Analytical Approaches

1. Analytical Approaches “Young Goodman Brown” Honors English 11

2. Formalistic Approach Requires a close reading with attention to a work’s structure, context, literary devices, etc. These elements establish a pattern for interpretation (i.e. a theme). Example: Allegory- an extended metaphor in which details of a literary work relate directly to a specific larger idea of moral, social, religious, or political significance.  “Young Goodman Brown” as an allegory: Faith, village, journey, forest, devil…

3. Formalistic Approach • Faith- Someone who is able to accept man’s fallen nature.She’s “troubled with such thoughts that she is afraid of herself” (Hawthorne 43). • YGB - Everyman. He plans to “follow [Faith] to heaven” when he should make his own way. Dependency on her is the cause of his undoing. • Village - Community • Journey - Rite of passage that all must go through. • Forest - Moral wilderness. Where man must face his and all people’s nature. • Devil - Sin. • Ribbons - Sexuality; Innocence; Love; Faith • Staff - Snake followed by YGB leaning against tree for support.

4. Formalistic Approach • Motifs and Themes: • Alienation: Every person is alone “in that saddest of all prisons, his own heart” (Hawthorne 298). • Dream vs. Reality: Figments of the imagination, fabrications are most often misleading; realistic interpretations of the factual are far more constructive. • Good vs. Evil: When people refuse to accept that flaws are part of the human condition, that refusal can lead to disillusionment, isolation, and projection. • No explanation for YGB’s appointment with the devil because it is “a spiritual quest…all humans must undergo at some point in their lives” (“Young” 298). Faith welcomes YGB back with open arms.

5. Historical Approach Focuses on the historical context of the action of a particular work as well as the historical influences that led to the work’s creation. • Influences of the time period; “YGB” is written about… • Set during the Salem Witch Trials at the height of the Puritan theocracy • Austerity was expected, even as predestination was embraced- provided security in the form of a “plan” for all players • Goody Cloyse, Martha Carrier and Goody Cory all real people accused during Salem Witch Trials • John Hawthorne was appointed a judge but became a prosecutor during the SWT

6. Historical Approach Focuses on the historical context of the action of a particular work as well as the historical influences that led to the work’s creation. • Influences of the time period; “YGB” is written in… • 1835 • Enlightenment helped to shed “light” on the flaws of the Puritan doctrine/law • Flowering of America’s first literature • Focus on nature, symbolism, and human psychology • Hawthorne’s dealing with his great grandfather’s role in the persecution of “witches” (Biographical Approach)

7. Other Approaches Feminist – roles or absence of female characters Marxist – power struggle, class hierarchy Archetypal – symbolic interpretation of common archetypes Eco-Critical – influence of nature Post Colonial – influence of the conqueror and the conquered

8. PSYCHOLOGICAL LITERARY CRITICISM An introduction

9. Pyschological Literary Criticism A broad term for the various types of literary theory that focus on the inner workings of the human psyche and the ways in which they manifest themselves in literature, with special attention paid to the unstated motives and unconscious states of mind in characters, authors, and readers (Gardner et al 1448).

10. Where id is, there shall ego be. The Anatomy of the Mental Personality Sigmund Freud (1856-1938) Carl Jung (1875-1961) Where love rules, there is no will to power... The one is the shadow of the other. The Psychology of the Unconscious

11. Sigmund Freud: Psychodynamics • Concerned with psychic attachments, conflicts, and motivations • Unconscious thoughts and feelings • Displacing; denial; repression; regression • Unconscious reveals itself in art, dreams, jokes, apparent accidents, and verbal slips • Theory of Personality: • Id, Ego, Superego

12. Freudian Approach Our dreams represent suppressed desires; they are symbolic forms of wish fulfillment Parts of the psyche ID= a person’s primary source of psychological energy, its function is to fulfill a person’s desires, has no morality, seeks immediate gratification EGO= a person’s conscious mind, acts as the intermediary between our inner world and outer world, regulates the ID and SUPEREGO, mediates between the two SUPEREGO= a person’s parental/social influence, represses or inhibits the drive of the ID, creates guilt complexes, “puts the lid on the ID”

14. “I didn’t save the money to buy this shirt, so I shouldn’t be able to get it; further, the cost of shoplifting is passed on to the consumer. That’s not right. Is anyone else impressed that I use semicolons correctly in my subconscious?” “I’m want to snag this cool t-shirt while the cashier is looking the other way.” “If I get caught, I could go to jail; plus, my parents would be very disappointed in me.

15. Freudian Analytical Model

16. Jungian Approach Individuation is the process of maturation and establishing sense of self and uniqueness. Parts of the psyche Persona= a person’s outer self, presented to others in hope that society will accept him or her Anima/Animus= a person’s soul image, the balancing inward self that maintains the opposite gender qualities of the persona Shadow= darker side of self, negative qualities of the personality that we like to hide; the less a person acknowledges his shadow, the stronger it is Projection= a person’s placement of the qualities of his or her shadow onto others. The unacknowledged shadow has the potential for disastrous results

17. Jungian Analytical Model

18. How can all this be applied to literature? • Buried significance. • Subconscious (unstated) motivation for action. • Overt vs. covert (or manifest vs. latent) desires. • Internal lives of characters. • Special attention paid to symbols as manifestations of deeper hidden meaning. • The influence of archetypes on plot and character.

19. Freudian and Jungian Approach • Reconsider your analysis of “Young Goodman Brown,” making connections to the Freudian and Jungian analytical approaches. Finally, discuss your conclusions with your peers.

20. Works Cited Frued, Sigmund. Dream Psychology Psychoanalysis for Beginners . Philadelphia: Basic Books Inc., 1955. Print. Gardner, Janet E. and others. Literature: A Portable Anthology. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004. Tavris, Carol and Carole Wade, eds. Invitation to Psychology. Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2008