Young Goodman Brown读后感锦集
《Young Goodman Brown》是一本由Nathaniel Hawthorne著作，Wildside Press出版的Paperback图书，本书定价：USD 9.95，页数：48，特精心从网络上整理的一些读者的读后感，希望对大家能有帮助。
《Young Goodman Brown》精选点评：
●religion,faith,belief are shits!just fuck it
●这类象征的纯度很高的寓言故事，实在没什么意思，专门用来被分析，充其量是精读课文吧，情节、主题、意义....联系上下文，分析隐喻....boring
●光怪陆离的场景，信仰的粉碎，梦想的毁灭，黑暗的侵蚀…
●绝佳的环境描写，霍桑笔下的黑森林大概是后期所有黑森林的鼻祖了吧。还有心理的Romance描写，都很棒。
●信仰崩塌。
●my faith is gone.
●每个人心中都藏有恶，天上有天堂否？脚边有信仰否？我们竭力维持着表面的正义道德，可是内心终究是充满不屑和质疑。双关和象征比比皆是，不愧是象征主义代表作家的作品。
●就我一般对作业时要读的书一开始都感觉不咋地....
●粉色的彩带、蛇型的拐杖反复出现，有很深的宗教象征意味
●ambiguous，Dark Romanticism
《Young Goodman Brown》读后感(一)：一丝感悟
霍桑虽然生活在十九世纪，却常写十七世纪的故事，那个充满伪善和弱点的puritan society。这本英文小说很短，但是从第一段开始就很有画面感，仿佛看到年轻的Goodman Brown踏上旅途的决心，看到娇妻Faith头上飘扬的粉色丝带。森林里遇到的各种各样的人，都充满了神秘感。霍桑的文字用意颇深，从主人公坚定的信念到动摇怀疑天堂的存在，再到最后噩梦醒来被击垮，痛苦的过完了后半生。忍不住想问到底什么才是应该救赎的罪恶，什么才是应该追求的真善。不得不说，象征是霍桑最得力的助手。
《Young Goodman Brown》读后感(二)：Brown’s Way of Growing up
The very first thing which attracts me in Young Goodman Brown is the leading characters’ names. “Young Goodman Brown” and “Faith”, what two meaningful names! Young indicates Brown’s age and Goodman shows he’s a good man in the usual criteria at that time, which obviously contains being a faithful Puritan. And “Faith”, the name of his young wife, implies Brown’s faith to Puritanism. And the whole story may be concluded as the journey of Brown’s getting away and later giving up his “Faith”. And this is, in my understanding, Brown’s journey of awakening and growing up.
efore going to the forest party, Brown remained faithful to his religion and respected all the reverend people, the priest, the minister and many others alike. Brown was then a naive young man, who believed there is always righteousness prevailing. All little children view the world around them as that. But in reality, there is both right and wrong in the world and there is both righteousness and unrighteousness in the essence of human beings. Finally, the day for Brown’s disillusionment came. He saw how those people once he respected embrace pagan belief. Now he discovered their hypocrisy and pretence. All the people around him became bad men. Incredibility and frustration welled within his mind. This is the moment every adult had during his time of growing up. When we start to know the darkness of the world, it’s quite painful. The pain of discovering that your friend treats you for scholarships, that your parents plot to do something evil you never give thought to, or that your most respect teacher is a malicious liar, rests in your deep memory for the whole life. Brown encounters the first fight in his life and he is demanded to clear the frog of innocence and see the real face of his world and of human beings. And the next morning, Brown woke up, being a new person. He became “a stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man.”
