Freud is known for using the psychoanalytic theory for his patients. He uses methods like free association to understand his patients’ illnesses, and believes windows are opened to a person's inner feelings through dreams. "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne describes a disturbing dream where the protagonist of the story, Goodman Brown, comes face to face with evil. Choose specific examples that relate Freud's interpretation of dreams and his theory of "the mind is like an iceberg" to Brown's disturbing dream. (Kelsey R. and Kevin J.)
Sigmund Freud believed that dreams offered keen insight into a person’s mind and inner feelings. Freud also used the iceberg diagram to explain the mind. The unconscious part of the mind is divided into the superego which follows the morals of the person, the id which only cares about the wants of the person, and finally the ego which balances out these two. This iceberg diagram can be applied to “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne through the ego of Goodman Brown. Goodman Brown lives in the puritanical town of Salem, Massachusetts, in the late seventeenth-century. Therefore when Goodman Brown departs his wife Faith for the night to attend a witch’s meeting, he is torn between what he want and what his morals tell him to do, or his superego and id. Goodman Brown’s ego tries to balance out his id which just wants him to go to the witch’s meeting with his superego that warns him against attending the meeting. He obviously wants to listen to his superego since he states, “oh, how [the minister’s] voice would make me tremble both Sabbath day and lecture day” (400). However, his id ends up winning out and Goodman Brown goes to the witch’s meeting where he finds the minister, Deacon Gookin, his catechism teacher Goody Cloyse, and even his wife. Just when they are about the take their communion, Goodman Brown wakes up from his dream. Even though this was only a dream, Goodman Brown lived “a stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful” life after his dream (406). Freud believed that dreams revealed a person’s inner feelings. Therefore, Goodman Brown felt that his whole life centered on Puritanism and the church was a lie by the prominent church members engaging in evil activities, some of the very things they preached against; showing the inward unconscious questioning Goodman Brown had toward the church. Even though all of this took place in a dream, it still relates to Goodman Brown’s real life according to Freud’s theory that dreams reveal the inner feelings of a person.
ReplyDeleteBy Freudian principals, dreams revealed true facts of desire. With the unconscious mind taking over, the ID ego is revealed in one’s dreams. The Id ego comes from Freud’s iceberg analogy of human egos. Conscious is the part above the water, representing the everyday actions. Then preconscious on the first half below the water representing the superego and ego, or the nonconscious ego. Knowing true feelings, but still abiding by moral principals. Last there is the unconscious or the ID. The ego that upholds to no morals, and expresses the true feelings within; the Id is the ego revealed in dreams. In Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” the ID ideals are revealed through actions in his dream. “Too far! Too far!’ exclaimed the Goodman, unconsciously resuming his walk” (399). Even though the superego is shown when he wishes not to continue, somehow unconsciously the Id overpowers him. Demonstrating Brown’s true longings even though he knows that this of course is wrong morally. Superego often tries to take power over the ID throughout the story, but fails in some way. The ID completely takes over Brown in the story after he loses Faith. “My Faith is gone!’ cried he after one stupefied moment. ‘There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come, devil; for thee is this world given” (402). From a psychoanalytic standpoint, the ID is revealed in his dream. By the means of the nonconscious ego taking control in Brown’s situation. Brown’s dream thus relates back to his life, because true feelings are revealed in dreams according to Freud.
ReplyDeleteIn Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown", Goodman Brown's dream can be interpreted using psychoanalysis. Goodman Brown disagrees with the political and social situation of the Puritan life, to an extent. When Goodman Brown's devilish friend says, "The deacons of many a church have drunk the communion wine with me; the selectmen of divers towns make me their chairman; and a majority of the Great and General Court are firm supporters of my interest" (399-400), the friend is implying that the Puritan government and church are corrupt, reinforcing Goodman Brown's view. Because of societal influence, Goodman Brown feels evil because he thinks this way about the Puritan society. He wants familial acceptance in this view and receives this in the dream when the evil friend says, "I have been as well acquainted with your family as with ever a one among the Puritans" (399). One of Goodman Brown's biggest fears is performing his expected duties, which are working and having children. He is nervous about the role of patriarch that he will have to take on with his recent marriage to his wife, Faith. When the witch, Goody Cloyse, is talking about the recipe that was used to anoint her, part of the recipe was "...fine wheat and the fat of a new-born babe" (400). That this part of the recipe was recited by Goodman Brown shows that he thinks of his duties as a burden and evil. This view of his expected duties ties in with his disagreement with Puritan society and craving of his family's acceptance, which also shows that he still hasn't fully emotionally grown up.