First published in 1835, “Young Goodman Brown” is a poem by Nathaniel Hawthorne to reveal the corruptibility ensuing from the Puritan society’s emphasis on public morality. Leveraging the formalist, feminist, and postcolonial literary approaches, subjective analysis of the Young Goodman Brown poem highlight the motifs, techniques, and methodical and systematic styles utilized in the reading. First, the formalism approach advocates for methodical and systematic reading of the texts to delineate the figurative languages employed in a poem, such as an allegory, illusion, and symbols (Darma 17). Allegory is the interpretation of hidden meaning, and Hawthorne illustrates the allegory of the fall of a man. Symbolism is evident in the naming of Goodman Brown’s wife, Faith. For instance, Goodman told Faith: “Say thy prayers dear Faith, and go to bed at dusk,” (Hawthorne 1). The description of how Pharaoh’s court converted staves to serpents illustrates illusion in the poem.
Feminism or gender equality is highly featured in Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” to depict women as discriminated against, powerless, non-influential, and powerless members of society. At first, Hawthorne was a protagonist perceiving women as saints. Hawthorne (3) reads: “There is my wife, Faith. I would break her dear little heart; and I’d rather break my own”. However, he gradually realizes women are not righteous as he thought, and women gain a negative connotation as cunning. Relevant to the poem, feminism sets the ground for Hawthorne’s journey to self-criticism.
Post colonialism is employed in “Young Goodman Brown” to distinguish cultural identity. The postcolonial aspects of race and identity when Hawthorne describes the dark figure narrating to the children the postcolonial identify of the black race as awful and miserable (Hawthorne 8). Postcolonial aspects of race and identity create an awareness of colonialism’s influence on social structure in the poem highlighted through the formalist, feminist, and postcolonial literacy.
Works Cited
Darma, Budi. “Literature: Human Reality.” Welcoming Remark from the Chair Of The Organizing Committee. The 1st International Conference on Education Language and Literature (ICON-ELITE). (2018). Web.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “Young Goodman Brown.” Short Stories & Classic Literature for Readers & Teachers, n.d. Web.