Unit 13: Young Goodman Brown (Nathaniel Hawthorne(Nathaniel Hawthorne，1804-1864)1804-1864)outlineAbout the authorImportant worksWarm up questionsBackground InformationPlot summaryAnalysisCritical response and impactSymbols and imagesAbout the author-Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) (1804-1864)Born in 1804 in Salem, MassachusettsWriting centers on New EnglandMoral Allegories with a Puritan inspirationFictional Works are considered part of the Romantic Movements, or more specifically, Dark Romanticism.Inherent Evil and Sin of humanity.Believe in Determinism, a theory of Predestination.FAMILY HISTORY“Great-great grandfather, William Hathorne, ordered the whipping of Anne Coleman and four others in the street of Salem. Great grandfather, John Hathorne, was the magistrate presiding over the trial of the accused witches of Salem in 1692. IMPORTANT WORKSIMPORTANT WORKSShort Stories: Twice-Told Tales (1828) Mosses from an Old Manse (1846)Novels: Fanshawe(1828)* The Scarlet Letter(1850) Biography: The Life of Franklin Pierce(1852) Warming- up Questions:1. What do you know about Hawthorne?2. Is there sin or goodness when one is born?3. Is there sin in everyones heart?4. Do you have your own faith? What do you think is the use of a persons faith in his life?5. What do you like the story “Young Goodman Brown”? What is it about?Plot summaryThe story begins at dusk in Salem Village, Massachusetts as young Goodman Brown leaves Faith, his wife of three months, for some unknown errand in the forest. Faith pleads with her husband to stay with her, but he insists that the journey must be completed that night. In the forest he meets an older man, dressed in a similar manner and bearing a physical resemblance to himself. The man carries a black serpent-shaped staff. The two encounter Goody Cloyse, an older woman, whom Young Goodman had known as a boy and who had taught him catechism, in the woods. She complains about the need to walk and, evidently friendly with the stranger, accepts his snake staff and flies away to her destination.Other townspeople inhabit the woods that night, traveling in the same direction as Goodman Brown. When he hears his wifes voice in the trees, he calls out but is not answered. He then seems to fly through the forest, using a maple staff the stranger fashioned for him, arriving at a clearing at midnight to find all the townspeople assembled. At the ceremony carried out at a flame-lit rocky altar, the newest acolytes are brought forth Goodman Brown and Faith. They are the only two of the townspeople not yet initiated. Goodman Brown calls to heaven to resist and instantly the scene vanishes. Arriving back at his home in Salem the next morning, Goodman Brown is uncertain whether the previous nights events were real or a dream, but he is deeply shaken, and his belief he lives in a Christian community is distorted. He loses his faith in his wife, along with all of humanity. He lives his life an embittered and suspicious cynic, wary of everyone around him. The story concludes: And when he had lived long, and was borne to his grave. they carved no hopeful verse upon his tombstone, for his dying hour was gloom.AnalysisTh story could be divided into three parts. The first part shows Goodman Brown at his home in his village integrated in his society. The second part of the story is an extended dreamlike/nightmare sequence in the forest for a single night. The third part shows his return to society and to his home, yet he is so profoundly changed that in rejecting the greeting of his wife Faith, Hawthorne shows Goodman Brown has lost faith and rejected the tenets of his Puritan world during the course of the night.AnalysisYoung Goodman Brown is often characterized as an allegory about the recognition of evil and depravity as the nature of humanity.Much of Hawthornes fiction, such as The Scarlet Letter, is set in 17th-century colonial America, particularly Salem Village. To convey the setting, he used literary techniques such as specific diction, or colloquial expressions. Language of the period is used to enhance the setting. Hawthorne gives the characters specific names that depict abstract pure and wholesome beliefs, such as Young Goodman Brown and Faith. The characters names ultimately serve as a paradox in the conclusion of the story. The inclusion of this technique was to provide a definite contrast and irony. Hawthorne aims to critique the ideals of Puritan society and express his disdain for it, thus illustrating the difference between the appearance of those in society and their true identities.Critical response and impactHerman Melville:Young Goodman Brown was as deep as DanteHenry James called it a magnificent little romance.Edgar Allan Poe refers to Hawthornes short stories as the products of a truly imaginative intellect.Modern scholars and critics generally view the short story as an allegorical tale written to expose the contradictions in place concerning Puritan beliefs and societies.Other interpretations of the text including those who believe Hawthorne sympathizes with Puritan beliefs. Stephen King has referred to the story as one of the ten best stories written by an American. He calls it his favorite story by Hawthorne and cites it as an inspiration for his O. Henry Award-winning short story, The Man in the Black Suit.Critical response and impactCritical response and impact纳撒尼尔霍桑是美国十九世纪著名的浪漫主义作家。他一生致力于对人性的探索、挖掘与展示。他的创作思想是清教思想意识、超验主义哲学和神秘主义影响的结合。这种结合以及他所处的特定的文学历史时期决定了他在艺术描写中必然会超越具体的客观事物,深入幽渺莫测、难以名状、无法理清的内心世界,从而采用一种象征的、模糊的表现手法。他的著名短篇小说小伙子古德蒙布朗)(YoungGoodmanBorwn,以下简称布朗)就是这样一篇将深刻的主题思想与巧妙的表现手法结合在一起的佳作。这篇佳作以梦幻般的森林之旅向.我们展现了霍桑对人类罪恶本性和人类成长经历的哲学阐释。Answer the questions while reading:1. At the beginning, what is Brown going to do?2. what is the old man Brown met on the way?3. what is the old lady Brown met on the way?4. How do you interpret “My Faith is gone.” (p. 87)?5. Can you find the theme of the story on p.89?6. How has Brown changed after coming back home? Discussion:1. Retell the story.2. Do you have your own faith? What do you think is the use of a persons faith in his life?How do you explain the following symbols: Faith; Pink Ribbon; Goodman Brown; staff; forest?Symbols and images:Pink RibbonAs the “signifier” of “Faith”-youthful innocence and a cheerful outlook on life evilBut not the pure innocence that white would suggest sexPink=red + white tainted innocencethe fallen of ribbon the loss of faithStaffThe man who meets Brown in the forest appears to represent the devil; a symbol of the devil as a serpent.The Old Man/DevilThe Old Man/Devil“the second traveler was about 50 years old, apparently in the same rank of life as Goodman Brown, and bearing a considerable resemblance to him.”An embodiment of all of the worst parts of man.The forestAn symbol of forbidden knowledge, sin The deeper Brown moves into the forest, the more completely he becomes one with his “evil”.The title: goodman Brownreferencesreferences1.陈巍. 清教徒的想象力与1692年塞勒姆巫术恐慌霍桑的小布朗先生J .外国文学, 2007(1): 43-52. 2.任晓晋,程宝燕.林中的噩梦成长的厉程小伙子古德蒙,布朗新解J.外国文学研究，1998(4):25-28