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Young Goodman Brown Analytical Essay

1206 Words5 Pages

Nathaniel's family history would set the stage for his story in Salem, Massachusetts. Hawthorne's ancestor John Hathorne was a judge in the witch trials during the 1690s. Sigmund Freud believed that dreams originated from suppressed emotions in our subconscious. Reflecting Nathaniel's subconscious, the story of Young Goodman Brown explored Nathaniel's forbidden desire to seek out taboo curiosities. By interpreting his dreams, he's able to unlock his subconscious to reveal his deepest emotions and suppressed desires. Brown displays the characteristics of Freud's ego as he follows the righteous lifestyle of the puritans and rejects the devil's proposal of attending the meeting. The villagers that attended the witches' sabbath would portray the id traits as they ignore the righteous lifestyle and celebrate mocking the puritan church. They are set on fulfilling their desires rather than fit in with society. The town's godly puritan government symbolize freud's superego. Because he tries to link the way people should act to how they truly want to act, …show more content…

Once in the forest at the witch meeting, he begins to realize that the townspeople weren't as godly as they claimed to be. Coming to the woods at night, this introduced his curiosity towards evil and willingness to meet up with the “devil man”. As he came to the realization that those he perceived to be good and moral individuals were just sinners, he becomes betrayed and confused. He begins to criticize those he saw, labeling them as hypocrites and overlooks the fact that he himself had also chosen to go into the woods. From seeking out his curiosity and learning of others doing the same, he focused on other people’s flaws rather than his own. In ¨Young Goodman Brown,¨ the characters Young Goodman Brown and his wife Faith advance a plot illustrating the temptations of evil to recreate Salem’s Puritan

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1535 Words | 7 Pages

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