Nathaniel Hawthorne Young Goodman Brown and The Minister's Black Veil Essay

Nathaniel Hawthorne Young Goodman Brown and The Minister's Black Veil - Essay Example Symbolism is the most important in the story because it is the one through which the author is able to impress the essence of his story upon the reader. Nathaniel Hawthorne used several symbols in Young Goodman Brown and The Minister’s Black Veil to describe acts, subjects and persons in the two plays and the most prominent symbols used shall be discussed in this paper. In Young Goodman Brown, the devil’s staff that was surrounded by a sculpted serpent was symbolic of the serpent in the book of Genesis. The serpent was used to symbolize an evil demon. The devil told Goodman Brown that the staff would help him to travel faster and this is quite symbolic to the serpent in the bible that told Eve that eating the forbidden fruit would make her wiser. This further corroborates the argument that the devil’s staff is symbolic to the serpent in the book of Genesis. However, Goodman Brown followed the instruction of the devil and was punished for being a weakling and losi ng his innocence and this is also synonymous to the punishment that was meted on Adam and Eve for following the counsel of the serpent. It should also be noted that just like Eve’s curiosity made her eat the forbidden fruit, it was Goodman Brown’s curiosity that influenced his decision to go into the forest. Another symbol that was used in Young Goodman Brown is the pink ribbon that was used by Faith. Faith’s pink ribbon is symbolic of her purity and this can be seen if one considers the fact the color, ‘pink’ embodies purity and gaiety.

Comparison between Le Guin's The Ones that Walk Away from Omelas and Essay - 1

Comparison between Le Guin's The Ones that Walk Away from Omelas and Kafka's The Metamorphosis - Essay Example The storylines in the two pieces of writing are varied. Le Guin addresses the situation in an imaginary community called Omelas that has people that live in much happiness and delight. The people in this area adhere to their culture and are intelligent. Despite the hullabaloo of happiness in the community, there is a child that is suffering in a filthy place, a sacrifice for the community to live happily. Only adults are required to know about this issue. It happens that some who realize the issue opt to walk away from Omelas to unknown destination. On the other hand, Kafka addresses the predicaments of the Samsa’s family. Gregor Samsa is the main character, he used to be a travelling salesman before he transformed to a ‘monstrous vermin’. This scenario scares his family members, he is unable to go to work thereby exposing his family to several predicaments since he was the bread winner. They try as much as possible to take care of him but are uncertain about his destiny. Gregor at one point causes borders in their home to flee. His sister Crete is fed up taking care of him and wishes him dead, a proposition that his father agrees with. Gregor is also made aware and dies in his house. Upon his death, the family is highly relieved. The two stories address unusual occurrences in the society. Therefore, the stories do carry some hidden meaning. The setting of Le Guin’s story encompasses a situation where festivities are depicted as the dominant aspect. Contrarily, The Metamorphosis is a sad story for the Samsa family; Gregor seems to be a thorn in the flesh, though at one point was the breadwinner of the family. In this family life is not as enjoyable as is the city of Omelas. However, the joy and happiness in the city has an underlying suffering component, this is because of the young child that suffers so that the community can live happily. Both stories presents out of ordinary incidences. Le Guins fails to explain the relationship between