The way of Young Goodman Brown’s maturing is a tragic one. In his after life he lived miserably and died gloom in the end. In the surface, we see his contradiction of being loyal to his puritan belief and distrusting for it. But deeply, Brown is confused by the essence of human beings—whether it is fundamentally good or evil. As regards this, two groups of people hold the opposite views. In my opinion, however, human beings are born a mixture of goodness and evilness. We manifest goodness first and then through maturing realize the evilness hidden in us. And this process of awakening is one’s period of growing up. The misfortune of Brown lies in his faithful belief in Puritan which helps build his invented world, and in the righteousness of human beings. He can’t face the darkness of human beings he discovered. There needs to be some therapy for Brown and those like him. Hawthorn said that he noticed first the dark side of things and then by finding out the benefits of them received comforts. That can just be the solution.
《Young Goodman Brown》读后感(三)：不可忘却之罪
Innocence, once lost, will never be regained; evilness, once gazed at, will never be lost. --John Milton读完Young Goodman Brown, 弥尔顿的这句话应景地浮现在脑海里，久久不能平静。
名著课上，老师解读题目，问goodman真的good吗，想来就不是了。可是古德曼如此结局，读来颇有些难受，恐怕其中包含一些对自己未来的隐忧。
认识善恶
有关善恶，实在是太大的话题，曾经中二的初高中生涯，硬是想不明白，且思而不学，贻害无穷——后来才发现如今依旧不明白。不明白就不知道该怎么行动，这只是我的问题吗？
当时的想法就是这么简单，我不知道怎么样叫好，怎么样叫坏，那么我的行事应该遵照什么规矩呢？亚当夏娃因为偷吃使人辨别善恶的禁果而被逐出伊甸园，落得个人类必遭的死亡下场，可是那辨别善恶的能力难道又被剥夺了回去？
选择善恶
有点不敢承认的是，自己仿佛就是一个goodman。自以为纯洁高尚，坚信自己要坚守美德。和他的不同点也就在于，还是能察觉别人有悖自己价值观的地方，即我所定义的“恶”。这种观念上的冲突最近，也就是在这个进入社会前的最后时期，尤其强烈。
老早就具备谄媚狡黠之技能，将来才可如鱼得水；如果自认清高，只怕是自身难保？
教育学老师说学校教育与社会脱节，这本是老生常谈的问题，也是我将面对的问题，学着一切的善，将来面对的却不是贵族可生存的古罗马共和后期社会，将如何面对恶？
苏格拉底以极大的善对抗恶的行为，在如今已不可行了吗？还是说，同样也要付出饮鸩的代价罢了。
倘若马基雅维利的君主可以不以美德为目的，而以被视作美德为手段，个人为何必须恪守美德？
向来以最大的善意揣测他人的大姐，后来怎么样了？我还没有看。
真的如林中的恶魔主教所言，恶才是归属吗？ 我想起了温斯顿史密斯面对老鼠绝望的喊叫，一切自以为的反抗，只不过是自己利益底线之上的反抗，最后也难逃相互背叛。
善恶的界限
老师言，19世纪作家笔下的善恶是绝对分明的，看来霍桑不是以讽刺的口吻来描写古德曼的“不是大善就是大恶”，而是他认同这样的划分。真的吗？真的没有讽刺吗？
且看古德曼如梦初醒般地重新审视村庄，一切曾经的善都变成了恶，丝毫没有暧昧的中间地带，难道霍桑是认同的吗？我本是愿相信人性复杂，时而善良时而邪恶，可是如果至纯的神职人员也背地里做见不得人的事，他还能留存善心吗？古德曼所见的皆是dissembler，也不无道理。
古德曼进入森林
他为什么要去森林？显然早有约定。
不是嚷嚷着自己至善至纯吗？老者的引诱也算不上强迫吧？不断走向深处的身体却很诚实嘛。
最理想的状态，想必是从来不知晓那片森林的存在，于是也就从不会涉足。不过既然它存在，对恶无知的善大概就不是真正的善了。曾经和同伴谈论，想做“知世故而不世故”的人，她戏谑地噗嗤一笑。我摸不着头脑，是这句话太老干部，还是她不以为然，认为既然知世故便世故好了？古德曼好像是第三种：知世故而不愿世故、憎恨世故的人，绝望的理想主义者。可是他自己依旧并未作恶啊！天哪，所以至此我还是不懂，他哪里就不good了？
