Poe’s The Black Cat and Hawthorn’s Young Goodman Brown Essay -- Young

Poe’s "The Black Cat" and Hawthorn’s "Young Goodman Brown" In "Young Goodman Brown," Hawthorne analyzes the Puritans’ consciousness and the hidden wickedness of their nature. He takes a naà ¯ve Puritan man and takes him on a journey into the dark forest to meet an old man whom we presume, is the devil. As the naà ¯ve Puritan embarks on his journey, his wife "Faith" kisses him good bye. The Puritan has an overwhelming feeling of guilt as he is entering the forest to meet with the Devil. He realized what he is doing was forbidden and none of his forefathers or fellow Puritans would ever commit such a sin. During his meeting with the Devil his naà ¯vetà © dissolves. He sees Deacon Gookin, his old catechism teacher, and other upstanding members of the community, whom he looked up to and feared, dancing around the Devil’s fire. He is told that the Devil has helped his father and Grandfather in years past. His innocence is completely destroyed when he sees his own wife Faith dancing around the Devils circle . He screams in agony: "My faith is gone. There is no good on earth; and sin is but a ...