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Freud dreams are manifestations of the unconscious part of the mind trying to resolve a conflict. The conflict itself unfiltered can be too much for the mind to wholey process, so dreams are the filter. In "Young Goodman Brown", Brown's issue is his temptation to do evil. His wife at the beginning represents his superego, asking that he "put off [his] journey until sunrise" (398), she acts as his conscience. The journey he goes through to reach his enlightenment is dark and on it he meets a man. This fellow traveler could be seen as the subconcious part of himself that knows what people are really like, and is the conflict for his conscious mind. The traveler shows him person by person, starting with Goody Cloyse, that these people aren't the infallibly good puritans he believes them to be. Brown feels a "loathful brotherhood"(404) toward theses sinners masquerading as saints. He Finally sees that even his wife is in on it and this final enlightenment shatters his faith in people.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting debate surrounding Hawthorne's short story, Young Goodman Brown, is whether the events described in the work are supposed to be interpreted as a dream or a realistic event, "Had Goodman Brown fallen asleep in the forest and only dreamed a wild dream of a witch-meeting?" (The Bedford Introduction, 406). As cited by David Levin in the article "Shadows of Doubt: Specter Evidence in Hawthorne's 'Young Goodman Brown,'" Increase Mather observes that "[the devil] mixith Truths with Lies, that so those truths giving credit unto lies, Men may believe both, and so be deceived" (American Literature, 344). This highlights the difficulty in analyzing this short story, for not only is the main character in a state of confusion, but the reader as well is often left in a state of delusion. This runs hand in hand with Freud's theories which explain the tendency of the human mind to repress disturbing thoughts or memories. Perhaps, Goodman's recollection of these events is simply a manifestation of this confusion between reality and subconscious; a "hiccup" on the part of the ego in reconciling the radical departures from reality presented by the superego and more importantly, the id. Regardless, Levin's article cites analysis by D.M. McKeithan that proposes that Brown's journey into the forest represents "to indulge in sin" (American Literature, 345). This too strikes at the heart of Freud's psychoanalytic philosophies, for it suggests that a subconscious presence of evil up wells from within Goodman Brown. His decision to explore sin, usually inhibited by the conscious, further illustrates the raw form of human nature that Freud had a burning desire to unlock throughout his career.
ReplyDeleteAs the majority of posts have stated, based upon Freudian principles, Goodman Brown’s superego, his morals, is overpowered by his id, his desire, during his journey into the forest. His ego, the balancing of superego and id, is clearly illustrated as he is uncertain about continuing, but he proceeds anyway. However, another important aspect of Goodman Brown’s dream is that he eventually does resist the temptation of evil. Just prior to the communion, Goodman Brown sees his wife Faith at the meeting. As Rachel stated, Faith represents his superego because she urges him to avoid the forest. When Goodman sees his wife, he notices the “polluted wretches” (405) around him and tells Faith to “‘look up to heaven, and resist the wicked one’” (405). Following Goodman Brown’s realization, he wakes up from his “dream of evil omen” (406). His unconscious dream shows him that he is not an evil person, but the temptation of the devil is inevitable. Goodman Brown’s demeanor changes not because he has become evil, but rather, he realizes that the Puritan society and even his wife are corrupt. This epiphany results in the “darkly meditative” (406) life he lives after his dream.
ReplyDeleteFreud believes that dreams of all human beings delve into the unconscious mind and expose the dreamer to his/her true inner thoughts. Goodman Brown's ID is overpowerful and controls him as he walks deeper into the forrest and his wife Faith, which can be seen as a metaphor, for Goodman's faith in a higher being, is the one thing that keeps him thinking he should turn back. And go to the light, not farther into the darkness of the forest. Goodman Brown knows going into the forest is sinful and evil but he chooses to anyway, the Id has control over his super ego as Jeffrey stated in the prior comment. "Poor little Faith!" thought he, for his heart smote him. "What a wretch am I to leave her on such an errand!... there was trouble in her face, as if a dream had warned her what work is to be done to-night. But no, no; 't would kill her to think it. Well, she's a blessed angel on earth; and after this one night I'll cling to her skirts and follow her to heaven." He knows whatever work is going to be "done tonight" is not going to be Holy. Goodman is walking through the forest and notices the solitude and isolation present. it scares him and makes him realize that, "...the devil himself should be at [his] very elbow!" Goodman Brown's dream exposes his inner unconscious thoughts that the devil is present everywhere on Earth and no human being is safe from the temptation of sin. He even see's all the town people as sinner's and evil, including the members of the church and deacons. "My Faith is gone!" cried he, after one stupefied moment. "There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come, devil; for to thee is this world given." Goodman Brown's dream reveals that he, Goddman, himself see's no good left in the World. Because his beloved wife who is called Faith, to represent his own religious beliefs, gives into the temptation of the devil. all hope is lost for him. Goodman Brown's dream opens his ego to see what his unconscious mind, held captive to his conscious mind. This causes Goodman Brown to live a different life, where he feels surrounded by dirty, sinful, devilish people, in the Puritan society he resides.
