Goodman Brown free essay sample

To compare Young Goodman Brown in Nathaniel Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown with Roderick Usher from Edgar Allan Poes The Fall of the House of Usher, one must first understand the motivating factor each man has of the world around him and how they react to that world. Both Brown and Usher suffer from disillusionment and an emotional seperation from family due to a traumatic experience they were unable or unwilling to recover from, thereby tarnishing their lust for life. Neither man is able to rise above the feelings that resulted from these occurrences. Although Usher and Brown are two different men, they fear the same thing, death. Usher had an irrational fear of death itself, whereas Brown was afraid of falling victim to sin and burn in Hell for all eternity. Young Goodman Brown is a true Puritan, motivated by his faith. Brown is innocent and somewhat naive in his view of the world around him. We will write a custom essay sample on Goodman Brown or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page He partakes of a journey through the dark woods one night with a man presumed to be the devil himself. This experience awakens him to the abundance of deceit and sinful behavior of not only those he once respected but his family as well. While discussing Browns solid christian family history, the stranger comments I have been as well acquainted with your family as ever a one among the Puritans (391). Brown realizes that even good christian men and women fall to the temptation of sin. However, knowing this does not lessen the fear and shame he feels that he himself might also succumb to sin before the sun rises. With Roderick Usher, he is motivated by the overwhelming sense of entrapment his fear of dying holds over him. It is clear Usher suffers from severe mental anxiety, thus warping his perception of reality. His irrational behavior, as well as the narrators unease, worsens as the story progresses. What is unclear is the original cause for Ushers intense fears. According to the narrator, Usher views his existence as dark and suffocating, which is mirroring the sense of insuffferable gloom of the condition of the family estate (505). Because of Browns inability to accept that at some point everyone sins, he finds himself living a life without trust. Everyone is now a sinner on the overflowing highway to Hell. He allows his disenchantment to ruin his once loving relationship with his wife, leaving him to die a sad and lonely man. The epitaph upon his headstone remains empty, no hopeful verse upon his tombstone; for his dying hour was gloom (397). Unable to overcome the overwhelming sense of doom, Ushers irrational fear is what finally causes the very thing he is so frightened of, his own death. Add to an already unstable mind the guilt of entombing his twin sister while she still lives, it is no small wonder the ghost-like emergence of Madeline causes him to fall victim to the terrors he had anticipated. It is ironic that upon the deaths of the final two Usher decendants the mighty walls rushed asunder and the deep and dank tarn closed sullenly and silently over the fragments of the House of Usher (515). The house is consumed by the water surrounding it. To conclude, it is easy to allow oneself to become lost in ones own mind, thereby creating a type of mental prison. It is just as importa nt to accept that flaws and fears exist in everyone. Death arrives to all at some point, therefore, enjoy the miraculous gift of life without allowing the fear of dying to consume the pure joy of breathing.