美国文学期末作业---好人布朗

1、精选优质文档-倾情为你奉上Young Goodman Brown is one of the best short fictions written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1835. It tells us a story that Young Goodman Brown, a religious element, left his wife Faith and ventured deep into the forest to attend the assembly of evil in order to satisfy his curiosity. Howeve

2、r, as an eyewitness of the congregation, both sinners and saints and including his faithful wife Faith had converted the devil, young Goodman Brown broke down and became a zombie. Owing to the closeness of short stories and the features of Hawthornes novels (symbolism and indirectness), only when we

3、 do deep analysis on it, the whole world of the story can be stretched out. And this paper analyses the inner meaning of some words and phrases of Young Goodman Brown from three aspects: Firstly, whats the inner meaning of some words in this story. Secondly, why Hawthorne wrote this story, which inc

4、luding the satire at politics, society, racial discrimination and the introspection on Salem Witch Trials. Thirdly, how to see the good and evil.Whats the inner meaning of some words in Young Goodman Brown?Salem: Hawthornes hometown. It was where the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 happened. It means a c

5、ity of peace. It is the latter part of Jerusalem, which shows the strong belief in Christianism of early colonistYoung: Goodman Brown was in a young age. He just established his faith of God and just married with Faith.He has the curiosity to learn about the world.Goodman: Good man, good-hearted per

6、son. It is a given name, which was given by families rather than born with. Irony. Brown is not actually a good man for he cheated on his wife (my journey is forth and back again), himself (felt himself justified in making more haste on his present evil purpose), the devil (they never spoke theses m

7、atters) and also Goody Cloyse (cut through the woods until left her behind).Brown: a common last name. average person, everyman, every man.brown is a color that generated by mixing black, red and white. It also reflects that Brown is not totally a sinner nor a saint.Brown is a last name passed down

8、from generation to generation which cannot be changed and it also reflects that everyone has the original sin.Something tires somebody. It indicates the death of Brown.Faith: Strong religious belief in GodLoyal to love.Purity of human nature.Goodmans wife and also a part of Goodmans belief.Pink ribb

9、ons:Faith wearing a pink ribbons shows that she was a young three-month newly bridePink is red and white, so its not pure, which reflects that Faith was not faithful actually and she is an angel with sin.Sunrise/night: Nature cycle of day and night reflects the changes of human being .sunrise-sunset

10、, day-night, goodevil, converts-apostates.Forest: The trees block out the sun, making people depressed and afraid. Forest represent freedom and growth of youth. The different views that the Puritanism and the transcendentalism towards nature.Fellow-traveler:The devil who persuaded Brown to give up h

11、is belief.It was Browns id according to Freuds theory about id, ego and superego. Primitive desires and instincts of Brown was materialized into this certain image.The staff which looks like a serpent:devil in the shape of staff/serpentIt is a staff can display the miraculous signs and casing disast

12、er just like Moses one. Why Hawthorne wrote this story?With the rapid development of science and technology and various kind of rights movement, some political and moral problems of capitalism and puri used to be hidden has come to light and it also forced us to re-examine the world and ourselves.Sa

13、tire at political: Devil said that the selectmen, the majority of Great and General court, board of the province and the governors work for his interests in the novel. It means that when politician work for their own interests rather than the public interests, they are the devils.Satire at social: s

14、ons murder their fathers for heritage, wives kill their husband in order to marry lover, mothers buried the other mans child and the clergies molested their households. People do baldly everything as they want despite of laws and moral to meet all their private demand.Satire at discrimination: It is

15、 apparently that Goodman Brown were greatly influenced by his father. Goodmans father set fire to an Indian village in King Philipss War and his son looked down upon the Indians (devilish Indians/Indian powwow). British sailed across the Atlantic and landed at New England in the middle of 17 century

16、 and finally settled down with the help with the original inhabitants-the Indians. However, the development of colonists infringed the Indians interests and leaded to the battle for territory. The people whom the colonists should show their gratitude to were massacred and those returned evil for goo

17、d hasnt be punished.The introspection on Salem Witch Trials: Some details of the novel improves that it is also an introspection of Salem Witch Trials .The two wizards with broomstick in the novel, Goody Clyce and Goody Corey, were named after the two poor hanged villagers Sara Clyce and Giles Corey

18、. The Salem Witch Trials began with the unexplained disease of local ministers children in 1692 and ended in1693, during the year more than two hundred innocent villagers were sent to jail and more than 20 of them were sentenced to hang. The kind and diligent early Puritans who immigrant to New Engl

19、and in order to escaping from the suppression of heresy in England then also became the devil who believing in the rigid Puritanism and killing the “heresy” with an appearance of angel because of the double characters comes from the destruction of human nature. Hawthornes ancestor, William Hathorne,

20、 once using corporal punishment on heretic to forced her to give up original belief (Goodman grandfather lashed a Quaker woman)and John Hathorne was one of the judges who sentenced more than twenty innocent people to hang during the Salem Witch Trials! Hawthorne felt so shameful that he changed his

21、last name “Hathorne” to “Hawthorne” to show his difference from his ancestors.How to see the good and evil?Hawthorne holds the belief that man born with sin and so do I.According to Bible, God made the first man Adam and then made the first woman Eve by one of Adams ribs. They were settled in the Ga

22、rden of Eden and were warned that eating the apples from Tree Of Knowledge of Good and Evil is forbidden. Nevertheless, Satan changed into a serpent and persuaded Eve to eat the apple from the Forbidden Tree. As a result, Both Adam and Eve were drove out of Eden for they disobeyed the command of God

23、 and ate that apple. According to Young Goodman Brown, Goodman Brown and his wife Faith (who is also a part of Goodman as spiritual forces) were living in the city of peace (Salem). The devil with a staff which bore the likeness of a wriggle serpent (devil) lured Goodman Brown as well as Faith to th

24、e forest and join into the assembly of evil. The assembly destroyed their pure faith and neither of them can go to Heaven. Human were born with greed and ignorance, so they always do the same wrong things as their ancestors and maybe thats what original sin is. As the original sin cannot be avoided and life is not an either-or thing, we should fully understand what sin is and accept the imperfect of ourselves and others, being kind rather than