meganv’s Blog

Part of the attraction that the narrator has to the “man of the crowd” is partly due to the mystic of the night and all the stereotypes that are attached to night walkers. In the story the narrator remarks “As the night deepened, so deepened to me the interest of the scene…” (104) revealing that he has a natural interest in the dark aspects of people. The narrator becomes be-spelled with the night as “The wild effects of the light enchained [him] to an examination of individual faces” (105), it is not surprising that the face of “the man of the crowd” would compel the narrator to follow him. In the brief glimpse of the stranger’s face, the narrator saw extreme contradictions of human emotion that it brought to his mind Retszch’s portrait of a fiend.

Also this villainous character doesn’t fit into any label or stereotype that the narrator is so fond of applying. Our first impressions of the narrator are that of a voyeur or tourist, looking at the local populace and discovering their dirty secrets. The narrator is intent of finding out the secret or crime of “the man of the crowd”. The whole reason he stalks the old man is to try to observe some tell tale sign that will explain the stranger’s erratic and unpredictable behavior. In the end the narrator realizes that he “shall learn no more of ["the man of the crowd"], nor of his deeds”(109) stating that the stranger “is the type and the genius of deep crime” (109).

This ending brings to question what does the narrator mean by crime? Does he mean the type of crime that is ends with a murder as in the case with the Cast of Amontillado? Or is the crime that the stranger has committed more a of a general offense to humanity rather than one person? The ending of the story leaves that question hard to answer.

Before I start on the topic of pollution and the types of pollution that we accept and reject, I would like to challenge the idea that Robin embraces the pollution he faces in My Kinsman, Major Molineux.

I agree that Robin’s reaction was a from of acceptance, but what exactly was he accepting? By pollution does that mean the ridicule and the politics of the towns people? Or does it encompass the the unspoken understanding Robin perceives about his kinsman’s behavior that would incite such civil uprising?

Robin’s mental state when he is faced with the truth about his kinsman’s social standing in the town was described as “a sort of mental inebriety” in which he has a semi hallucination of facing all the towns people he has met who laugh at him. In this drunken epiphany Robin shouts over the crowd. Robin sees clearly the duel cruelty of both the actions of the crowd and the past actions of Major Molineux that caused the rioters. The point that I am trying to make through all this rambling is Robin accepting his own naivety and foolishness of youth. I wouldn’t consider that part of the pollution we discussed in class, this passage into manhood.

Back to the original point of this post assignment.

Defining ‘pollution’ that we fear and accept is hard. Pollution that I would reject would be similar to Young Goodman Brown though not as strict in the lines of good and evil. I wouldn’t want to be ‘polluted’ by racial bias, brand name bias, class bias, stereotypes or ignorance. These types of mental mind set can lead to fear,  fear of difference and the unknown. The last item is a bit tricky for there is a difference between being willfully ignorant and naturally ignorant. The former would be put under the category of pollution that I would reject. The latter would be under the pollution I would accept.

Pollution that I would accept are the pursuit of knowledge, the option of abortion for women and underage girls, legalized gay marriage, free online music downloads and abstinence free sex education for high school and international schools. These things I would consider a mixing similar to the mixing that Robin in Hawthrone’s story saw the necessity to accept. These ‘in-between’ issues are needed for society to talk about, fight out, and think about. From these issues important discussions on people’s rights, philosophical rights and ethics that many people of the public don’t actively think about.

Hi everyone,

Since the discussion of the relationship between Goodman Brown’s stark perception of right and wrong was cut short I will further explore this theme. These are just my opinions and I would be happy to have input on alternative interpretations on this subject

Goodman Brown’s character is very pious, but he is also a very narrowed minded person. The way he describes his wife, Faith, is close to worship. Calling her an “blessed angel” who will bring him to heaven and also something that needs to be protected (1033). Also later on in the woods Brown he compares the act of Goody Cloyse attending her Satanic meeting with Brown leaving his wife(1036-1037). The comparison implying that Brown would not only physically “quit” his wife but also the ideal she represents if Brown continues to follow the devil. The fact that Brown perceives his wife as an idol links with the ongoing theme of being in the ‘in-between’ state as idols are thought as sins because they transfer love away from God.

In the beginning of the story Brown is already stuck in a questionable area with his religious faith through  the way he thinks of his wife. This fact is interesting because Brown’s idolitry isn’t physically symbolized in the story. The only physical link to Brown’s faith is his wife Faith and her pink ribbons, which she loses in the process of the story. Which leads to two questions, whether it was Brown who looses his faith by the end of the story? And was his faith already lost before he went to meet up with Satan?

Hi Everyone,

I am a senior and majoring in Creative Writing. I’ve been a native to the Bay Area all my life residing in the East Bay. I hope to be a young adults author after I graduate and starve to death before I achieve fame Some of my favorite authors are Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Edgar Allen Poe, and Holly Black. I hope to have a good semester with you all.

Best,

Megan Valenzuela