The Witchcraft trials in 1692, which infested the small town of Salem Massachusetts, can most definitely be placed among the most illogical events in the history of the United States. Though Witchcraft was never proved to be the cause of this mysterious chain of events, one can wonder whether if in fact the Devil was present in this vile scheme. Arthur Miller and Hawthorne portray internal conflicts contained within the minds of the corrupted Young Goodman Brown and untainted Reverend John Hale. Arthur Miller recounts the horrid tale in his powerful drama, The Crucible, in which a simple hoax inspired by a few girls is augmented exponentially by the sins that lurk within the souls of each individual. With almost every citizen focused either on their own salvation or insistent upon the corruption of another, even the greatest authorities are fooled, and the fabrication is allowed to escalate into an endless chain of accusations and denial. "Young Goodman Brown" seems to deal with evil and secret guilt, as do many of Hawthorne's works thus illustrating that man's sense of remorse can distort his judgment of good vs. evil. It is apparent that Goodman Brown is overcome by some form of this guilt and is therefore obsessed with evil.
The story of "Young Goodman Brown" exemplifies the struggle of one man's internal conflict of good and evil through many symbolic elements and allegorical type structure. The allegorical meaning of Hawthorns tale is that of belief. If one believes that he or she is inherently evil than whether or not they do evil is inconsequential since the belief will ultimately lead to misery. Young Goodman Browns voyage results in the unclear outcome as to whether this was reality. The conversion experience a sudden realization brought about by divine intervention, a vision, or perhaps a dream easily translates into the dream allegory of Hawthornes work and allows the author to use Puritan doctrine and the history of Salem to argue the merits and consequences of such a belief. Hawthorn was trying to get the reader to feel the deeper emotions that this story incites. Essentially, the allegorical connotation is what the author would like one to question; is the scenario tangible or irrational.
Goodman brown undergoes a significant transformation following his fateful trek through the forest, thus resulting in his inessential doubt towards everyone, including his wife, Faith. His journey into the woods parallels his journey into his soul. As he gets farther into his ideas of evil, his visions become more substantial. Rena Korb describes his walk into the forest as, "He continues his journey toward the black mass which symbolizes his descent into Hell". Both literally and symbolically he lost his faith, hence, foreshadowing his loss of soul to the devil. Hawthorne equated faith with happiness and loss of faith with despair. Goodman Browns loss of faith had a devastating effect on him for he saw evil ubiquitously, and was no longer able to see moral in the people around him. Furthermore, the traveler is symbolic of the devil and Goodman Browns dark side. The devil uses Browns lack of faith, especially in his wife, against him, and Brown is so drawn in by the devil he does not take heed when he sees what is done to the branches of the trees and to the staff the devil is carrying. When he initially encounters the devil with a staff thats archetypical of a "great black snake," we are told that this image, "of course, must have been an ocular deception. A serpent is thought of as being an evil creature so it is appropriate that Satan is carrying such a staff. It is also symbolic that every living object Satan touches withers up and dies. This demonstrates how this evil apparition can suck the beauty as well as the life out of anything with which it comes in contact. Thomas Walsh says, "Doubts about his ancestors spread until Goody Cloyse, Deacon Gookion, the Parson, and finally Faith herself fall victims to his diseased mind".
In resemblance to Young Goodman Brown The Crucible depicts the beliefs and principles of Reverend John Hale and the dramatic variation, as the events of the Salem Witch Trials cause him to question his moral values and initial intentions. However, Reverend Hale ends his excursion in a sense with a pure mind and without surrendering his soul to the devil. Artists use brushes of different textures and paints of diverse shades to create their masterpieces. Similarly, playwrights use different tools to make a performance worth viewing. There is an unambiguous relation between the protagonist, Reverend Hale, the symbolism behind the crucible, and the theme of illusion versus reality, all of which link to reveal the outcome of a village in chaos. Hale holds strong negative opinion of those in power and acts these feelings out discretely to reveal the chaotic state of Salem. Arthur Miller uses dramatic irony in his play "The Crucible" through the portrayal of religion and sin, resulting in the play's characters and the audience deriving different meanings from the words and actions of the play. The characters in the play whom the residents of Salem perceive to be righteous and virtuous are actually depicted to the audience as sinners, while the ones accused of witchcraft by the residents are seen piously by the audience.
Before the Salem Witch Trials even occur and even early in the proceedings, Reverend Hale arrives in Salem with a concrete commitment to authority. With an air of pride, Reverend Hale places a certain emphasis on doing things in a precise and respectable manner. He relies heavily on the power of the written word and pays no heed to superstition. In Act I, the Reverend is described as an eager-eyed intellectual pondering the invisible world. Hale seeks witches and gets them to confess, so god can bless them and rid them of the devil. An example of this is when he said to Betty, In nomine Domini Sabaoth sui filiique ite ad infernos, which means: In the name of the lord of hosts and his son get thee to the lower world. He is a deeply religious man who was unrelenting in his quest for the devil. Hale is the epitome of someone who, though at first advocated the proceedings, eventually came around to discern that the accusations were getting preposterous, and that the trials themselves were ludicrous.
The widespread extent of the witch craze in Salem, Massachusetts can be attributed to the initial judgments of one man. Reverend John Hale makes mistakes in his reaction to the assumed supernatural events in Salem, but upon realization of them, he struggles to correct the wrong he has done. Because of the personal connection Hale develops with the people of Salem, he becomes sympathetic to the accused and doubts his original instinct that witchcraft is the source of the mayhem. Just as most people like to make a good first impression, Hale enters the play with an air of condescension, wishing to demonstrate his knowledge and superiority. He comes armed with a vast amount of books and the opinion that he is superior to the people of Salem. Because they have requested his presence to help resolve the rumors of witchcraft, Hale thinks that, as a scholar, it is his duty to enlighten the townspeople through his knowledge. He proclaims, "Here is the entire invisible world, caught, defined, and calculated. In these books the Devil stands stripped of all his brute disguises... Have no fear now-we shall find him out if he has come among us, and I mean to crush him utterly if he has shown his face!"
Hale's transformation is so drastic that he manages to see and recognize it in himself. He goes even further by admitting his faults to other people, appealing to them to help him correct his wrongs. He tells Elizabeth Proctor as he begs her to help John save his life, "Let you not mistake your duty as I mistook my own. I came into this village like a bridegroom to his beloved, bearing gifts of high religion; the very crowns of holy law I brought, and what I touched with my brief confidence, it died; and where I turned the eye of my great faith, blood flowed up" (Miller 132). Hale takes responsibility for his earlier behavior in starting the trials, and in his humility, pleads with Elizabeth to correct his wrong. He discards the showy airs of his first meeting and reveals himself as a humble man, one who makes errors, yet is not afraid to admit to them. He sees that he was wrong in causing the trials, and as the better man he has become, strives to restore the lives he has destroyed. Reverend Hale transforms from a self-centered man focused on maintaining his good reputation into one who is willing to ruin his reputation to help others. With this he shows not only his composure to keep his soul but enriched his mind with a new outlook on reality.
Through symbolism and archetypical relations the contrast of Reverend Hale and Young Goodman Brown clearly state the conclusion of each characters future. Though both struggle internally, Young Goodman Browns soul is lost to the devil while Reverend Hale strongly embraces his moral values thus giving him the strength to overcome the wrenching pull of his soul via the devil.
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