"Young Goodman Brown"
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Nathaniel Hawthorne has a reputation for ambiguity, intentionally leaving his stories ambiguous and open-ended. Critics have read widely differing meanings into "Young Goodman Brown." Which of the following interpretations is to you most convincing?
Is Young Goodman Brown's journey into the forest an evil dream (perhaps inspired by the devil)?
Is his journey a dream vision telling him the truth about human nature?
Is his journey a symbolic acting out of his own paranoid fears and suspicions about others?
Is his journey a symbolic acting out of his own sinful nature, his secret inclination toward evil?
Is Hawthorne's vision of evil in this story a re-creation of a historical cycle that his generation had left behind? Or is it his own view?
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Solution Summary
"Nathaniel Hawthorne" has a reputation for ambiguity, intentionally leaving his stories ambiguous and open-ended. Critics have read widely differing meanings into "Young Goodman Brown." Of the five interpretations, this solution discusses the one interpretation that is most convincing.
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