The present paper will examine the two short stories Young Goodman Brown and The Minister’s Black Veil by Nathaniel Hawthorne on the basis of the Puritan ideology. Therefore, the paper argues that both short stories provide deep insights into the puritan mindset, and emphasize the ultimate consequences of Puritan thinking. The stories can be read as narratives of decline and sin – as American (Puritan) jeremiads.
The environment in which the American jeremiad emerged and thrived was New England in the first century of colonization. Chapter 2.1 will examine the political situation in this particular region which also includes religious and important historical developments since there was no clear-cut distinction between religion, politics, and society in 17th century-New England. Following, Chapter 2.2 will characterize the key points of Puritan thinking. The purpose of this chapter is to get a deeper understanding of the Puritan ideology and why it was especially prone to conspiracy theories and conspiratorial thinking. The following chapter will make an attempt to define the American jeremiad of the 17th century embedded in its historical context. The most famous and influential study on the American jeremiad was published by the Canadian literary scholar Sacvan Bercovitch in 1978. Chapter 2.4 will complete the theoretical part by contextualizing the Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692. In chapter 3, both short stories – Young Goodman Brown and The Minister’s Black Veil – are analyzed on the basis of the Puritan ideology and the American jeremiad.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- Puritan Thinking and the American Jeremiad
- Political Situation in New England in the 17th century
- Puritan Ideology: The Foundation of Puritan Thinking
- The American Jeremiad as Genre
- The Salem Witchcraft Crisis: The Destructive Power of Conspiracy Theory
- Hawthorne's short stories Young Goodman Brown and The Minister's Black Veil
- "What if the Devil himself should be at my very elbow?" - Brown as the Ideal Puritan
- Samuel Parris - A Historical Real-Life Goodman Brown?
- "This simple piece of crape": The Minister's Black Veil
- Conclusion
- Works Cited
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This paper analyzes the short stories Young Goodman Brown and The Minister's Black Veil by Nathaniel Hawthorne, focusing on the Puritan ideology and its consequences. The paper argues that these stories provide insights into the Puritan mindset and explore the destructive potential of Puritan thinking, presenting them as American (Puritan) jeremiads.
- The historical and political context of Puritanism in 17th century New England
- The key elements of Puritan ideology and its relationship to conspiratorial thinking
- The characteristics and function of the American jeremiad as a literary genre
- The portrayal of paranoia and distrust in Hawthorne's stories
- The consequences of Puritan beliefs on individual lives and communities
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The first chapter introduces the paper's topic and provides a brief overview of the main themes and arguments. It presents a quote from Young Goodman Brown that highlights the protagonist's descent into paranoia and distrust, setting the stage for the subsequent analysis. The paper then explores the Puritan ideology and its historical context, delving into the political situation in 17th century New England and the key elements of Puritan thinking.
The second chapter delves into the concept of the American jeremiad, defining its characteristics and historical context. It also examines the Salem Witchcraft Crisis as a prime example of the destructive potential of conspiracy theories fueled by Puritan beliefs. Finally, the chapter introduces Hawthorne's short stories, Young Goodman Brown and The Minister's Black Veil, and outlines the approach used to analyze them.
Chapter 3 focuses on analyzing Hawthorne's two short stories, exploring the characters' experiences and how they reflect the core tenets of Puritanism. The chapter examines the protagonist Brown's journey into paranoia and social isolation, and the impact of Mr. Hooper's black veil on his community.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The key terms and concepts explored in this paper include: Puritanism, American Jeremiad, conspiracy theory, paranoia, distrust, social isolation, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Young Goodman Brown, The Minister's Black Veil, Salem Witchcraft Crisis. These themes highlight the paper's focus on understanding the historical and literary context of American Puritanism and its enduring influence on narratives of social and psychological decline.
- Quote paper
- Anonym (Author), 2022, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Minister’s Black Veil" as American Jeremiads, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1403988