总是有机会，人会瞥见邪恶。
解释之一，出于好奇，想要揭开潘多拉的魔盒，不曾想里面竟是罪恶。
解释之二，不是不知道邪恶的存在，只是从来没有契机走近而已。这下可好，有邪恶的老者引路了；听，狂风呼号，看，纯洁的粉色丝带早已随风飘散，顺势捕风捉影，把它们都作为自己走向邪恶的借口——不怪我，是他们欺骗了我，原来他们都是些大骗子、大坏蛋。他们都是坏人，我为什么不可以是？我不仅要坏，还要比他们都更坏！【语文水平令人捉鸡】可是忘了，俄顷风定，归家后粉色丝带仍安稳的绑在爱妻发上。
于是还有解释之三，从众。善良是因为从来都被教导“要善良”，是因为眼中所见的都是善人，而不是因为天生存在着什么“善之端”——想到孟子的“羞恶之心”“恻隐之心”，对我来说似乎都是后天习得，那么所有我现在奉为美德的东西，也只不过是教授给我的东西而已。就像对古德曼而言，他对善的认识应该很大部分来自catechizing，也不见得多牢固，正如新婚三月的Faith妻子，不得不说爱得热烈，却算不上彼此知根知底。不曾亲自去思索某一品德的善恶属性，而只是遵循教条，实际上是在偷懒啊。既然善良是因为众人皆善良，邪恶是不是也该同理，因为众人皆邪恶？由此可见古德曼“不good”在何处了——因为他不是真正善良啊。
解释之四，人性本恶。即使众人皆邪恶，其中也总该有最先显露邪恶的人吧，他模仿谁呢？还是说他只不过是在遵循着自身的“恶之端”罢了。霍桑是相信人性本恶的，后来引领古德曼发狂奔跑的，不再是老者，仅仅是“the instinct that guides mortal man to evil”。
自己推理了半天，归结到人性本恶上，不得不让人绝望。想到刚读完就有一种无力感，大概就是因为已经感受到这种绝望。不过我会继续寻找其他解释的，因为至今我是愿意“向善”的。
古德曼梦见森林
如何分辨虚构与真实？梦实在是太恼人了，理智告诉我那都是虚假的，情感安慰我那是另一个世界。不过在此先假定梦是虚假的——所以，古德曼所看见的一切邪恶，都是假的？
Had Goodman Brown fallen asleep in the forest and only dreamed a wild dream of a witch-meeting？ Be it so if you will; but, alas!太多场景描写，都玄幻得像一个梦。可是就算是梦，又有什么区别呢？古德曼不照样成了后来那副样子。可能是因为，就算是梦境，也是现实的一种可能性，而只要有这种可能，他的信仰便崩塌了吧？？
古德曼归来
因为信仰崩塌，自认为受了魔鬼的洗礼，他堕落了，因而变得终生绝望，这是夸张的写法。但是我不想嘲笑他，毕竟就算是失落也会持续很久。
他不应该如此反应吗？他不正是在知世故而不世故吗？他错了吗？是不是还应该“知世故而不恨世故”，少一点愤世嫉俗，众人伪善却渎神，由他们去好了？
或者相反，他错在“知世故而不反抗世故、纠正世故”，看穿有什么用，为什么不改变它？
类比现实，他就是一个犯错的人，比如说偷情吧。回来后，他自己不也照常吗？他之后不再涉足森林即“偷情”，但是对于他已做错的事，也没有什么挽回的办法。于是行动其实没有多大的改变，只不过心理变化巨大——他开始以己度人，所有表面正直的像他一样的人，也都成了背地里偷情的人了。于是他憎恨他们，但是也就到此为止了。为什么憎恨他们，却原谅了自己？为什么原谅了自己，却不宽恕他们？不原谅自己又能怎么办，曾经信奉的教义还能给自己救赎吗？
很多事情都是irretrievable，世界熵增，时间不倒退，遗失的天真不可复得，沾染的罪恶不可摆脱？
他不再相信任何表象，而是把它们悉数解读为恶。从一个极端步入了另一个。哎，如果那只是一场梦，他为何这么笃定呢？
疑问
古德曼的evil purpose自始至终没有点明过，因为他在看到恶魔的仪式时是颇为震惊的，所以应该提前也不知晓。所以，这样写是不是因为，即使列举再多的罪恶，也没办法涵盖读者所想的那些隐秘的坏事（去幽会、去赌博、去杀人etc），干脆以此包含所有的罪恶？
为什么goodman不good？因为我始终觉得他一切行动和心理虽然夸张，但很正常。哦，我明白了，这说明我也不good啊......他不由自主（？）地奔向了邪恶、瞥见了邪恶、还（被迫）成为了魔鬼的一名教徒，又怎能被称为善人呢。
有关题材
“Why are people today fascinated with stories about witchcraft, sorcery, and magic？”
我书读得少，小时候也不觉得witch就一定和wickedness联系在一起，所以也就不一定得出“是为了在虚拟世界中体验作恶的快感”这种答案。
更多的是喜欢神秘及幻想故事吧，逃避现实，想象自己是拥有魔法的主人公，享受幻想里的故事。
猎奇，脱离现实的故事让人耳目一新啊。
哦室友启发，就和看修仙文一样啊，念个咒语就可以解决好多事情，多方便。
身边的witch-hunting
......
不好意思我要去洗头了！以上一半是真的有很多思索想记录、一半是给完成作业打草稿 >< 不过如果纯粹让思想脱离现实，成为思想的游戏，我觉得没啥意思。所以以后生活里还是让善恶观指导自己的行为吧，善良的年轻人！
《Young Goodman Brown》读后感(四)：Analyze Young Goodman Brown from Eagleton’s Marxist Ethical-Political Theory
