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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
readr_joe's review against another edition
3.0
"That old woman taught me my catechism," said the young man; and there was a world of meaning in this simple comment.
"With heaven above and Faith below, I will yet stand firm against the devil!" cried Goodman Brown.
And there they stood, the only pair, as it seemed, who were yet hesitating on the verge of wickedness in this dark world.
"With heaven above and Faith below, I will yet stand firm against the devil!" cried Goodman Brown.
And there they stood, the only pair, as it seemed, who were yet hesitating on the verge of wickedness in this dark world.
savannahmoore's review against another edition
4.0
honestly one of the better hawthorne stories i’ve read
readwithsummer's review against another edition
4.0
Oh wow.
At first, I thought it was saying that there is evil in humankind. It is there, everywhere you look, everywhere you go - you can find it, crimes and sin. "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. Welcome again, my children, to the communion of your race." says the devil.
But then by the end, we don't know if that's true or not. Was the town really all there, or was it an allusion, a dream? It doesn't matter - what matters is the effect that it has on Goodman Brown. He spends the rest of his life miserable, utterly miserable, because he looks at everyone as if they are evil sinners. And that in itself is what makes him miserable - his belief that everyone is bad.
"In truth, all through the haunted forest there could be nothing more frightful than the figure of Goodman Brown."
But maybe it's not true. Maybe it's just his perception.
Which means... the moral of the story is that you can't just focus on the bad in people - it will make you miserable - you need to focus on the good, and mostly on the good, to find joy and happiness.
(4.5 - turns out I love Hawthorne!)
At first, I thought it was saying that there is evil in humankind. It is there, everywhere you look, everywhere you go - you can find it, crimes and sin. "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. Welcome again, my children, to the communion of your race." says the devil.
But then by the end, we don't know if that's true or not. Was the town really all there, or was it an allusion, a dream? It doesn't matter - what matters is the effect that it has on Goodman Brown. He spends the rest of his life miserable, utterly miserable, because he looks at everyone as if they are evil sinners. And that in itself is what makes him miserable - his belief that everyone is bad.
"In truth, all through the haunted forest there could be nothing more frightful than the figure of Goodman Brown."
But maybe it's not true. Maybe it's just his perception.
Which means... the moral of the story is that you can't just focus on the bad in people - it will make you miserable - you need to focus on the good, and mostly on the good, to find joy and happiness.
(4.5 - turns out I love Hawthorne!)
dhirschhorn's review against another edition
2.0
It's a product of its time, but I was like, ugh, racism is the worst, especially when it's so casual like this, and also, for someone who was so religious this dude really did not pick up on all of the ummmmm, that's probably the Devil clues that were so gratuitously dropped.
tel5's review
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
toasterstrubes's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75