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Hawthorne

 

            Hawthorne demonstrates that human nature is inevitably imperfect in his stories "Young Goodman Brown", "The Minister's Black Veil", "The Birthmark", "Ethan Brand", and "Wakefield". These imperfections include the weakness of being able to be swayed by evil, obsessive behavior, betrayal, selfishness, and superficiality. Hawthorne's characters make the mistake of endorsing or condemning these flaws, rather than accepting them as a part of life. .
             Goodman Brown of "Young Goodman Brown" struggles with making good and evil decisions. Goodman chooses evil while believing the common and mistaken thought that the forgiving God will never reject His followers even if they have disappointed Him. .
             ""Poor little Faith!" thought he, for his heart smote him. "What a wretch am I to leave her on such an errand! She talks of dreams, too. Methought as she spoke there was trouble in her face, as if a dream has warned her what work is to be done to-night. But no, no; "t would kill her to think it. Well, she's a blessed angel on earth; and after this one night I"ll cling to her skirts and follow her to heaven,"" (p.166). .
             Goodman sacrifices his Faith, his religious beliefs as well as his wife, for the devil. Hawthorne satirically depicts the pious people in Goodman's life as evildoers in order to show that even the most revered people have faults. Though Goodman later discovers that the entire event may have been a dream, it still haunts his thoughts. Whether the event was reality or a dream, Goodman learns from the experience that mankind is more concerned with worldly things than spiritual aspects. ""There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come, devil; for to thee is this world given,"" (p.173). Goodman's obsession with the event prevents him from trusting anyone and separates him from the rest of society.
             Mr. Hooper of "The Minister's Black Veil", like Goodman Brown, inhibits himself from enjoying his life by focusing on the sinfulness of mankind.


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