Comparison Of Nate Hawthorne's& Joyce Oates' Poeme

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In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” and Joyce Oates’ “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been”, most will recognize the similarity and differences that occur in the stories. “Young Goodman Brown” is more of a religious story, while “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been?” could be considered more secular. The settings differ in various ways, such as forests versus the mall. However, the main characters correlate with their authors: Hawthorne, a man and Oates, a woman; both understanding and pursuing their views from the same gender, a less biased perspective. Similarly, both stories bring about an area of uncertainty, in which both main characters of the stories, Goodman Brown from “Young Goodman Brown” and Connie, from “Where are You Going, Were Have You Been?” are put in vulnerable positions. In “Young Goodman Brown”, Brown leaves his wife to complete a quick “errand” in the forest. There, he meets a man holding a suspicious stick with a snake illustration, looking, however; like an ordinary man. Brown classified this ordinary looking man as the devil shortly after the man asked him if he’d like to walk with the stick. Regardless, Brown did not return back to his home, to return to his wife, Faith, he continued to follow the old man. His prying gets in the way of his good judgment, as Brown knows that this man is up to no good. One knows the saying, “curiosity killed the cat.” Brown at this point not only felt insecure, but he felt as though he was being unfaithful to his wife, Faith. Brown becomes completely discouraged when he sees that his former Sunday school teacher, Goody Cloyse, is pursued as a witch, whom is a devil follower. Soon enough, Brown met more people as he made his way deeper into the forest, such as the minister, D. Gookin. Discovering this, Brown was put in a tough position, seeing the people he thought were most pious
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