Analysis of Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown Essay -- Young Goodman Bro

Analysis of Young Goodman Brown "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathanial Hawthorne is a short story that is very interesting, as well as entertaining. This essay will first provide a brief summary of the story, followed by an analysis of the importance of symbolism. The nature of evil will then be discussed as it relates to the control of the mind of a once naive and innocent goodman Brown. The climax of the story will be analyzed and the evil within this passage will be discussed and related to the final downfall of goodman Brown. As "Young Goodman Brown" begins, we are introduced to goodman Brown and his wife Faith as they bid farewell to one another on the streets of Salem village. It is sunset and goodman Brown is setting off on a journey to run a secret errand. We later find out that he is planning on meeting Satan and sacrificing his soul to pure evil. Throughout the story, goodman Brown is tormented by the idea of evil and he is doubtful of weather or not he should continue on his journey. He is finally persuaded, however, when he hears Faith turn herself over to Satan. Toward the end of the story we find out that this whole excursion may have been a dream, but even so, goodman Brown was so impacted by it that he will never recover to live a peaceful, happy life. He will die a miserable death, with no hopeful verse carved upon his tomb, for as we are told in the final line of the story, `his dying hour was gloom'(pg.585). Symbolism plays an important role in this story, as it does in many of Hawthornes stories. First of all, the fact that goodman Brown's wife is named Faithis... ...good and evil as he has been throughout the story, but here it is different because it is the moment of truth in which he would either choose good over evil or evil over good. We never know which he ended up choosing, but it appears that he chose evil because for the rest of his life, he can see no good in anything or anybody. Evil rules his existence as he is haunted by guilt that will not let him enjoy the beautiful things in this world. This choice signifies goodman Brown's final downfall into the arms of evil, as he will be destined to live a life of misery. No good will ever be seen, heard, or understood by goodman Brown again, for he only sees the evil in this world. As we are told in the final passage of this story, when goodman Brown finally leaves this world, "they carved not a hopeful verse upon his tombstone; for his final hour was gloom."(pg.585) Analysis of Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown Essay -- Young Goodman Bro Analysis of Young Goodman Brown "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathanial Hawthorne is a short story that is very interesting, as well as entertaining. This essay will first provide a brief summary of the story, followed by an analysis of the importance of symbolism. The nature of evil will then be discussed as it relates to the control of the mind of a once naive and innocent goodman Brown. The climax of the story will be analyzed and the evil within this passage will be discussed and related to the final downfall of goodman Brown. As "Young Goodman Brown" begins, we are introduced to goodman Brown and his wife Faith as they bid farewell to one another on the streets of Salem village. It is sunset and goodman Brown is setting off on a journey to run a secret errand. We later find out that he is planning on meeting Satan and sacrificing his soul to pure evil. Throughout the story, goodman Brown is tormented by the idea of evil and he is doubtful of weather or not he should continue on his journey. He is finally persuaded, however, when he hears Faith turn herself over to Satan. Toward the end of the story we find out that this whole excursion may have been a dream, but even so, goodman Brown was so impacted by it that he will never recover to live a peaceful, happy life. He will die a miserable death, with no hopeful verse carved upon his tomb, for as we are told in the final line of the story, `his dying hour was gloom'(pg.585). Symbolism plays an important role in this story, as it does in many of Hawthornes stories. First of all, the fact that goodman Brown's wife is named Faithis... ...good and evil as he has been throughout the story, but here it is different because it is the moment of truth in which he would either choose good over evil or evil over good. We never know which he ended up choosing, but it appears that he chose evil because for the rest of his life, he can see no good in anything or anybody. Evil rules his existence as he is haunted by guilt that will not let him enjoy the beautiful things in this world. This choice signifies goodman Brown's final downfall into the arms of evil, as he will be destined to live a life of misery. No good will ever be seen, heard, or understood by goodman Brown again, for he only sees the evil in this world. As we are told in the final passage of this story, when goodman Brown finally leaves this world, "they carved not a hopeful verse upon his tombstone; for his final hour was gloom."(pg.585)

