Growing Up Stories in the Young Goodman Brown and My Kinsman, Major Molineux - Book Report/Review Example

Young Goodman Brown and My Kinsman, Major Molineux Introduction Hawthorne’s My Kinsman, Major Molineux and Young Goodman Brown both come across as stories about growing up and becoming more mature. The protagonists in both stories realize that the world they live in and the people around them may not be exactly as they thought they would have been. To better understand the differences and similarities between the two stories, it would be useful to examine one in detail before moving on to the next. My Kinsman, Major Molineux As noted by Broes (1964), My Kinsman, Major Molineux is, “the most widely analyzed of all Hawthorne’s short stories (Broes, 1964, Pg. 171)”. It is certainly given an important place amongst all his works and the story itself can be seen as an allegory to represent the cultural changes which were coming to the country at the time the tale was written. The protagonist i.e. Robin, has to accept his loss of innocence and his coming of age much as the culture during Hawthorne’s time was undergoing changes. The change is also reflected in the world in which the story is set since everything appears to new and shining. Even the clothes of the common people are described as, “Embroidered garments of showy colors, enormous periwigs, gold-laced hats, and silver-hilted swords (Hawthorne, 1851, Pg. 1213)”. While the city streets had a modern culture, Robin was following the things he had learnt from his comparatively backwards environment. Hawthorne describes the contrast that Robin saw by saying, “Traveled youths, imitators of the European fine gentlemen of the period, trod jauntily along, half dancing to the fashionable tunes which they hummed, and making poor Robin ashamed of his quiet and natural gait (Hawthorne, 1851, Pg. 1213)”. This difference is only one of the ways that the journey pushes Robin into growing up and as discussed by Pearce (2001), “as we might expect in the case of a boy from the village wandering into Hogarths London, he is obliged to resist the entreaties of a lady of the evening (Pearce, 2001, Pg. 19)”. This representation of Robin in a place which is quite gaudy and more or less frightening is taken by Bermer (1981) to be a representation of all America since the country itself was trying to come to terms in “dealing with urbanization and industrialization (Bermer, 1981, Pg. 49).” Robin is quite taken by what he sees but is also in conflict since he is quite uncomfortable with the society he sees. In fact, this position of Robin becomes the primary message of the story and this idea is supported by by Herbert (1991) who says that, “My Kinsman, Major Molineux portrays the quandary of a young man who carries the social habits of deferential hierarchy into the era of their overthrow (Herbert, 1991, Pg. 23)”. The world around Robin had changed yet he had been unaware of it until he comes to the city. This is certainly a shock to his mind since his background places him in the house of a clergyman where there is order, discipline and religious dogma which dictates life. The activities and interests which appear to be common in the city are not very attractive to him and he becomes quite homesick when he recalls how his father had created a custom to perform communal worship that so the neighbors could come and join with him like close members of the same family. This alteration of thoughts between what Robin sees within the city and what he misses back home is quite useful in understanding his internal feelings and emotional state. The sinful city is a stark contrast to the pious countryside. Religion is not very important in the city while it is simply the way of life for Robin when he is in the countryside. Even though he may not personally be deeply affected by religion, it is clear that it holds some value for him since he appears to appreciate what his father does for the community he lives in. For Robin, the shock of being in the city and being in an unfamiliar location only doubles when he finally sees his kinsman since the person he was seeking was found to be disgraced. He saw the major being taken by the crown after he had been tarred and feathered and the person who Robin thought could help him with his life turned out be to someone who needed help in being saved from the wrath of the mob. Pearce (2001) believes that this scene represents, “The new America that empowers the mob and throws out the gentlemanly class, in the form of Major Molineux (Pearce, 2001, Pg. 22)”. Robin had been brought up with traditional values in which such behavior would be unacceptable to say the least. However, he does not consider that his kinsman might have done something wrong but only believes that the town itself was to blame for treating his kinsman in a disrespectful manner. Robin considers his experience of being in the city as a complete disappointment when he tells the readers that, “I have at last met my kinsman, and he will scarce desire to see my face again. I begin to grow weary of a town life (Hawthorne, 1851, Pg. 1223)”. However, it is clear that Robin has grown as a person and despite the negative experience of the town; he wants to make something out of his life which was his aim to begin with. Young Goodman Brown In comparison, Young Goodman Brown is also a story about change and individuals coming to realize that things are not what they seem and in this manner it too becomes an allegory but it is an allegory about abandoning faith rather than abandoning culture. Goodman Brown leaves his wife who is aptly named Faith to go for a journey into the woods. He sets off in the evening and as the light of the sun fades, so does the Christian faith in his heart as he walks with the devil into sin (Maher, 2008). The devil is a wizened old man who teaches Brown the ways of the world and tells him how his ancestors also walked with him and even statesmen including the governor are his friends (Maher, 2008). The devil guides him forward into the dark forest, away from his wife named Faith and his Christian faith into sin. While Brown makes some attempts to get away from this dark path, he hears the voice of his wife which makes him realize that his faith has escaped him (Hawthorne, 1935). While he manages to find his way back to the village he lives in, he is not sure if that which he saw was a dream or not and this puts him at odds with the rest of the world. In this manner, Brown comes to suspect everyone around him for having no faith and pretending to be virtuous Christians. His connection with the people who used to be his friends are now strained has he has seen them be sinners in his view of reality and this makes him doubt their sincerity as well as his own towards his faith. Brown might have appeared to have won against the devil when it comes to following him down a dark path but in reality it is the devil that is victorious since Brown spends the rest of his life in hatred of the people who are around him including his wife since he has lost his faith and his Christian virtue that kept him pure and free from sin (Maher, 2008). Conclusion Both the stories are quite interesting even though the ending of both stories may be depressing in some manner. However, it seems that Robin is better off than Young Goodman Brown since Robin does go through a fundamental shift in his schemas as Brown does. While Robin develops as a person and gains some level of maturity from his experience, Brown loses his trust in man and loses trust in the goodness of people. On the other hand, it seems that Young Goodman Brown has more significance as a work of literature since the symbolic elements within the story, as well as the allegorical instances presented by Hawthorne are quite beautifully created. At the same time, My Kinsman, Major Molineux appears to lack closure since I was left wondering what became of Robin after he had gone through his changes and his realizations about how the culture of the city is different from the culture he comes from. Even if the end of Young Goodman Brown is depressing to say the least, it certainly has an end where the readers know exactly what happened to Brown after he had arrived back in the village and realized that the reality around him was not the reality he had experienced before he had taken his journey into the forest. However, no such ending is present for Robin or for his kinsman since the episode of growth and development for Robin also becomes the final element of the story. Despite this, there is nothing which can be taken away from the story and the writing of Hawthorne since it remains as beautiful as it was years ago when it was first produced. Word Count: 1,658 Works Cited Herbert, T. “Doing cultural work: `My Kinsman Major Molineux and the construction of the self-made man” Studies in the Novel 23.1(1991):20-28. Pearce, C. “Hawthornes My Kinsman, Major Molineux” Explicator 60.1(2001): 19-23. Broes, A. “Journey Into Moral Darkness: “My Kinsman, Major Molineux” as Allegory” Nineteenth-Century Fiction 19.2 (1964): 171-184. Hawthorne, N. “My Kinsman, Major Molineux” University of Virginia Library. 1851. Electronic Text Center. 04 Apr. 2008 Maher, J. “Symbolism and Theme in The Young Goodman Brown” GrandeCom.net. 2008. GrandeCom.net. 03 Apr. 2008 Hawthorne, N. “Young Goodman Brown” Online-Literature. 1835. Online-Literature.com. 04 Apr. 2008 Read More