convey deeper meaning
• Extended metaphor
• Can be defined as an extended metaphor or a series of symbols, but really can be distinguished from both. – It is a system of related comparisons, not one
comparison drawn out like an extended metaphor
• Usually a 1:1 correspondence b/t detail and meanings.
– It differs from symbolism• emphasizes the meanings of the images
– not the image itself
The Allegory of Young Goodman Brown – Basics • First some basics /
Common Symbols
• The Snake Satan – The Devil
• Why? – See Genesis Chapter 3
The Allegory of Young Goodman Brown – Basics
• Stars / Sky / Heavenly Bodies
• Heaven / Connection with God