Paper Sample on Young Goodman Brown and the Minister's Black Veil

“Young Goodman Brown” is a story written by American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1835 (Hawthorne, 2012). The main message of the story is the fight between good and evil. Hawthorne illustrates that there is hypocrisy in the American religion. Nathaniel Hawthorne has also written “The Minister's Black Veil," a story whose main theme is secret sin. These two stories compare in that they both have a symbol representing evil or sin and hypocrisy. In both stories, the main characters are associated with the church, with Young Goodman being a churchgoer and Hooper being a preacher. Both stories have a mood of mystery and darkness. “Young Goodman Brown” differs from “The Minister's Black Veil” in that the main character in the former maintains his faith and does not fall into evil. In contrast, the main character in the later falls into evil but later repents and keeps away from evil.

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The two stories compare in that the main characters are believers. Young Goodman was a churchgoer and a man of faith who believed that with God, nothing should harm them. “Say thy prayers, dear Faith, and go to bed at dusk, and no harm will come to thee” (Hawthorne, 2012). The main character in “The Minister's Black Veil” the main character, is Reverend Hooper. Unlike Young Goodman, who falls to the temptation of falling into evil, Hooper has kept his faith and stays away from evil, although when wearing the veil, the congregation assumes that he has sinned and looks like a ghost. “The black veil, though it covers only the preacher's face it makes him ghost mind-like from the head to the foot." In this story, the author explains how the church congregation is judgmental not only to the congregation but also to the preachers.

The second comparison between the two stories is the theme of evil or sin and hypocrisy. In "Young Goodman Brown," Hawthorne believes that the emphasis of the Puritans on public morality has an effect on people's faith. He believes that it has promoted hypocrisy as people fear that they will be judged; therefore, hide when doing something that contradicts the morals of society. He, for example, hides when he is going to the forest to meet the devil as he is more concerned about his faith than his personal decisions. This, however, changes when he learns that his grandfather and father are not as moral as he thought as they have also met the devil. "Come, devil! For to thee is this World given” (Hawthorne, 2012). In “The Minister’s Black Veil," also there is the theme of evil, sin, and hypocrisy as the congregation believes that the black veil signifies evil, and their preacher resembles a ghost. They also do not admit that they are sinners, and the veil might actually be a sign of their sins.

Among the literary devices used in both The Minister's Black Veil and The Young Goodman Brown is the use of symbolism by the writers to communicate the theme of the stories. Symbolism is used in Young Goodman Brown beginning in the name of Goodman's wife name named Faith, where the name symbolizes Goodman's lack of faith (Hawthorne, 2012). Symbolism is used in the story to represent how a lack of faith makes people face challenges in their lives. On the other hand, symbolism is also used in Minister Black Veil, where the symbolism is used in ways and practices of the people and the Puritans who misled the people to commit sins that later affected them (Hawthorne, 2012). Symbolism is used better in The Minister's Black Veil, where the main character's name is used to symbolize the weakness of her husband.

Other literary devices used in both The Young Goodman Brown and the ministers' black veil include imagery and literally devices that is used to make the readers picture the narrative of the stories. Goodman states that "there is no good on heart; and sin is but the name" which makes people think about the good and bad things about life and the world (Hawthorne, 2012). The imagery makes people know of good and evil things that they see and engage in their lives. Imagery isolates the theme from the characters by making people understand that it's not about the character but the message. Imagery is used in the minister's black veil through the encounters of the characters.

The two stories, the black minister veil and Young Goodman brown reflect the main issues that concern the people who are romanced according to different people's perspectives and sin. The morals of people influence their position on romance and sin. Hawthorne was mistaken at the Salem Witch trials tormented by morals. Goodman states that "my love and my faith of all nights in the year" to express the principles that guide him in all activities that he does (Hawthorne, 2012). Goodman was explaining the challenges and experiences he had in marriage. Romance and love are explained in the minister black veil through the character Elizabeth where the author states that "For a few moments she appeared lost in thought, considering, probably, what new methods might be tried to coax her lover from so dark a fantasy, which, was perhaps a symptom of mental disease (Hawthorne, 2012).”

References

Hawthorne, N. (2012). Young Goodman Brown and Other Short Stories. Courier Corporation.