Symbolism in Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown Essays

Symbolism in Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown Essays Symbolism in Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown Paper Symbolism in Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown Paper Symbolism plays a major role in the message that Nathaniel Hawthorne aims to convey in his story â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†. Hawthorne made use of symbolic situations which represents a corrupt and masked society that is still applicable in the present time. In this story, Hawthorne narrates a seemingly dreamlike experience of Goodman Brown in the midst of an evil ritual in the woods where he and his wife attempted to participate in. Brief Summary of Young Goodman Brown Young Goodman Brown is a recently married man who goes out for the night after bidding goodbye to his dear wife, Faith. He tries hard to push away his guilt of pursuing an evil plan while he leaves her that evening by promising to make it up to her someday. As he goes through the dark forest wondering if the devil is just around, he becomes hesitant in furthering his plan on joining some mysterious people in an evil ritual somewhere deep in the forest. Upon explaining why he was late to a decently dressed man because his wife kept him back, they are accompanied by another traveler whose age he reckon to be about fifty. He notices the remarkable serpent-like staff of the first man who addressed him. Upon meeting the other people who would join them, he is surprised to find out that most of the upright and holy people in his neighborhood are present; the woman who taught him catechism, the minister, Deacon Gookin, and the most surprising of all- his wife! He finds out that Faith is the reason why the ritual is initiated. He realizes that he had lost his Faith so he resolves in pursuing his original plan and be converted to evil like the rest of them. However, as Goodman Brown and Faith approach the altar to be anointed by the evil blood, Goodman Brown orders Faith to look up to heaven and resist the evil. As soon as the words leaves his mouth, he finds himself alone in the woods wondering if he had just dreamt the ritual. He comes back to his neighborhood a changed man. He becomes distrustful and doubtful of his wife and neighbors even to the day he died. Symbolisms The story itself is the entire representation of a hypocritical society. It is already a symbolism that further emphasizes the hypocrisy of Puritanism. It is clear that Hawthorne aims to criticize puritan society most especially the time of the Salem Witch Trials where almost twenty alleged witches were hanged with spectral evidence as the only proof. Like Goodman Brown, Hawthorne is believed to have also doubted the nature of sin in the society. Most probably, it is his way to push away the guilt when he found out that he is a descendant of one of the major persecutors in the witch trials. The story also contains some biographical elements where the devil reminds him, â€Å"I helped your grandfather, the constable, when he lashed the Quaker woman so smartly through the streets of Salem† (Hawthorne 113). The story seems to be a full representation of the author’s view about a strict puritan society. Moreover, the setting of the story is also quite symbolic as the initial part of the story describes Goodman Brown entering a dark forest where the witches gather at Sabbath. Hawthorne’s description of the dark and gloomy forest indicates that a dark critical turning point in his life is about to happen. â€Å"The darkness is not only physical, it is satanic† (Crowley 68). The story also symbolizes man’s struggle to avoid temptation by the devil. By the use of spectral evidence, Hawthorne is able to covey the idea that the devil could be lurking in the shadows even of the finest men (Reis 200). When Goodman Brown finds out that the most religious people in his neighborhood are actually members of the ritual in the forest, he realizes how evil can come in many deceptive forms. This realization leads him to his misery because of his inability to identify if his experience is merely a dream or a frightful reality. Goodman Brown can be considered a real good man before the encounter in the woods. He is considered to be good to his wife and he loves her dearly. He even refers to her as, â€Å"My love and my Faith† (Hawthorne 111) and hesitates to go on further with the meeting, â€Å"What a wretch am I to leave her on such an errand! She talks of dreams, too. Methought as she spoke there was trouble in her face, as if a dream had warned her what work is to be done tonight. . . † (Hawthorne 111). However, the goodness and naivete within him is altered when he discovers respectable and supposedly holy people are part of the evil ritual. This shows Hawthorne’s attitude towards highly religious people such as the early Puritans. It means that not all religious people are holy, and sometimes, they are just posing hypocrisy to redeem themselves. Even the name of his wife, Faith, symbolizes the things that he had lost upon full realization of evil in his neighborhood. He loses his wife, Faith, when he sees her in the woods and he also loses his spiritual faith towards goodness. â€Å"The story is not about the evil of other people but about Browns doubt, his recovery of the possibility of universal evil† (Levin 121). Conclusion Young Goodman Brown might probably just pass as a short ordinary story that involves supernatural encounters. While it is true that is merely fictional and not to be taken seriously in reality, it consists of symbolisms which are important to take into account. It consists of political and religious symbolisms which are indirectly told by the author to allow the readers to shape their own interpretation by themselves. Obviously, the story include more significant and in-depth matters in life than what is initially conveyed to be unrealistic and superficial. Crowley, Joseph Donald. Nathaniel Hawthorne. London: Taylor Francis, 1971. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. â€Å"Young Goodman Brown. † Young Goodman Brown and Other Tales. Ed. Brian Harding. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. 111–123. Levin, David. â€Å"Shadows of Doubt: Specter Evidence in Hawthornes ‘Young Goodman Brown’. † On Hawthorne: The Best from American Literature. Eds. Edwin Harrison Cady and Louis J. Budd. United States of America: Duke University Press, 1990. 114-122. Reis, Elizabeth. Damned Women: Sinners and Witches in Puritan New England. New York: Cornell University Press, 1997.

