The woods is out hell

             The Puritans were a people that lived their entire lives in fear that their all powerful, all knowing God was not pleased with anything they ever did. The Puritans had a belief that anything they did not understand was linked either directly or indirectly to Satan. When people in this society were to engage in acts that were considered outside the box, that person would be punished. The punishments would range from as little as a label, or as severe as a human sacrifice. With time, normally the labeled would be the next to be sacrificed. The Puritans more commonly known work was done in Salem, Massachusetts during the "Salem Witch Trials".
             Salem was the birthplace of Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author of "Young Goodman Brown"(331). This story took place in the times when the Puritans laws ruled over Salem's residents. One of the more absurd teachings of the Puritans was that because they were uncertain about the woods, then they must be full of evil. In "Young Goodman Brown" the forest is a symbol for hell.
             Goodman Brown must leave his newly wed wife to fulfill an errand, which was never formally introduced in the story. The only objective of the errand that is known is that the objective is something that needs to be done and it task is probably sin filled. Goodman Brown was persistent but reluctant about going into the woods. He knew that his business there was not that of furthering his or his wife's life, but for personal, conceded satisfaction, for this reason I feel he wanted to turn back. Goodman Brown wanted to get out of his personal hell and back to the comforting confines of his house, wife, and routine.
             The decision to enter hell was that made by Goodman Brown. His inability to leave the woods when he pleases is the consequence of making a wrong decision. Just as the punishment for sinning is imprisonment in a land of the eternally damned. Goodman
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The woods is out hell. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 18:30, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/14681.html