Research Paper on "Young Goodman Brown and Things Fall Apart"

Research Paper 7 pages (2826 words) Sources: 6

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Note the protagonist is 'Young Good Man', and his wife is 'Faith'. When the story begins, Young Good Man has Faith.

When he goes to the forest, events begin to become strange, and the novel enters the fantasy realm, with strange look-alike characters, and even witches' brooms to ride. Young Good Man ends up in a clearing where a 'witches' sabbath' is about to take place. He recognizes everyone there as townspeople, friends, and neighbors, and then -- in horror -- realizes he and his wife Faith are to be initiated into the 'coven'. At this point, Young Good Man calls upon Faith -- not his wife -- but his religious beliefs -- and is magically transported home to his own bed. When he awakens he doesn't know if it was a true event, or a nightmare (Fogel 16), but he is forever changed. First, despite the fact that his call for help was successful, and he was 'rescued', Young Good Man does not have a renewal of faith, or an increase in his religious certainty, or in any way seem to appreciate that he has been rescued from participation in that which he deemed to be 'evil'. There is not only no gratitude of any sort, but it is obvious also that he was a coward, as he only sought his own personal rescue and did not rescue his wife Faith. In not rescuing Faith, it appears that Young Good Man's personal faith was also lost.

A key and obvious surface interpretation is that Young Good Man's trust is wholly and completely shaken if not devastated and wholly destroyed. He no longer believes in his surrounding society, his wife, friends, neighbors, acquaintances, and other townspeople, as being 'good' or Christian, or even as living according to their Puritan tenets. Ezghoul & Zuraika say that Hawthorne wanted the reader to view sin and its reality. Specific Comparison of the Two Novels

In Hawthorne's work, the protagonist begins with Christian faith, and he calls upon that faith to rescue him when he realizes that the events in the forest are contrary to his Christian beliefs. Although he is rescued, upon awakening, he is unsure whether the previous night's events were 'real' or a 'dream'. As a consequence, and in particular because he heard his own wife's voice, he loses his faith, not only in his wife, but in all of the townspeople who were once friends and companions. Although he was 'rescued by faith', he no longer finds any support in this and becomes negative and suspicious, cynical and uncaring about religion and about everyone around him. He believes that he has learned that those around him are all hypocrites.

In Achebe's work, the protagonist begins with Igbo faith, although in small ways he does not wholly follow and/or adhere to the traditions, for example beating his wife during the 'time of peace'. Okonkwo is shown to be a man obsessed with masculinity, in part because his own father was viewed as weak, and many of his actions derive from this perspective of Okonkowo's. His need to be 'masculine' leads him to participate in the sacrifice of his own foster son, even though warned against this action. Okonkwo is exiled for a long period, and comes back to find that the work of Christian missionaries has considerably altered his village and peoples. He attempts to lead a revolt against the Westerners, which fails, and he commits suicide, an action totally against tribal customs.

In both cases, Goodman Brown and Okonkwo attempt to adhere to their original faith despite witnessing or being exposed to contrary influences. Neither is set up as a 'perfect' individual; both are flawed humans. In both cases, the end result is disillusionment and sorrow. Whereas Goodman Brown called upon 'higher powers' and was rescued, this 'miracle' of sorts does not instill in him any positive change as he cannot forget that his own wife as well as friends, neighbors, and other townspeople were involved in what he perceives as iniquity. Similarly, Okonkwo sees that his own peoples have turned from their faith towards Christianity, which he views as being wrong.

As a Westerner, it is hard to back off and describe Christianity as a negative factor for the Igbo tribe, which routinely took captives and killed them, including the 'foster-son' whom Okonkwo had raised. Okonkwo views killing the boy as a necessity for his faith, although he should not have personally participated. However, from the purview of literary criticism, both novelists depict the crises of spirituality undergone by an individual, and the effects upon their inner lives. In both cases the protagonists do not succeed in any spiritual rebirth and/or renaissance of the spirit.

Conclusion

Efforts are made by Hawthorne in 'Young Goodman Brown' to show the readers different views of Puritanism. He shows it as an out-dated ideology. Hawthorne suggests that there is a need to update and evolve Puritanism, and by implication any faith, so that it can cope up with the realities of the world. From the perspective of 2015, 'accepting others' without judgment has not only become a social religion, but may also be the 'religion' of this world today. From this perspective, the modern world is one where liberal thinking is not just something that helps in neutralizing ideology, interests and political thoughts, but is also a factor that has an impact on the attitude(s) of people with regards to religious issues (Ezghoul & Zuraika).

The contrasts of Achebe's novel are far more difficult to rationalize. On the one hand there is a clear and nearly unexpurgated depiction of a very different way of life from the perspective of Westerner's. Okonkwo has several wives, he participates in Igbo-required ritual sacrifices, including one of the 'foster son' he helped to raise. Much of what we see depicted of Igbo life and traditions is alien and unconscionable, so that it is very difficult to accept that Christianity's influence, and the loss of tribal traditions was a 'bad' thing. Yet simultaneously, there is a realistic and beautiful description of a culture that has now vanished, and a way of life in which people were happy, even if in a different manner from what we are accustomed to. Okonkwo witnesses the disintegration of his tribe's traditions as they 'buy into' the Western purview. He attempts to rally his fellow tribesmen to fight, but fails.

A key distinction between Goodman Brown and Okonkwo is that the latter actually fights to preserve his former traditions, whereas Goodman Brown, even though miraculously protected, makes no effort to change the world around him. Each ends up as a tragic figure, the one disillusioned and cynical, the other dying by suicide.

Works cited

Achebe, Chinua, Things Fall Apart. First Anchor Books Publications, 1994. Print

Ezghoul, Naim & Zuraika, Malek. 'Young Goodman Brown': The close lane. International Journal of English and Literature, Vol. 1(1), (2010), pp. 001-006. Web, April 24, 2015

Fogle, Richard Harter. Hawthorne's Fiction: The Light and The Dark. Noman: U. Of Oklahoma P, 1970.

Gassama, Mohamed & Saleh, Anwar. Postcolonial African literature: An analysis of the clash between Europe and Africa. Basic Studies in Humanities. 2012. Web. April 24, 2015

Guerin WL. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. New York: Harper and Row, Publishers. 1985. Print.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown." 1835. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter et al. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Lexington: Heath, 1944. 2129-38. Web. April 24, 2015

Hostetler, Norman H. Narrative Structure and Theme in "Young Goodman Brown." The Journal of Narrative Technique, Vol. 12, No. 3 (Fall, 1982), pp. 221-228. Web, April 24, 2015

Irele, F. Abiola. The Crisis of Cultural Memory in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart. African Studies Quarterly, Vol. 4, Is. 3, (2000). Web. April 24, 2015

McCabe, Michael E. American Literature Research and Analysis: Nathaniel Hawthorne… READ MORE

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