Country Analysis of Luxembourg essays

Country Analysis of Luxembourg essays The purpose of this essay is to discuss the history, economy and politics of Luxembourg. First I will start by briefly discussing the history of Luxembourg and the recent economic trends and political structure of Luxembourg. Then I will discuss the countrys attitude towards integration and whether it was a good idea for them to join the Euro, and finally conclude with my own views of Luxembourg and Europe. I have been asked to write this essay by my lecturer and this is to be submitted by the 19th April 2002. Background on the economics and politics of Luxembourg Luxembourg has shown an outstanding performance in terms of growth and virtually all other macroeconomic indicators in the last decade. It is the smallest, but by far the richest country in Europe. Unemployment is virtually non-existent at less than 2% and its government, alone in the EC, does not need to borrow to cover expenditures. In the last decade Luxembourgs economic growth factors which generated the constant improvement in the standard of living over a century and a half are quite specific. The origin of the incipient industrial development lies in a single sector, the steel industry. However, the country outpaced all other EC countries with a growth rate of 4.1%. From 1989, the inflationary trends resumed, with petroleum products again contributing to this. The trend in consumer prices hence exceeded 3% until 1993. Although in 1992 and 1993 Luxembourgs performance does not seem to be as satisfactory as that of some of its partners, this is attributable above all to the effects of the adaptation of indirect taxes to the Community standards which started in 1992 with the first adjustment of the VAT rates. The adaptations of the thresholds laid down by the EU in the indirect taxation field having been accomplished, the inflation rate fell again to 2.2% in 1994. At the end of 1994, Luxembourg is in the second position among the EU ...

To Build a Strong Brand within the Fashion Industry Literature review

To Build a Strong Brand within the Fashion Industry - Literature review Example Strong brand provides intangible value to the companies those results in the enhanced productivity, profitability and better relationship with the customers. (Pride, and Farrel, 2011, p. 351) This is probably the reason due to which many of the marketing gurus believe often say that product are manufactured in the factories, but brand are built in the minds’ of the customers. Reason Building strong brand in the fashion industry benefits the marketers in several ways such as reducing the issues related to the price sensitivity, increasing market share revenue, and brand equity and customer loyalty (Admedia, 2007, p.1) Benefits of Branding Branding helps both the buyers and the sellers. From the perspective of a buyer branding helps the buyers to identify the products that the buyers like or dislike; it helps the buyers to identify the desired marketer; Branding helps the buyers to properly evaluate the quality of the products; Branding helps the buyers to reduce the risks relat ed to purchase (Stafford and Faber, 2005, p. 139). From the perspective of the sellers branding helps the sellers to differentiate the offerings from that of the competitors; Branding also helps the sellers in market segmentation via creation of tailored made images, e.g. contact lenses is to Fast track; Brand helps the companies to reduce price competition that in leads to reduction of chances of price wars; Branding helps the marketers to launch new product that may carry the name of one or more products. This technique is well known as brand extension. This helps the company to reduce the risks related to introduction a new product; successfully... From this research it is clear that branding helps both the buyers and the sellers. From the perspective of a buyer branding helps the buyers to identify the products that the buyers like or dislike; it helps the buyers to identify the desired marketer; Branding helps the buyers to properly evaluate the quality of the products; Branding helps the buyers to reduce the risks related to purchase. From the perspective of the sellers branding helps the sellers to differentiate the offerings from that of the competitors; Branding also helps the sellers in market segmentation via creation of tailored made images, e.g. contact lenses is to Fast track; Brand helps the companies to reduce price competition that in leads to reduction of chances of price wars; Branding helps the marketers to launch new product that may carry the name of one or more products. This technique is well known as brand extension. This helps the company to reduce the risks related to introduction a new product; successf ully brand building exercises helps the company to increase brand loyalty; Branding also help the marketers to charge premium prices for a particular brand. A part from the core benefits successful brands also help the companies to deliver added value Such added values help the brand to differentiate the products from that of the competitors. I practices properly brands can help the customers recognize the added value which may lead the customers to make the final purchase. A consumer may be looking for assurance of quality under probable circumstances where the customers are not sure about the final purchase decision.