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A review on Young Goodman Brown
Ёspresso 发表于 2007-08-06 12:23:15
The background of this story---in Salem village in the last part of 17C---gives us a strict postulate by the Time and the place. Now we think the witchcraft is ridiculous, but on that time they regarded it like a firm faith.
However, early we have got the implication that there was something beyond imagination in that period. Goodman Brown made this journey just after he married Faith, as he said, “of all nights in the year, this one night must I tarry away from” his Faith, but he didn’t tell Faith the reason, it seemed oddly, didn’t it? And Faith said, “A lone woman is troubled with such dreams and such thoughts that she’s afeard of herself sometimes. Pray tarry with me this night, dear husband, of all night in the year.” From this sentence we got a same strange implication. What stuff made the night that special? What’s more, when the husband left Faith, he thought, “Well, she’s a blessed angel on earth; and after this one night I’ll cling to her skirts and follow her to heaven.” What a strange beginning!
The early Puritan thought that forest was a evil abyss between natural and supernatural. It is clearly that when Young Goodman Brown went into the forest, he leaded us to leave the reality. Although they were described as a real forest and journey, we got some signals, implying that they also possess the philosophic and psycho logic symbolism. When the real devil came out, that’s queers, but after we recognized he was pretty like Brown, then was like Brown’s father, we found it was implied a origin communion. What the devil said more likely saying by the listener himself, it just liked saying to he himself. In some other angle, can we say that the forest is Brown’s heart, and all of these were taken place there?
Coming into the forest, took part in “the communion of your race”, it did had a kind of gradually nervous atmosphere. But the nervous plot is point to a philosophical aim, not just a plot. We feel that all the things Goodman Brown did was not because of the woman Faith, but the other meaning of the word, for Faith is just a fabulous role. That “faith” made he, old minister and Old Deacon Gookin proceeded.
Since although the appearance of minister and deacon had decreased his decision, but he looked up to the sky, doubting whether there really was a heaven above him. Yet there was the blue arch, and the stars brightening in it. Goodman Brown cried, “With heaven above and Faith below, I will yet stand firm against the devil!”
However, a cloud crossed the zenith; a confused and doubtful sound of voices came to his ears, and there was one voice, of a young woman, uttering lamentations, he noticed that it was Faith’s. Then he called Faith’s name, and the echoes of the forest mocked him, as if bewildered wretches were seeking her all through the wilderness. It is probably a implication, on that evil communion all of people only pursued faith after all. At the same time, Faith’s pink ribbon fluttered lightly down and Brown seized it; maddened with despair, he laughed loud and long, ran toward the horrible converted place. In another word, we can say that the real woman Faith also had communicated with devil before----it had implied on she was worried of nightmare when her husband not at home.
There, the service of which desecrate god, all the converts ware guided to worship the dark figure. When he finished his welcome words, he said, “Depending upon one another’s hearts, ye had still hoped that virtue were not all dream. Now are ye undeceived. Evil is the nature of mankind. Evil must be your only happiness. Welcome again, my children, to the communion of your race.” Now comes to the climax of this story, Faith was prepared to be laid the mark of baptism upon her forehead.
Witnessing this scene, Brown shouted to Faith to resist it, but he couldn’t know the result, ’cause hard
ly had he spoken when he found himself amid calm night and solitude, listening to a roar of the wind which died heavily away through the forest. The next morning when he came back to the village, all of them, no matter the virtue or the virtue less, the honest or the treacherous lived like they used to be.
This novel left a problem. Is it just a dream? Whatever, young Goodman Brown lost his hope of life. He continued to live with Faith, though without faith, and when he had lived long, had boys and girls, but no hopeful verse upon his tomb stone. His whole life was a riddle with no sense.
What does the story want to say? It had put up a problem but no solution. It is a essential problem about humanity, a problem which always be put up through the history. Is evil the nature of mankind? If not, is virtuous the nature of mankind, like Rousseau’s saying? Or based on a nowadays saying, virtue is a consequence of good surrounding while evil is of the bad? Are evil and virtue decided on different surroundings?
Can we conclude that this novel regards the problem as an absolute problem and avoids it----for humanity is a complex problem, we must try hard to explain it base on our faith? Thus, Goodman Brown should be a complete idealist, and he can not live a life like it would consequentially be?
Thanks for reading!
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