Devil is In the Details

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(As I was reading this I kept thinking that it was vaguely familiar and that I had seen it somewhere before and then I realized that I had also read it in 8th grade, however, I was not aware that Hawthorne was the author.)

There are several things about this short story, on the technical side, that I love.  For starters, it's simply a great story and it also being an allegory makes it even better. I admire Hawthorne's style of writing immensely and this further deepens my appreciation. I also like how the mood smacks you in the face in the beginning and stays constant throughout the story; amplifying when things start to pick up. In addition to the story constantly capturing the reader's attention, he makes use of every conversation, every description, and every action to develop the story. This is a great example of "making every sentence count". Something else I noticed is that he makes an invisible tie with the reader. What Im saying is that the reader ends up just as confused as Goodman Brown. After all of this happening to him, he never made a clear decision on whether it actually happened or if he was dreaming because he's not sure himself.  In this sense, we know just as much as he does and it really gives you a perspective of what the accusers were thinking during the witch trials that occurred I history.

I commented on Zelda's and Natalie's posts.

Comments

  1. Zelda PeachNovember 6, 2017 at 11:19 AM

    I also loved that! The way he was able to put so much thought in care into everything was simply fantastic. I personally wish the ending had a little more clarity, but, I appreciate the choice to end it in the same confusion that Goodman Brown felt. Stories like these are some of the greatest and most frustrating things to read because they end on such awesome cliffhangers.

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  2. UnknownNovember 6, 2017 at 1:55 PM

    I so love how you brought out the invisible connection between reader and Goodman Brown. I was so frustrated once I got to the end of the reading and had no clear conclusions. This also reminded me of Faust and how depressing its ending was as well. Essentially, both main characters of both stories are conquered by the Devil, and that's pretty darn sad. Though Goodman Brown's story could have very well been a dream, he allowed his doubts to overrule his faith and give into a lifelong despair of skepticism.

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  3. Natalie SchulerNovember 6, 2017 at 2:38 PM

    The part of the story that strikes me the most when it comes to his skepticism is toward the end when he tells Faith to look up to God, but he says he never knew if she actually did. And yet, he still dislikes/distrusts her even though he had no clue either way.

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  4. UnknownNovember 6, 2017 at 8:45 PM

    I appreciate the comment "the reader ends up just as confused as Goodman Brown" because I am thoroughly confused when it comes to this piece. I am intrigued, however. I don't really know what Hawthorne's intent was in writing this short story, but I think he does a great job of keeping the tone rather dark and spooky. You could feel the eerie darkness all around you as you read.

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