A drama in play format Essay

Gerald is not a member of the Birling family but he is still caught in their ‘web of sin’. He found Eva in a bar where he was hoping to pick up a mistress; he found her in the clutches of Alderman Megarty. Alderman was harassing Eva. When Gerald, like her knight in shining armour, made Alderman go away, they started to talk and became friends and eventually lovers. This all happened during the time that Sheila and Gerald were lovers. This is the largest part of the immoral act committed by Gerald, which was in fact not against Eva but against Shelia. Eventually he decided that their relationship had to end so he gave her some money and they went their separate ways. It is my belief that for a time Gerald and Eva were in love, as when it sinks in that she is dead he says, page 35: ‘Sorry – I – well, I’ve suddenly realised – taken it in properly – that she’s dead. ‘ Gerald was the only member of the group to show some love and compassion to Eva. Later, Gerald appears to be indifferent to the death of Eva especially after the inspector has left and he believes it was all a hoax. Indifference is also shown to the fact that he sinned. Mrs Birling denied Eva benefits from a charity of which she was the chairman. This was for several reasons, but the main one was the fact that Eva fabricated a name when it was her turn to be interviewed by the charity’s committee. Her name of choice was Mrs Birling, this was because it was Eric who had made her pregnant, and the real Mrs Birling obviously did not know this fact, and seemed to think that Eva was personally insulting her. Eva therefore received no benefits. This was a highly immoral act, as the members of the committee are not meant to be prejudiced towards any appeal. Mrs Birling thought that what she did was acceptable because Eva had lied. However, it was in fact not a lie as it was Eric’s child, also a Mr Birling, and he did propose to marry her but she had refused, as she knew it would not work. Eric was in a bar one night and he got talking to Eva, he also got drunk. He then walked Eva home and forced himself upon her, page 52: ‘Well, I was in that state when a chap easily turns nasty’. After she told him she was pregnant he began to steal money from his father’s business to help her. This was the only unintentional act of cruelty to happen to Eva, as all the others were purposeful acts of cruelty. He was not cruel to her but still he brought her suffering. He was another member of the group actually affected by the events. As he seems to have been changed for the better by the death of Eva. The Inspector’s name is Goole. Pronounced the same as the ghost, or ghoul. This makes me think that he is a ghost or a spectre of some kind, sent to the Birling family to show them the errors of their ways. A lot like the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future from Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’. He appears to know about Eva’s death before it has even happened: perhaps he has some kind of sixth sense. He says towards the end of the third act, page 54: ‘And my trouble is – that I haven’t much time. ‘ Is this because he knows the real police will soon call the house to ask their questions? We know in retrospect that at this point there is no dead body at the mortuary, because Gerald Croft rings the mortuary to ascertain this soon after Goole has left. I do not believe that Inspector Goole is a real police inspector. His mannerisms are unlike those of a real police officer, although he does refuse a drink at the beginning, page 11: ‘No thank you, Mr Birling. I’m on duty. ‘ I think he says this because he is acting the role of a policeman. He becomes too emotionally involved in the situation; a real policeman would keep the questioning on an official level. For example, he says to Mr Birling, page 46: ‘Don’t stammer and yammer at me again, man. I’m losing all patience with you people. ‘ This story is told as a drama in play format. The end of each of the three acts, including the final one, is completed with a moment of suspense. The audience is left anticipating the next act, wondering what will happen. The audience also become emotionally attached to the characters and want to know whether Sheila and Gerald will remain engaged, they want to know what the Birlings will do with Eric, and will there be a public scandal? They are drawn in to the rights and wrongs of the characters’ actions, and they pass judgement upon Gerald and Eric’s behaviour, Mrs Birling’s snobbery, Mr Birling’s self righteousness. The audience listens to the moral of the story, that we are individuals in a society, who should look after each other, and not be merely out for what we can get. The final few words of the play are unexpected. We have had the feeling that the Inspector is not all he seems, but now that the real police (presumably) have telephoned, things become clearer. I wanted to see a continuation of the play, with real events, real police, and see how much the characters changed when faced with the information again. No doubt Sheila and Eric would approach the situation differently, they seem to have learned a lesson from events. On page 70, Sheila says: ‘ Everything we said had happened really had happened. If it didn’t end tragically, then that’s lucky for us. But it might have done. ‘ and on page 71: ‘You’re pretending everything’s just as it was before’. She and Eric have moved on from their original viewpoints, and this gives us hope for the future, it is to be hoped that they would not behave so badly again in their future relationships with people. Unfortunately, we are unable to know the real ending.

Mass Media And Its Impact On Society - 935 Words

Option two Mass media has evolved tremendously in the last century and even the last few years it has changed. Each type of mass media however functions differently in society. For example, one mass media platform is newspapers. Newspapers were the first mass news media, beginning in 1692 till 1920. When newspapers first started out, the government controlled the content that newspapers produced. This impacted significantly how this society shaped itself, and also what people thought. That quickly dissolved when newer technology evolved. In the 19th century larger audiences were able to be reached, helping people become more informed. By the 20th Century newspapers were the only source for politics culture and social issues. During this time was also when yellow journalism developed. Which created a new form of dramatized and at times untrue news that people believed in or simply bought into. Although, in 1950s television was introduced which contributed to the declining of newspa per and how society receive news. Nowadays most large corporations own newspapers but they are still losing readers showing how greatly the impact of other forms of mass media are. Another platform of mass media that has impacted society, is Television. Certain groups were afraid that television would influence the nations values. To put things into perspective there are about 1,600 television stations that operate in the United States alone. Television took over radio, however the firstShow MoreRelatedMass Media And Its Impact On Society1719 Words   |  7 PagesIn today’s world society believes that mass media plays a key role in shaping and communicating our culture. Mass Media is defined as a technological advancement of communication. People receive information about the world through mass media and it helps shape people’s beliefs, values, perception, and behavior. 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