The Exploration of Human Nature in Young Goodman Brown

Taking Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown as an example, this paper analyzes the Puritan thought of “inherently evil human nature” embodied by the main characters in the work. Through the analysis of characters, such as Brown, Faith, and the mysterious old man, it shows the evil under Brown’s loyal and kind appearance, the devilish nature under Faith’s angelic appearance, and the evil of human nature revealed by everyone’s participation in the devil’s appointment. At the same time, it is pointed out that the novel not only reveals the life of Puritans, but also prompts readers to think about how to redeem themselves in the case of inherently evil human nature and explore the dark side of human nature and the deep themes of the novel against the dark and mysterious background.

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