Prose Essay ~ Young Goodman Brown

"Young Goodman Brown"

From the start of the story we see Goodman Brown's unmistakable regret at having to run this errand, we see his mind struggling to leave his wife, named Faith, and complete the meeting and task. We see him question why he must leave, and if indeed he should, but he still finds himself baring farewell and walking off into the woods to meet his companion. From the start Goodman Brown question his actions, yet his conformity on the outside shows that he has no control, no other choice, or no sense of helping himself.

Goodman Brown's inability to help himself by questioning outwardly causes him harm, confusion, doubt, and even guilt in the end. Faith, whether speaking of his wife or his actual belief, was the only thing that "kept him back awhile." But it did not hold him for long, he continued to follow his path, to do as he was told, even while the voice in his head questioned. Throughout the story the reader is able to note Brown's indecisiveness, his being unsure, as his voice "tremors." In the middle of the story we see how Brown hopes to break the chain and path that his ancestors have taken. He yells at his companion telling him that it is "too far, too far." At one point he goes on to shout that his "mind is made up. Not another step will I budge on this errand." But his expression of outward conformity is soon squashed as the companion, the devil, leaves him alone and creates the sound of Faith,whether the person or his belief, being harmed. At this point Brown gives in, seeing as there is no option, his faith has been destroyed, and he sees no point in resisting the sin of this world, therefore he calls upon the devil, and continues his errand. At the point where Goodman Brown clearly associates himself with forms of evil by saying "Come witch, come wizard, come Indian powwow, come devil himself, and here comes Goodman Brown," he has become one with them, his resistance is up, and he has conformed outwardly and inwardly.

The reader is also able to detect that many in the town, even those thought to be holy and goodhearted, those that often go by "Good ----" are those who have encountered and treated with the "snake-staffed" man the most. The name Good, used to refer to more than just our main character is one of the biggest ironies in the story. Under no circumstance would these townsfolk nor their actions be classified as good. Most have walked with the pure form of the devil and of control itself,  outward conformity leading internal questioning to disperse. The companion in the woods is the epitome of overall power, "he of the serpent." The snake is a symbol often used to represent the enticing leader, the controller. All the town folk had conformed, they did not experience, or no longer experienced, any inward questioning, "It was strange to see that the good shrank not from the wicked, nor were the sinners abashed by the saints," they were all the same, they all behaved similarly, under someone else's control.

"But where is Faith?" This simple phrase holds a double meaning. Where is the faith when faith itself has abandoned one, when faith itself is seen at the celebration of sin, where is faith? Goodman Brown, once failing to question his errand, fails for the rest of his life to question outwardly the blasphemy and lies of the entire village.

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Poetry Essay

Prompt: Write an essay in which you relate the imagery of the last stanza to the speaker’s view of himself and his situation earlier in the poem.

Poem: "The Weary Blues" by Langston Hughes

Why I chose the prompt with this poem: I felt the prompt fit quite well, the last stanza of Hughes poem provides imagery comparing the character to a rock or a dead man, and the entire poem depicts a man in complete depression/loneliness. 

Langston Hughes depicts everything his character is, and everything his character is feeling in the last stanza of his poem "The Weary Blues." Hughes clearly shows how the immense sadness and grief found throughout the whole poem, as well as the loneliness experienced by the piano-playing character will lead him to a profound, if not eternal, sleep. But the emotions experienced at the end may have an even deeper meaning than first meets the eye. 

The situation in the poem depicts a man singing the Blues on Lenox Avenue. This Avenue which is located in Harlem is, for some, the most important street for African Americans and other minority groups. It was a street that managed to connect Hispanics, African Americans, West Indians, and even the British through a love of cultural food and jazz music. In the poem "The Weary Blues," Hughes depicts the emotion of loneliness and depression through the melody of displaced accents and beat of the song. The African American man is depicted as depressed through the entire poem. Hughes clearly writes that the man played a "syncopated tune," a tune where strong beats become weak, and weak beats become strong. This change in accents in beat may allude to the idea that the musician wishes things would reverse, or that at least equality would ring for all people. That the weak would no longer be suppressed by those who are "strong." The tone Hughes uses makes the reader envision a lonely man, the song he sings clearly stating that he feels as though he "Ain't got nobody in all this world." Music has always been a prime form of expression, and this Blues singer and musician expresses the true extent of his emotions through the song that is relentlessly alluded to in the poem. All of this may have to do with the context of the poem, a time when African Americans and minorities were still struggling to get a foothold on "white" society. The reason for this man's sadness may very well be the treatment he receives for being of a different culture, color, and race. 

The last stanza consists of a man laying down to a sleep, but this is a man who is ready for death. The piano player says he is not satisfied, that he will never be satisfied, and that he would much prefer to face his death. In his last stanza Hughes clearly tells the reader the emotion that has been strung throughout the length of the poem, "I ain't happy no mo'/And I wish that I had died." This unsatisfied feeling may come from not being treated as an equal, being looked down upon as an inferior, etc. Even in his slumber, the man cannot escape the injustice, as the Blues continue to play in his mind throughout the night. 

The repetition of sad emotions, the inclusion of Blues song lyrics, and the diction and style of this poem allow the reader to experience an actual Blues tone, tempo, and the state of mind of the artist. Hughes poem depicts more than just a sad man wishing to die, he reveals the injustices that minorities went and continue to go through, he creates a lyrical form of criticizing society, as well as showcasing the true form of the Blues. 

Spring Reading

Only now have I divulged into the world of Twilight. I had attempted to keep away from the series because of the over-hype and fervor it created back in 2005 when the series first came out, and then the fan fiction based on it only made me recoil even further. But yesterday I began reading it. Let me explain though. I only came upon these books because a teacher handed them to me and said "You can have them." I'm not one to turn down books so even seeing it was Twilight, I gladly took them off her hands. I must also be honest in saying I waited until I finished a book I actually wanted to read, and until the boredom was unbearable to begin to read them. But as I began to read, and as I quickly forgot the actors who had played Bell and Edward, and as I forgot the movie entirely, I was actually able to enjoy the story. 

I have finished the novel, all 498 pages. I must admit that these books are neither badly written, nor do they have a terrible story line. In one day I managed to get through half the book rather quickly, I was entrapped, engulfed by the scenes that played out in my mind. After reading the first novel I don't find it to be as terrible as I thought, it is actually a lot better than I expected. 

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"The Weary Blues" by Langston Hughes

Droning a drowsy syncopated tune,

Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon,

      I heard a Negro play.

Down on Lenox Avenue the other night

By the pale dull pallor of an old gas light

      He did a lazy sway. . . .

      He did a lazy sway. . . .

To the tune o’ those Weary Blues.

With his ebony hands on each ivory key

He made that poor piano moan with melody.

      O Blues!

Swaying to and fro on his rickety stool

He played that sad raggy tune like a musical fool.

      Sweet Blues!

Coming from a black man’s soul.

      O Blues!

In a deep song voice with a melancholy tone

I heard that Negro sing, that old piano moan—

      “Ain’t got nobody in all this world,

      Ain’t got nobody but ma self.

      I’s gwine to quit ma frownin’

      And put ma troubles on the shelf.”

Thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor.

He played a few chords then he sang some more—

      “I got the Weary Blues

      And I can’t be satisfied.

      Got the Weary Blues

      And can’t be satisfied—

      I ain’t happy no mo’

      And I wish that I had died.”

And far into the night he crooned that tune.

The stars went out and so did the moon.

The singer stopped playing and went to bed

While the Weary Blues echoed through his head.

He slept like a rock or a man that’s dead.

"and wow reading is weird"