david leeb
David Leeb wrote a very compelling, unpublished paper titled “Shades of Goodman Brown”. In this paper, Leeb discussed a common “yarn” that presented itself in Young Goodman Brown, The Man that Corrupted Hadleyberg, Monster, and The Devil and Daniel Webster. He writes that “It is truly curious that four stories, which at first glance seem more remarkable for their dissimilarity than anything else.... -should have much more in common than mere appeal. They have, in truth, a theme of origin, and with repetition the theme has become almost a tradition.” In each of these stories, some strange being gets into some smug region and causes a catalytic upheaval to bring about a revelation of human frailties. This theme writes Leeb “is now a kind of literary legend, over a century old, and still going strong.” After reading and rereading these great American classics, one question surfaced and resurfaced in my mind. Why were these groups of individuals so commonly frail that “some smug being” could cause such a catalytic upheaval? What commonality are these writers describing about our western civilization that is so typically unbalanced. I believe that we as a society are unable to face the truth when the truth expo
Civil War. Webster was unshaken by this because his ability to cope with the truth and proceeded to literally kick the Devil out of Stone’s house. In “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg”, people who claim they are innocents are put to the test when a stranger gets into the smug regions of the town’s minds by using their own vanity against them. The foreshadowing of the incorruptible town’s downfall can be found in it’s motto “ Lead us not into temptation.” The story begins with a stranger, who had taken offense to a wrong done to him in the town, vowed to be the one to corrupt it. As part of his intricate plan, he left a sack that supposedly contained $40,000 in gold, with Mary and Edward Richards. He asks them to find his mystery “benefactor” that resided in the town. The benefactor had given him twenty dollars and advice that made him rich. He, as a gift for the benefactor’s kindness, wanted to reward his unknown savior with the $40,000. The only way they could claim the prize was to repeat the advice quotes, “No one wants to advance such ideas, but somehow I think that poor fellow must
Some topics in this essay:
Daniel Webster,
Goodman Brown,
TRY FORMER”,
Henry Johnson,
Corrupted Hadleyburg”,
Emperor’s Clothes”,
Dr Trescott,
Heaven Faith,
Devil Stone’s,
Edward Richards,
goodman brown,
daniel webster,
dr trescott,
“the monster”,
henry johnson,
devil daniel,
devil daniel webster”,
emperor’s clothes”,
goodman brown”,
“the devil,
“the emperor’s,
“the corrupted hadleyburg”,
“the emperor’s clothes”,
“the devil daniel,
inability confront truth,
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Approximate Word count = 2988
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)
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