A Cultural Study Based on Nathaniel Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown

Puritanism in Young Goodman Brown II. Puritanism (Definition & Historical Context) III. Why did Nathaniel Hawthorne criticized Puritanism ? IV. Puritanism as a Colonial Discourse [ The genocide, Slavery, The Concurrence of the World]
I.

 Young Goodman Brown is a short story written by

the famous American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1835. Hawthornes aim from this short story as most of his works is to expose the hypocrisy of puritan culture. The story describes Young Goodman Browns journey into self-scrutiny which results in his loss of faith. My main interest in the novel is the historical links that Hawthorne mentions, which relates the puritan history. And they are as follows:

 1- The Salem Witch Trials of 1692: A series of persecutions

of people accused of witchcraft, the villagers of Salem killed 25 innocent people who were accused of being witches. The witch hunts often involved accusations based on revenge, jealousy, botched children delivery etc. 2- The Puritans Intolerance to the Quakers: Puritans and Quakers were both an oppressed minority in England, they travelled both and settled in America hoping to find religious freedom. However, being outnumbered by puritans, Quakers were forbidden to live and settle in the same cities with puritans, moreover, at a certain point it was illegal to be a Quaker which lead to imprisonment and hangings.

 3- King Philips War: This event took place from 1675 to

1676 and was in the form of small battles between Indians and colonists. It resulted over the Indians villages and that made the colonists in power over the native Americans.

 Puritans were a persecuted minority in England after the

separation from the Catholic church in Rome and the reform of the Anglican church. After years of sufferance this minority left England looking for a place where they can practice their religion freely. To establish themselves as rightful interpreters of the Bible independent of an inherited social and cultural order, they removed from the Anglican church in order to re-establish it as they believed it truly should be. This of course meant leaving the country, and they left for Holland in 1608.

 12 years later, they will decide to move to America. 102

puritans travelled throughout the sea in the famous Mayflower Ship, it was a very tough event on a group of people that had a little experience in travelling over seas. William Bradford, one of the leaders of the English puritans Pilgrims described the travel in his personal journals:

 I cannot but stay and make a pause, and stand half

amazed at this poor peoples present conditions; and so I think will the reader, too, when he will considers the same. Being thus passed the vast ocean, and a sea of troubles before in their preparation (as may be remembered by that which want before), they had now no friends to welcome them nor inns to entertain or refresh their weatherbeaten bodies; no houses or much less towns to repair to, to seek for succor.

 After a year of sufferance with the new land that they

seem to be ignorant in how and where they can exploit it, they were finally helped by the Native Americans, William Barford states: Squanto continued with them and was their interpreter and was a special instrument sent from God for their good beyond their expectation. He directed them how to set their corn, where to fish, and to procure other commodities, and was also their pilot to bring them to unknown places for their profit, and never left them till he died.

 Hawthorne was born and raised in Salem village

descending from a puritan family. Nathaniel as a young child was very proud of his ancestors, and his race. Though, at the age of four he lost his father and was raised by his mothers family. They were very supportive to him and they helped him to carry out his studies as far as possible. Growing mature and developing a critical mind, Nathaniel realized the truth about the social corruption in the puritan culture.

 In an essay entitled The consequence of Puritan Depravity and

Distrust as a Historical Context for Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown McCabe describes the sequence of events that explains the reasons why Nathaniel changed his attitude towards his ancestors: The study of his own family into the history of Salem and especially early Puritan society Hawthorne is able to discuss the merits and consequences of such zeal, especially the zeal of the Half-Way Covenant 1662, The puritan Catechism of John Cotton, and the repercussions of The Salem Witch Trials. Hawthorne sets Young Goodman Brown into a context of Puritan rigidity and self-doubt to allow his contemporary readers to see the consequences of such a system of belief.

 Since the beginning of their story, Puritans followed

the prototypical phases of a colonial movement: 1- The genocide of the Native Americans. 2- The enslavement of the African race. 3- Colonial expansions under different names.

 1- The genocide of Native Americans: In David Cesarinis description he said: In terms of

the sheer member killed, the Native American genocide exceeds that of the Holocaust. And according to the US bureau of the census (1894), The Indian wars under the government of the United States have been more then 40 in number. They have cost the lives of about 19000 white men, women and children, including those killed in individual combats, and the lives of about 30000 Indians.

 John Underhill describes a war against the tribe of the

Peaquots in 1638: The fierce of both meeting in the centre of the fort, blazed most terribly, and burnt all in the space of half an hour Many were burnt in the fort, both men, women, and children Great and doleful was the bloody sight to the view of young soldiers that had never been in war, to see so many souls lie gasping on the ground, so thick, in some places, that you could hardly pass long. Those who attempted to escape the flames were shot or stabbed to death. (P:2)

 2- Slavery In America: Slavery in the U.S. as a form of

slave labor that existed as a legal institution from the early years of the colonial period, especially and mainly from Africa. There were two major reasons for the need of slaves in America: The rising rate of instruction Farming

Date 1620-1700

Numbers 21,000

1701-1760
1761-1770 1771-1790 1791-1800 1801-1810 1810-1865 Total

189,000
63,000 56,000 79,000 124,000 51,000 597,000

 3- Colonial expansions under different names: The Korean War 1950 1953

Vietnam War 1956 1975

Afghanistan 2001 Present Iraq 2003 - Present

 Young Goodman Brown Nathaniel Hawthorne William Bradford. From History of Playmouth Plantation, c.

1650 Michael E. McCabe. The Consequences of Puritan Depravity and Distrust as Historical Context for Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown David Cesarini. Holocaust: Critical Concepts in Historical Studies, Routledge, 2004. Thorton, Russell (1990). American Indian Holocaust and Survival: A Population History Since 1492. Ann Kibey. The Interpretation of Material Shapes in Puritanism, 1948 Miller and Smith, eds. Dictionary of American Slavery(1988)

I would like to hear your comments.