Nathaniel Hawthornes Young Goodman Browns Apocalypse Essay -- Young

Nathaniel Hawthornes Young Goodman Browns Apocalypse Most criticism and reflection of Nathaniel Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown centers on a swell versus evil theme. Critics also debate interpretations of the main characters consciousness is Brown awake or dreaming. What is certain is that he lives and dies in pain because his belief in his office isolates him from his community. It is also certain that Hawthornes interpretation of Browns mid-life crisis has ambiguity and leaves a reader with many different feelings ab come forward what and why certain things have happened. Hawthornes use of imageism in his allegorical tale Young Goodman Brown causes the main characters revelations about the sin within his community, his family and himself. Young Goodman Browns journey into the forest is best defined as a kind of general, indeterminate allegory, representing mans irrational drive to leave faith, home, and security temporarily behind, for whatever reason, and take a chance w ith one(more) errand onto the wilder shores of experience (Martin). Brown has a curiosity that kills his naive outlook on life and changes him until his death. He has a mission to go into the forest and meet the devil. A mission that he begins out of curiosity and a deep need to see if the teachings of his childhood, his religion, and his culture, have armed him sufficiently to look the devil in the face and return unscathed (Hodara 1). The symbol of the forest, late at night, can be interpreted as the untamed regions of Browns heart where the devil roams freely as he roams in the forest. The forest is the devils ... ...ism. Vol 3. Detriot Gale, 1989. Hawthorne, Nathaniel, The great Short Works of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Ed. Fredrick C. Crews. New York Barnes and Noble, Inc., 1992. Hawthorne, Nathaniel, Microsoft (R) Encarta. Microsoft Corporation. Funk & Wagnalls Corporation, 1994. Hodara, Alan. Some Thoughts On Young Goodman Brown. (26 Oct. 1996). Jones, Madison. Natha niel Hawthorne. Short Story Criticism. Vol 3. Detriot Gale, 1989. MaGill, Frank, ed. Critical Survery of Short Fiction. Englewood Cliffs, NJ Salam Press, 1981. Martin, Terence. Nathaniel Hawthorne. Short Story Criticism. Vol 3. Detriot Gale, 1989. Mikosh, Bert A., A View of Young Goodman Brown. (11-9-96). Segura, Gilberto. The Allegorical Goodman Brown. (11-9-96).