Essay Characterization in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown

Characterization in â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† The dialogue, action and motivation revolve about the characters in the story (Abrams 32-33). It is the purpose of this essay to demonstrate the types of characters present in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† whether static or dynamic, whether flat or round, and whether protrayed through showing or telling. There are only three well-developed, or three dimensional characters, in this short story, and they are the protagonist, Goodman Brown, and his wife, Faith, and the fellow-traveller or the devil. Faith is, of course, less well developed than her husband; much of her development comes from inference rather than from action,dialogue and explicitly†¦show more content†¦For example, in the passage cited immediately above, the narrator is actually presenting the very thoughts of the protagonist; this is done on numerous occasions in the tale. This contributes to the development of Goodman Brown as a very, very round character. As Goodman meets the fellow-traveller in the woods, he sizes him up, along with his cane: It was now deep dusk in the forest, and deepest in that part of it where these two were journeying. As nearly as could be discerned, the second traveller was about fifty years old, apparently in the same rank of life as Goodman Brown, and bearing a considerable resemblance to him, though perhaps more in expression than features. Still, they might have been taken for father and son. And yet, though the elder person was as simply clad as the younger, and as simple in manner too, he had an indescribable air of one who knew the world, and would not have felt abashed at the governors dinner-table, or in King Williams court, were it possible that his affairs should call him thither. But the only thing about him, that could be fixed upon as remarkable, was his staff, which bore the likeness of a great black snake, so curiously wrought, that it might almost be seen to twist and wriggle itself like a living serpent. This, of course, must have been an ocular deception, assisted by the uncertai n light. Goodman’sShow MoreRelated Symbolism,Characterization, and Faith in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown912 Words   |  4 PagesSymbolism,Characterization, and Faith in   Young Goodman Brown      Ã‚   Faith is believing what you can’t see or touch. Faith is knowing something especially when there is no proof to back it up. â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† is a story about a man who leaves his wife, Faith, home alone for a night while he journeys with the devil down the road of temptation. During the course of his journey, the man sees many people who seem out of place, including his wife. 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