ReplyDeletei do not have page numbers for my quotes because i left my book at school and looked up the Short Story online at
ReplyDeletehttp://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/YouGoo.shtml
Freud is famous for his game-changing insights into the field of psychology. One of his most famous techniques for analyzing patients is through the use of dream interpretation. Freud believed that everythng within a dream was created by the subconscious, and thus a direct link to what we were feeling internally (on the subconscious level). This concept can also be applied to literature, using an analytical approach, especially in stories centered around a dream. One such story, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, details a man's terrifying dip into an alternate reality where his family and close friends all follow the devil himself into a dark ritual. Near the end of story, when all hope seems lost, the main character cries out to his wife and lover, screaming for her to "look up to heaven, and resist the wicked one." (405) Once he has cried out, however, he is immediately transported to a serene, cold part of the forest, completely alone. This symbolizes in his mind the fear of being the only true believer in a society of false christians, and represents his own doubts caused by the guilt he holds over the church's actions. He carries these feelings of doubt and fear with him after the dream and through the rest of his life, and never again does he view his neighbors in the same way.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Freud, dreams are windows to the inner mind. Therefore, if we take Goodman Brown's excursion in the woods to be a dream, then his experience should reveal sub conscience. In this dream, Brown discovers that the Puritans are a false and hollow people. Perhaps he had been subconsciously pondering this conclusion, and the dream directly led him to it. Following the ice berg model, Brown goes on to only show the tip of hos psychological struggle. In his determination to be a "pure" Puritan. His conscious mind, the tip of the iceberg, tries in vain to ignore the subconscious. Inside, Brown knows that he lives a lie, and though he tries to redirect himself, he ends up failing as a human being. Hawthorne says, " A stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man did he become from the night of that fearful dream." He cannot overcome his new knowledge that the Puritans are evil and corrupt.
ReplyDeleteFreud believed that dreams were the subconscious coming forth. In society we have to suppress certain urges; however, in dreams, those impulses can take form. The mind, in Freud's view has three parts to it: id, ego, and superego. Id is the primal instincts in which is suppressed by the superego. While the ego has to do with the morals of a person and the self awareness. I disagree that Goodman Brown was dreaming, fore I believe he is a schizophrenic. Schizophrenia deals with hallucinations, paranoia, stuttering, and delusions. Young Goodman Brown says, "my love and my Faith, of all nights in the year, this one night must I tarry away from thee. My journey, as thou callest it, forth and back again, must need be done 'twixt now and sunrise." (398) He did not want to leave Faith alone, and she did not want to be alone. The first sign of schizophrenia is the paranoia, "There may be a devilish Indian behind every tree..."(398)Another example is how everyone that is seemingly good and holy in his life is all of a sudden transformed into devilish people. He seemed to have lost his mind in the woods. Because of his estranged schizophrenic outburst, he never views the townspeople the same again.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Maura. I doubt Brown dreams of a "suppressed" or "subconscious" devil, while walking in the woods. He was most likely hallucinating. Although the strictness of the puritan society obviously contributes to the level of paranoia, because his "dreams," are everything his morally correct society is not supposed to be. I think Hawthorn's uses this story to not show that "windows are opened to a person's inner feelings through dreams," but instead windows are "closed" by a person's inner dreams. When Brown leaves Faith, he leaves God. This loss of faith make him realize his neighbors are not holy. Therefore, It does not open the door it closed the ultimate door of mankind, heaven.
ReplyDeleteRachel- I like that you said dreams are the filter because I believe Freud's theory is dreams are latent and manifest content.
ReplyDeleteKelly- I agree that his dream is a window to his true beliefs because he knows that the Puritans are truly evil, and the dream led him to believe he can't overcome the truth.
Josh- I agree Freud's interpretation of dreams reflects to Hawthorne's story because it affects the way he sees his world, but this one dream about his society changed his life forever.
Jeffrey- I like that you used superego, ego, and id in your answer and I agree that Brown closes off his id state of mind, his desires, and focused on his superego and ego, morals and reality
great job guys! more comment from Kevin soon!
Clayton- I like ur connections with ID and Brown. great deducing.
ReplyDeleteJosh- I think your ending also touches on the contreversy that Christianity and religion can bring. puting Freudian thoughts into that certainly make it even more deep.
Kelly- Your question of "Perhaps he had been subconsciously pondering this conclusion" is a veryy good one.
Trisha- Although I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "'windows are opened to a person's inner feelings through dreams,' but instead windows are "closed" by a person's inner dreams" but I like how it sounds...you could take that comment far
Well done! Students and BLOG administrators both delved into essence of the quote and responded admirably!
ReplyDeleteFreud’s theory that “the mind is like an iceberg” divides a person’s subconscious into three levels: the id, ego, and superego. The id is the unconscious portion of the mind that represents a person’s wants, the ego is the part of the mind that gets things done no matter the consequences, and the superego is a person’s moral code and the ability to determine what is right and what is wrong. The story takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, so the line between Goodman Brown’s id (wants) and superego (morals) will be blurred, and his ego will tie the two together. As Jeffery said, Goodman Brown’s wife Faith represents his superego in his dream because she urges him to avoid the forest where the witches were meeting. However, as Shane stated, Goodman Brown’s id prevailed over his superego and he went into the meeting anyway. Although it ends up being only a dream, it affected the way Goodman Brown would live the rest of his life because “when he had lived long and had been borne to his grave a hoary corpse...they carved no hopeful verse upon his tombstone, for his dying hour was gloom” (406). According to Freud, dreams provide a window into a person’s inner feelings, desires, and fears because they serve as a “diagram of the unconscious” (Mr. Maurno’s PowerPoint).
ReplyDelete