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An analysis on Hawthorne’s commentary and the Gothic elements employed
Adam Chih
Mr. deGroof
American literature
9 January 2017
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In “Minster’s Black Veil” and “Young Goodman Brown,” Nathaniel Hawthorne
criticizes Puritan society and its culture for false piety, dishonesty, and hypocrisy. As
one of the most remarkable Gothic writers, Hawthorne utilizes Gothic elements
including grotesque settings, supernatural features, bizarreness, as well as an indepth exploration of the evilness of human nature in the texts, and therefore creates
a mood of horror and suspense to further achieve his purpose of writing--- a criticism
on Puritan society. The rise of Romanticism and American Gothic writing was largely
in response to the Age of Reason and Puritanism; therefore, criticism and different
perspectives to interpret the world are themes quite prominent in Romanticism.
Religiously, Puritans believed in predestination, or divine providence, and
human being’s original sins. With their religious beliefs combined with the harsh life
during the early settlement, Puritans developed the unique lifestyle, customs, and
culture in America and greatly influenced American society, culture, and literature.
For example, Puritans are known for being practical and diligent because of the harsh
lives the lived. Therefore, lavish lifestyle was considered a sin, sin of greed. Another
common belief is the idea of unity and community. The lives were terrible back then,
and they were a group of persecuted people that held the same religious beliefs.
Accordingly, the Puritans needed collaboration to achieve common goals, leading to
a strong sense of community. In Puritan literature, sense of community, or the
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opposite--- individuality versus community (man versus society) has been an
important theme. These beliefs hugely affected not only Puritan literature but also
the literature style afterward.
Gothic literature can be regarded as almost the opposite of Puritan writing.
Gothic literature is a branch of romanticism, which means it is in reaction to the style
of reason and practicality too and focuses on emotions, imagination, and exploration
of human nature. Particularly, Gothic literature is known as “the brooding romantics”
as it put emphasis on the innate evilness and darkness in human beings. The
common Gothic elements employed in writing are grotesque settings, theme
exploring the dark side of people’s mind, death and decay, gloom and horror, the
mood of suspense, and supernatural features. Nathaniel Hawthorne applied many of
the features in his writing, especially in “the minister’s black veil” and “Young
Goodman Brown” to achieve his purpose of writing, which was making commentary
on Puritan society and culture.
As a romanticist and Gothic writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote many stories to
reflect on the Puritan community. Hawthorne family has been a pious Puritan family
for generations. However, for Nathaniel Hawthorne, he didn’t entirely believe in the
traditional Puritan values. He was a devout Puritan, as he regularly goes to church
and reads the Bible; nevertheless, he believed that the power of religion could
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produce both goodness and evilness. The reason why he was so convinced of the
potential evilness of Puritanism was his ancestor, who was the judge in the Salem
Witch Trial and sentenced many innocent to death. The power of religion, or piety,
combined with group thinking, or sense of community, can blind people from their
conscience and further result in catastrophe. The evilness is inherent in everyone’s
mind, and Hawthorne indicated that the real issue is never which side the devil is on;
instead, the original sins of human beings are the cause of the demonic actions.
Hence, the commentary Nathaniel Hawthorne made on traditional Puritan society
was pessimistic--- mainly focused on the people’s refusal to concede their sins and
rather criticized others for being falsely devout and sinful.
