Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown is full of symbolism, imagery and allegory. Imagery helps the reader to visually experience a scene. The description of the forest or the woods by Hawthorne is an instance of Imagery. Woods are vividly described in this short story to be nightmarish and confusing. The encounter with the devil also takes place in the forest. Hence, the forest vividly uses the imagery to be foreboding, ominous, unpredictable and isolated. The story has drawn a vivid imagery to display the association of woods with fear and alienation as has been depicted in fairy tales like Little Red Riding Hood.
An instance of symbolism in Young Goodman Brown is the vivid depiction of the staff of the devil which is encircled by a serpent. This is the symbol which has been used in the Bible to represent the serpent as a sign of devil or evil. The Book on Genesis tempts describes the manner in which the serpent convinces Eve to taste the apple. In the same way, the devil offers Goodman Brown to use the staff so that he may travel rapidly. Goodman Brown accepts the offer and is deprived of his innocence in the same manner as Eve was deprived of her innocence and punished. The serpentine staff also depicts curiosity which is the main motive for Goodman Brown to enter the woods. The staff clearly represents the evil form present in the old man and also the symbolism of Goodman Brown to walk on a path of evil when he accepts the staff to travel fast.
Gabriel Conroy is one of the central characters in “The Dead”. The central theme of this story is characterization and hence the character of Gabriel has been vividly portrayed in The Dead. The conclusion of the story displays the attributes of compassion and sympathy which is depicted by Gabriel Conroy which at the same time pose as an evidence of a definite shift. The manner in which Gabriel compassionately listens to his wife’s narration of Michael’s death as an undying portrayal of love, without reacting is an attribute. An attribute of patience and extreme love is depicted by Gabriel when despite asking thrice as to whether Greta loves him, he does not receive any affirmative answers (Free, 2009).
The manner in which Gabriel’s character has been portrayed in the book completely ignores his undying love for his wife Greta which began right from their days of courtship. Also the portrayal of Gabriel being sensitive to the portrayal of Michael’s death by Greta as a gesture of love is not in sync with the fact that Michael was actually suffering from an illness which eventually resulted in his death. In this case, the depiction of sentimentalism by Gabriel is an illustration of his failure to understand the version of the love story presented by Greta and the manner in which it takes the central theme in their adolescence. The story depicts the dilemma faced by Gabriel in the beginning to conventionally perceive women but displays in the conclusion the manner in which he faces and gradually adjusts to unexpected encounters.
The main themes depicted in the conclusion are those of self realization and emotional paralysis. Gabriel realizes the manner in which he has been emotionally disconnected with Greta and other women in his life. His own inability paralyzes him to empathize with others and this has been depicted in the conclusion by means of a shift towards sympathy and compassion.
Essay
An essay may be explained as a short writing which analyzes a particular topic, subject or a story. An essay may be written to review the underlying themes, figures of speech, motifs, symbols and vivid personification and language strategies that a writer uses to vividly connect with the reader.
The first step to write an essay is to thoroughly read and reread the particular story to understand the underlying concepts. Accordingly notes should be taken which may aid to easily frame the structure of the essay. The next step is to review the essay by clearly jotting down the evidence, reasons and putting forward certain claims. The third step entails by asking questions pertaining to the subject and then comparing whether the essay has answered the relevant questions. Depending on the questions the best notion should be made the central theme of the essay.
An essay should have paragraphs and usually follows a format of introduction, body of the topic and conclusion. The introduction should always be portrayed in a manner so that it grabs the attention of the reader. It should compel the reader to further peruse by building the issue of the main theme of the essay. The body of the essay should make the reader further understand the ideas and notions in support of the thesis. The language use must be accurate, clear and simple. The conclusion can end the essay by portraying one’s own thoughts and can be reflective in manner. Last, after completing the essay, it is essential that the writer thoroughly reads to check for grammatical errors.
References
Free, M. (2009). “Who is G.C.?”: Misprizing Gabriel Conroy in Joyce’s “The Dead”. Joyce Studies Annual, 277 – 303.
Hawthorne, N. (2005). Young Goodman Brown. Wildside Press LLC, USA.
Joyce, J. (2008). The Dead. Coyote Canyon Press, California.
