American literature - Essay Example

1). Why is ending of "Young Goodman Brown" odd and what does this oddity suggest about what can be occur when a self-righteous individual loses faithin others that live a community? The ending was odd in the sense that the reader feels like there was no actual commitment to reveal whether or not it was a dream or reality but it suggested a macabre death, “they carved no hopeful verse upon his tombstone, for his dying hour was gloom” (Hawthorne n.p.). This meant that no one cared enough for him to write something endearing in his resting place.

He became detached from the other people in the community because he became distrustful. Because of this, he was unable to nurture relationships with his neighbors and even with his own family. Goodman Brown looked at each person and only saw their dark side, the wickedness that was only a portion of them and of every man. In the end, he became a bitter and cynical version of himself because of his misplaced notions of self-righteousness that severed his relationships. (2). After reviewing the general plot of "ligeia," explain how it is definable as a horror story and how Poe use of the story narrator provides a basic lesson about human nature.

“Ligeia” as a horror story combines the factors of frightening and psychological horror that is both scary and thought-provoking. The narrator, who remained unnamed, went on and on for about half of his story telling of his Ligeia and their love. His poetic description of a woman he loved was a lamentation and confession of a sin. Ligeia’s poem that he requested him to repeat as she died was a lesson on man’s wickedness that can be pleasingly disguised but man’s ultimate destiny is death.

“Uprising, unveiling, affirm/ That the play is the tragedy, "Man,"/And its hero the Conqueror Worm” (Poe). Man cannot escape death and his transgressions against others. A person’s ghosts, both literally and figuratively, will haunt him because of his own guilt. Works CitedHawthorne, Nathaniel. “Young Goodman Brown.” Online-literature. online-literature.com, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.Poe, Edgar Allan. “Ligeia.” PoeStories. poestories.com, 1838. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.