In one of the most prominent writing responding to Puritan society “Minister’s
Black Veil”, Hawthorne deeply analyzes the innate sins of people and how people
refuse to acknowledge the sins. The themes of the story include reflection on
puritanism, perception, sin, and isolation. The symbolism of the veil is people’s
original sins, and from how the townspeople reaction, it is clear that Hawthorne is
making commentary on Puritan society--- how people were hypocritical (refuse to
adhere to the fundamental beliefs) and inherently sinful. The Gothic elements used
in “minister’s black veil” are the bizarreness and the exploration of the innate sins. In
Puritan society, the value of community always comes before individuality; therefore,
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abnormal actions will be regarded as disturbing the peace. In “minister’s black veil,”
Mr. Hooper wearing the black veil itself is an action of bizarreness. By using the
element of bizarreness to present the themes of puritanism and perception,
Hawthorne points out the conflict of man versus society and further criticizes how
puritan society suppresses individuals. Another Gothic element employed in
“minister’s black veil” is the exploration of inherent evilness. The Puritans believe
that the original sins are natural, and only by practices strict Christian doctrines and
truly be devoted to God can a person gain salvation. However, in the setting of the
story, the townspeople do not feel the innate guilt off themselves and instead
criticize Mr. Hooper for admitting his sins. The black veil is supposed to serve as a
reminder to the townspeople that the sins are innate and hiding from the sins is
pointless; nevertheless, Mr. Hooper is criticized, hated, and isolated by the
townspeople for strictly practicing the Puritan beliefs. The inherent evilness, which is
a significant Gothic element, is one of the themes Hawthorne utilized to criticize the
hypocrisy of Puritan society. The townspeople in the story refuse to admit the fact
that they are all sinned by nature, which is sarcastic as the original sin is one of the
basic Puritan beliefs. Moreover, Hawthorne satirizes the outdated puritan culture by
revealing the irony of Mr. Hooper being criticized for following Puritan beliefs in a
puritan society, which further contribute to the development of the theme
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“hypocrisy of Puritans.”
In “Young Goodman Brown,” Hawthorne also employs Gothic elements to
comment on Puritan society. In the story “Young Goodman Brown,” the themes of
the hypocrisy of Puritans and original sins are further developed. The commentary
Hawthorne made in “Young Goodman Brown” mainly focuses on the corruption of
Puritan society, the lack of faith, and the false devotion. To make the commentary,
Hawthorne utilizes elements like grotesque setting, supernatural features, and still,
the inherent evilness of human being. The grotesque setting in “Young Goodman
Brown,” which is the congregation in a forest at night, creates the mood of suspense
and adds power to the second element used--- the supernatural features. The
supernatural elements are widely applied in Gothic literature, and in this case,
Hawthorne used the devil’s presence to symbolize the inherent evilness of all human
and lack of faith. The devil symbolizes the sins that are deniable, and the weakness of
human. The third Gothic element employed, which is the exploration of deep, dark
side of human nature, directly connects to the theme. The story accurately portrays
the corruption of Puritan society--- even the minister and the most religious
believer's compromise with the devil and give up their conscience for the benefit.
The Puritans’ lack of faith results in the contradiction with their doctrine and what
they actually do. The themes presented through the use of Gothic elements all lead
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to the commentary Hawthorne is making on puritanism--- the hypocrisy.
To compare “minister’s black veil” with “Young Goodman Brown,” they all used
Gothic elements to develop the plot. They have different focuses: while “Young
Goodman Brown” focuses on the use of supernatural features, “minister’s black veil”
put emphasis on the bizarreness in Puritanism; nevertheless, the two all derive from
the central belief of gothic literature, which is the exploration of the dark side. The
commentary on Puritan society in the two stories are similar, all emphasizing
criticism on hypocrisy, corruption, and the sins.
To sum up, the commentary Hawthorne made on Puritan society is mainly
criticism. Though the criticisms are based on different reasons, Hawthorne reveals
the evil side of Puritanism. To accomplish this, Hawthorne employed Gothic literature
style including setting, bizarreness, and the wickedness. These approaches contribute
to the establishment of the suspense mood, and therefore add power to the moral
behind the literal meaning.
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Bibliography
1. "Sparknotes: Young Goodman Brown: Analysis Of Major Characters".
Sparknotes.com. N. p., 2017. Web. 8 Jan. 2017.
(http://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/young-goodmanbrown/canalysis.html)
2. "Elements Of The Gothic Novel". Virtualsalt.com. N. p., 2017. Web. 8 Jan. 2017.
(http://www.virtualsalt.com/gothic.htm)
3. "The Puritan Daily Life: Research Topic Ideas On Life As A Puritan In The Colonies".
Bright Hub Education. N. p., 2017. Web. 8 Jan. 2017.
(http://www.brighthubeducation.com/history-homework-help/112142-daily-life-of-apuritan-colonist/)
4. McDougal, H. O. L. T. "Holt McDougal Literature© 2012."