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…what is formalism?
Formalism
The term formalism describes an emphasis on form
philosophy.
work
fiction.
Formalism
Attempts to discover meaning by close reading of a work of
Multiple meanings
work itself.
The Formalistic Approach DOES NOT look at…
information.
We must narrow our attention to what the literary work says but
connotative value.
work.
Ambiguity in YGB
Deliberate ambiguity can contribute to the
short story.
Allegory and faith
If the tale is allegorical, for example, it may be that
part in them.
Symbolism – The Forest as Eden
The man who meets Brown in the forest appears to represent
ribbons stand for innocence. But when she also appears at the witches' sabbath—
apparently, like Eve, desiring forbidden knowledge—she too loses her innocence.
At the last moment before his and his wife's baptism into the evil society gathered
in the forest, Brown urges his wife: "Look up to Heaven, and resist the Wicked
One." He then finds himself alone in the forest, wondering whether he has
awakened from a dream or really did attend the witches' sabbath. But the damage
is done, and he becomes "a stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a
desperate man."
Allusions within
Young Goodman Brown
Goodman: Husband or master of a household.
Cinquefoil (Paragraph 32): Flowering plant of the rose family that has
white, red, or yellow petals.
Devil's Staff (Paragraph 36): The narrator says, "So saying, he threw it
[the staff] down at her feet, where, perhaps, it assumed life, being one
of the rods which its owner had formerly lent to the Egyptian magi."
This passage alludes to verses 8-12 in Chapter 7 of the Bible's Book of
Exodus. According to these verses, God directs Moses to tell Aaron, his
brother, to cast down his staff before the throne of the pharaoh of
Egypt. When he does so, it transforms itself into a serpent. The
pharaoh's magicians (magi) then cast down their staffs, which in like
manner turned into serpents. However, Aaron's staff consumes the
staffs of the magicians.
One characteristic we must look
at when analyzing Young
Goodman Brown is form;
the structure or style of a text.
Young Goodman Brown - Form
unlike the news story, the short story possess the balance
ironically is named Faith, goes out one night on a journey. His wife
the devil, and because of this devil he loses his wife Faith, and his own
faith. When he comes back from his journey he is a changed man for