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brittbee07's review against another edition
3.0
I was prepared to find this story tedious as I was not fond of The Scarlet Letter when I read it in high school. The story was interesting to me, but I did not enjoy Hawthorne’s style. That being said, I found Young Goodman Brown easy to read and quite intriguing. Hawthorne wrote with a great amount of detail so it was easy to imagine the scene as it unfolded. The story also had a pace that was quick enough to be engaging, but slow enough to build suspense.
The way Hawthorne built suspense in this story is one of the things I found enjoyable. As the story begins, it is clear that goodman Brown must be cautious on this rendezvous and that it is likely something unfavorable. It is not until the reader is introduced to goody Cloyse that the extent of the trouble is fully understood. However, the suspense continues to build. Will goodman Brown continue on with the Devil or will his faith return him to his village? He experiences self-doubt and his faith falters. To the very end of the story, the reader is asking themselves if this is a dream, illusion, or really happening? Are these upright members of Salem truly appearing before the Shape of Evil or is this a manipulation from the Devil to bring goodman Brown to his side? The story ends in such a way that the reader is left to ponder those questions much the way goodman Brown must ponder them.
Naming goodman Brown’s wife Faith was clever, as Hawthorne noted in his opening paragraph. Every time goodman Brown referred to Faith, I wondered if he meant in the literal sense of his new, young bride, or in the sense of his belief in God. On multiple occasions, either definition of faith would suffice. This added an interesting layer when goodman Brown would utter ideas that spoke of his losing Faith. Unfortunately, although he was able to best the Devil that night, his faith was shaken and distorted to the point where he could not look upon his fellow man in the same way he had been previously. In a sense he had lost his faith in mankind and lived a life filled with doubt and fear.
The way Hawthorne built suspense in this story is one of the things I found enjoyable. As the story begins, it is clear that goodman Brown must be cautious on this rendezvous and that it is likely something unfavorable. It is not until the reader is introduced to goody Cloyse that the extent of the trouble is fully understood. However, the suspense continues to build. Will goodman Brown continue on with the Devil or will his faith return him to his village? He experiences self-doubt and his faith falters. To the very end of the story, the reader is asking themselves if this is a dream, illusion, or really happening? Are these upright members of Salem truly appearing before the Shape of Evil or is this a manipulation from the Devil to bring goodman Brown to his side? The story ends in such a way that the reader is left to ponder those questions much the way goodman Brown must ponder them.
Naming goodman Brown’s wife Faith was clever, as Hawthorne noted in his opening paragraph. Every time goodman Brown referred to Faith, I wondered if he meant in the literal sense of his new, young bride, or in the sense of his belief in God. On multiple occasions, either definition of faith would suffice. This added an interesting layer when goodman Brown would utter ideas that spoke of his losing Faith. Unfortunately, although he was able to best the Devil that night, his faith was shaken and distorted to the point where he could not look upon his fellow man in the same way he had been previously. In a sense he had lost his faith in mankind and lived a life filled with doubt and fear.
lizzie__b's review against another edition
Not this man distrusts his wife because of his fever dream/visions which he is not even sure really happened
theprofessorsmadman's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
3.75
minusmina's review against another edition
3.0
"Evil is the nature of mankind. Evil must be your only happiness. Welcome again, my children, to the communion of your race."
This was somehow creepy, but in a good way.
This was somehow creepy, but in a good way.
tombooler's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
lonely_tortilla's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
breadmeister's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The first time reading I was quite confused but after the second reading I finally got it. I enjoyed the symbolism and thought it was really interesting to see how it tied into religious trauma and the loss of faith
evelynepisodes's review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A puritan horror short story that I really enjoyed. But is it horror? Or was it all a dream? The satanic enchantments in this creepy forest were so eerie, and the ambiguous ending will probably have me reeling for a few hours but it was a great creepy story to mark the end of Halloween and the start of Christmas times.
novalame's review against another edition
4.0
(short story read for ghosts and hauntings lit class)
“Depending upon one another's hearts, ye had still hoped that virtue were not all a dream! Now are ye undeceived! Evil is the nature of mankind. Evil must be your only happiness.”
freaky, reminds me of The Witch, loved it
“Depending upon one another's hearts, ye had still hoped that virtue were not all a dream! Now are ye undeceived! Evil is the nature of mankind. Evil must be your only happiness.”
freaky, reminds me of The Witch, loved it