Nathaniel Hawthorne

Of the four stories, The Scarlet Letter, The House of the Seven Gables, "The Minister's Black Veil," and "Young Goodman Brown," the latter is the first story where Hawthorne explored human pride and hypocrisy in the Puritan faith. Although the story itself is simple and short, Hawthorne takes up the reader's attention with a description of the state of mind of the young, Goodman Brown. Being convinced by a form (assumed to be Satan by both his words and the serpentine staff that he carries) that looks similar to Goodman Brown's grandfather, Goodman Brown has decided to go explore the option of witchcraft and devil worship. This form tries to entice Brown, after

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ide in not allowing the people who love him to share in any secret sin or sorrow he may have. The Scarlet Letter (1850) is one of Hawthorne's most well-known works. In this case, Hawthorne compares the Puritan ideal of virtue to a more universal code of ethics -- using Hester Prynne as his representative of the universal. Hawthorne questions the adequacy of society to judge its members. . . Perhaps the most intriguing question. . . is about the nature of sin. Was Hester and Dimmesdales's love inherently sinful, or was the love itself a good that was perverted by social values?" (Bloom, 2000, p. 14). Hester Prynne, with her own private code, refuses to give up the name of her partner in crime, this is her code of honor. She believes that "what we did had a consecration of its own" (Hawthorne, 1980, p. 186) and in her revelation to Dimmesdale as to Chillingworth's true identity she cries, "Thou shalt forgive me!....Let God punish! Thou shalt forgive" (p. 185). Hawthorne also demonstrates that Hester Prynne was "quick to acknowledge her sisterhood with the race of man. . . None so ready as she to give of her little substance to every demand of poverty. . .None so devoted as Hester when pestilence stalked t
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1525
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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