自己真的是很懒了，每次都借着课堂要求做ppt的缘由写点小东西，既没有确认语法是否有错误，也没有认认真真挖掘一下理论深度，弗洛伊德那边欲望和死亡驱力实在不知道出自哪本书的哪一页，可能是看其他书看到的，反正就这样吧，也许学期末就添个abstract外加conclusion就做成课程论文了，哈哈哈哈哈哈哈。万事嘛，凑合凑合就行了。
Questions:
1. What does Hawthorne gain by including the names of actual persons (Goody Cloyse, Goody Cory, Deacon Gookin, Martha Carrier) and places (Salem Village, Boston, Old South Church)？
2. How does this short story relate to Dark Romanticism？
3. What makes Goodman Brown continue on his Journey？
1. The negative aspect of doctrine
The story of Brown took place under the Calvinist and Puritan belief in the 17th century. There is no denying the fact that Hawthorn was minded to criticize the inhumane doctrine which suppressed human nature ruthlessly. According to Hawthorn’s delineation, desire, or original sin is hardly eliminated by the strict rules. Moreover, once someone, like Goodman Brown, loses his faith towards God, he will easily lose the value of his life. Why the losing of faith leads to the losing of value？ It will be briefly discussed in the following paragraphs.
In the 17th-century colonial America, the dogma of Calvinism and Puritanism replaced the function of law. As a moral requisite, it asked the adherents to be perfect and flawless by setting numerous strict rules. As a spiritual law, it was mandatory. In simple words, the dogma formalized the life of each person of that era, and people had no chance to get into touch with other so-called negative aspects of life, like desires for example. The loss of faith could be regarded as a loss of life.
According to Fraud’s writings, desire and death are the drives（驱力）that support human beings’ lives. There are two kinds of people depicted in the story. The first group of people are those who spontaneously attend the evil ritual in the forest and release their desire. They live a decent life in daylight, and express their original sin in the darkness, which gives them meanings and value outside the religion. The other is Goodman Brown. As a pious believer, Brown believes that being pious is the only way of salvation. However, the witness of the evil ritual frustrates him. On the one hand, his ignorance of desire leaves nothingness to the rest of his life. On the other hand, the losing of faith kills his belief of being rescued after death.
