Puritan Depravity and Distrust in Hawthornes Young...

Puritan Depravity and Distrust in Young Goodman Brown Puritan doctrine taught that all men are totally depraved and require constant self-examination to see that they are sinners and unworthy of Gods Grace. Because man had broken the Covenant of Works when Adam had eaten from the Tree of Knowledge, God offered a new covenant to Abrahams people which held that election to Heaven was merely a possibility. In the Puritan religion, believers dutifully recognized the negative aspects of their humanity rather than the gifts they possessed. This shadow of distrust would have a direct influence on early American New England and on many of its historians and writers, one of which was Nathaniel Hawthorne. The influence of†¦show more content†¦Hawthorne sets Young Goodman Brown into a context of Puritan rigidity and self-doubt to allow his contemporary readers to see the consequences of such a system of belief. Hawthornes tale places the newly wed Puritan Brown upon the road to what may or may not be a true conversion experience. The conversion experience - a sudden realization brought about by divine intervention, a vision, or perhaps a dream - easily translates into the dream allegory of Hawthornes work and allows the author to use Puritan doctrine and the history of Salem to argue the merits and consequences of such a belief. Major issues and themes of Puritanism must have been researched and delicately placed into Hawthornes discussion of not only past consequences of Puritan zeal but also on the contemporary religious issue of his own time, the Second Great Awakening. Much like the nighttime witches Sabbath that awaits Goodman Brown, the tent revivals of the 1820s and 1830s could be seen by the questioning Hawthorne as another attempt by the church to sway its membership towards total obedience and faith. The importance placed on this event by Goodman Brown shows the importance plac ed on the conversion experienceShow MoreRelated Young Goodman Brown VS. Paul Essay1045 Words   |  5 Pages Young Goodman Brown vs. Paul nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;After studying the short stories of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† and Willa Cather’s â€Å"Paul’s Case†, I began to see many similarities within the two stories. Both of the main characters in each story have characteristics that could be looked at as being alike, but after analyzing each character I started to find that although alike in some aspects, these two characters are very different from one another. At first I noticedRead MoreEssay on Women in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown1724 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"Young Goodman Brown† and Women  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   What are the attitudes of the young Puritan husband Goodman Brown toward women, of the author toward women, of   other characters in the story toward women? This essay intends to answer that question.    Randall Stewart in â€Å"Hawthorne’s Female Characters† states that there are three types of female characters in Hawthorne’s writings: (1) â€Å"the wholesome New England girl, bright, sensible and self-reliant;† (2) â€Å"the frail, sylph-like creature, easilyRead More Alienation and Moral Dilemma as Portrayed by Nathaniel Hawthorne1869 Words   |  8 PagesSalem, Massachusetts in 1804 during Puritan times. He created many stories that reflect his life experiences growing up as a Puritan. He writes stories that end with a moral that was learned through the struggles of the characters. These characters are almost always faced with a dilemma where they must choose what is right versus what is wrong. Another common theme in his writing is alienation. These concepts can be found in the stories â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† â€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil,† and â€Å"The