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    Young Goodman Brown and Other Short Stories
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    Young Goodman Brown and Other Short Stories
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    Young Goodman Brown and Other Short Stories
    Ebook209 pages4 hours

    Young Goodman Brown and Other Short Stories

    By Nathaniel Hawthorne

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Throughout his richly varied literary career, Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) wrote compelling short stories of enduring appeal. His first important publication, long before The Scarlet Letter, was the 1837 collection Twice-Told Tales, which brought the New England writer immediate fame and high praise from no less an authority than Edgar Allan Poe. Another compilation, Mosses from an Old Manse, followed in 1846 and achieved further success.
    This volume contains six stories from those collections as well as another superb selection, "My Kinsman, Major Molineux." In addition to the latter tale and the title story, this edition includes "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment," "The Birthmark," "Rappaccini's Daughter," "Roger Malvin's Burial" and "The Artist of the Beautiful." Here are tales rich in atmosphere and suspense, with plots centering on subjects as diverse as witchcraft, revenge, the power of guilt, and a passion for the beautiful, all recounted in the distinctive voice of one of America's great writers.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDover Publications
    Release dateFeb 29, 2012
    ISBN9780486110592
    Unavailable
    Young Goodman Brown and Other Short Stories
    Author

    Nathaniel Hawthorne

    Born in 1804, Nathaniel Hawthorne is known for his historical tales and novels about American colonial society. After publishing The Scarlet Letter in 1850, its status as an instant bestseller allowed him to earn a living as a novelist. Full of dark romanticism, psychological complexity, symbolism, and cautionary tales, his work is still popular today. He has earned a place in history as one of the most distinguished American writers of the nineteenth century.

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    • 3/5
      My feelings about this book are much less impressive than those of the last I read for this class of mine. Did this book have a couple of good tales to tell? Eh... I suppose in some ways it did. Was it something that I enjoyed? ...not completely. I read it because it was there to read. Not much of it had me excited, let alone even engaged too comfortably. I found my mind wandered very frequently during this read, and though most of the stories Hawthorne wrote were well done, at least in terms of vocabulary and actual plot, they were also all... rather dull.

      I think out of all of them, "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment," "The Birthmark," "Rappaccini's Daughter," and "The Artist of the Beautiful" were my favorites. But did they elicit from me anything other than an admiration for the concepts that Hawthorne presented? ...not really. The man can tell a story--that is unquestionable. He can also provide the mind with many deep and profound thoughts to dwell on, to mull over--food for the mind and not just mere trifles to read for entertainment. And from the point of view of one looking to increase their mental capacity, or enjoy writing for the artistic sake, this would probably be a very good addition to someone's library.

      Yet nonetheless I found that for all that I enjoyed this book... it did not blow me away. There is an underlying tone in all these stories that elicits no emotions--no reader reaction. It is the tale told a child by an elderly man who continues to babble even when the child has little to no understanding of what they are saying. And though I'm not saying that Hawthorne is impossible to read, or even that he's difficult to understand (for his stories were quite straightforward for the most part), I am saying that he has very little claim over the skillful use of tone. He talks, and it's the same note from the beginning of the book to the ending, even when the stories change from one variety to another. And such a monotony of tone throughout various tales that have the potential to elicit so much life makes the book (however short it is) drag on even longer than necessary.

      *Shrugs* It's a mixed bag of goodies. It presents you with wonderful concepts and ideas to entertain, but I feel that the execution isn't something that fits the excitement that most of those ideas conjure up within me. It's a case where personally--many may disagree with me on this--the storyteller's voice doesn't suit the tale he tells, regardless his eloquence in the conveyance. But for the ideas, it's still a great book worth picking up, and something that you should definitely try out just for the experience. Take it out of your library and give it a read-through! You'll come away a little more full for the knowledge and thoughtfulness it brings you.
    • 4/5
      Taken from many sources, this collection of stories provides an introduction to the sometimes surprising genre writings of Nathaniel Hawthorne, best known as the author of "The Scarlet Letter," the arch-enemy book of my high school years."Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" reads like notes for a longer science fiction work that never came to fruition. Four elderly people gather at a scientist's home to sample something that might change their lives. There is very little characterization, despite some detailed introductions, and the story plays out unsatisfactorily."The Birthmark" reads better, a story about scientist Aylmer's efforts to rid his wife Georgianna of a birthmark on her cheek. Hawthorne is very visual here, and while the dialogue is melodramatic, I could imagine everything he wrote. The author is making a comment about science, and how new discoveries blind the scientist to the bigger picture.Aside from the obvious metaphor of "Young Goodman Brown" (his name is Goodman, and he's a GOOD MAN), this tale of a young husband trekking into the dark woods to attend a meeting of a coven of witches, made up of the godly folk of his village, is pure paranoid horror. This tale has been copied many times, but it is quite effective and creepy."Rappaccini's Daughter" is a densely worded tale of a young man falling for a beautiful woman who is literally poison to those around her. It is high melodrama, and contains an odd prologue that isn't essential to the story, but all in all, it is still good.My favorite tale of the collection has to be "Roger Malvin's Burial." The story of two wounded soldiers in the wilderness, and one dying from his injuries, spans a few years. You may begin to figure out what happens to the survivor, but the climax is both emotional and heartbreaking. A great story."The Artist of the Beautiful" is a well-written but meandering tale about a watchmaker's life-long project. He gives up and is re-inspired one too many times, but Hawthorne says a lot about artists and their work.The suspense built in "My Kinsman, Major Molineux" isn't menacing, but still interesting. A young country boy scours a large city looking for his benefactor, and eventually finds him. I really enjoyed this story, too.I hated "The Scarlet Letter," having read it in high school. I didn't read any Hawthorne again until "Young Goodman Brown and Other Short Stories," and now think I might have to pick up his famous novel again...after I go through a few other books in my library. I do recommend this collection, however.