2. The positive aspect of doctrine
The strict doctrine suppresses human nature, the proper doctrine and faith may construct a harmonious society. Although people in Young Goodman Brown express their desire in the darkness. It cannot be denied the fact that they behave decently and properly when sun rises.
The good old minister was taking a walk along the grave-yard, to get an appetite for breakfast and meditate his sermon, and bestowed a blessing, as he passed, on Goodman Brown. He shrank from the venerable saint, as if to avoid an anathema. Old Deacon Gookin was at domestic worship, and the holy words of his prayer were heard through the open window. “What God cloth the wizard pray to？” quoth Goodman Brown. Goody Cloyse, that excellent old Christian, stood in the early sunshine, at her own lattice, catechising a little girl, who had brought her a pint of morning’s milk. Goodman Brown snatched away the child, as from the grasp of the fiend himself. Turning the corner by the meetinghouse, he spied the head of Faith, with the pink ribbons, gazing anxiously forth, and bursting into such joy at sight of him, that she skips along the street, and almost kissed her husband before the whole village. (Hawthorn)
It can be anticipated that people will abuse their desire and negative aspect of their nature if no law were set to restrain them. Faith takes the same function of Utopia.
Even though a paltry amount of western scholars continuously praised the conception of Utopia after the appearance of Stalinism, David Harvey, in his Space of Hope, still expresses the significance of it. As most of the other scholars, he does not believe that the society of Utopia will be achieved, but emphasizes the order and the hope hidden in this conception, which totally differs from the riot and the death in other pessimistic philosophical theories, including existentialism.
Faith with proper doctrines, like Utopia, promises the adherents a brighter future and shows them the way towards it. For instance, both Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies were decidedly Calvinist. According to the doctrine of Calvinism, God determines the fate of every man and woman, and he might endow some individuals or societies with great prosperity while denying the same to others. Hence, the Calvinists reformers believed that America had been specifically chosen to perform God’s divine mission on earth. After all, God had blessed newcomers to America with seemingly infinite land and raw materials for which to achieve their goals. That is to say, it was the doctrine that encouraged the immigrants to overcome various challenges as the lack of food, the attack of Indians, the threats of European countries. The doctrine did help Americans to establish their country and to reign themselves.
3. The ideal doctrine
First, the strict doctrine of Calvinism is not capable of suppressing the desire and the original sin hidden deeply in humans’ hearts. For establishing a peaceful and stable society, Eagleton alludes the term “purification”, which was brought out by Aristotle, in order to demonstrate that “dredging” is more effective than “blocking”. In the story, the party held in the forest may be considered as a way of “dredging”. It helps the adherents leave their negative emotions privately in the dark forest and behave gently and harmoniously in the town. To some extent, the proper release of desire makes the society function stably.
econd, the ideal doctrine should contain the features of universality and particularity. In Young Goodman Brown, the doctrine of Calvinism tries to set a kind of rule to govern and protect all the people living in the town. It does not take into account the needs of each individual. Terry Eagleton puts forward that “universality means not disregarding the distinctiveness of others, but attending to the peculiar needs of anyone who happens to come along.” (Trouble with Strangers 119) The purpose of Calvinism seems to set universal rules to the general people, asking them to live a harmonious and peaceful life. However, the real universality should not eliminate individual features, but should pay attention to the specific need of every single subject.
[1] Terry Eagleton. Trouble with Strangers: A Study of Ethics. Oxford: Wiley – Blackwell. 2009, 119.
[2] Nathaniel Hawthorn. Young Goodman Brown. Rockville: Wildside Press. 2005, 1-48.
[3] [美]大卫·哈维. 希望的空间. 胡大平译. 南京：南京大学出版社. 2003.