Young Goodman Brown/The Birthmark

-->

AGENDA:

Play Sympathy for the Devil

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VdML0mWFqw 

"Sympathy For The Devil"

Please allow me to introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
I've been around for a long, long year
Stole many a man's soul and faith
And I was 'round when Jesus Christ
Had his moment of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that Pilate
Washed his hands and sealed his fate
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game
I stuck around St. Petersburg
When I saw it was a time for a change
Killed the czar and his ministers
Anastasia screamed in vain
I rode a tank
Held a general's rank
When the blitzkrieg raged
And the bodies stank
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah
Ah, what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, oh yeah
I watched with glee
While your kings and queens
Fought for ten decades
For the gods they made
I shouted out,
"Who killed the Kennedys?"
When after all
It was you and me
Let me please introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
And I laid traps for troubadours
Who get killed before they reached Bombay
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, oh yeah, get down, baby
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But what's confusing you
Is just the nature of my game
Just as every cop is a criminal
And all the sinners saints
As heads is tails
Just call me Lucifer
Cause I'm in need of some restraint
So if you meet me
Have some courtesy
Have some sympathy, and some taste
Use all your well-learned politesse
Or I'll lay your soul to waste, um yeah
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, um yeah
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, um mean it, get down

1.     Upon reading the short story and reading/listening to the song, discuss the short story. What parallels are there to the short story?  

Plot:

What was Goodman Brown’s purpose in leaving that evening? Who did he meet on the trail that evening? What did he learn about many of the ‘pious’ people of the town that night?

Symbolism:

Snake staff, Faith

Theme:

Why does Goodman Brown yell out and stop the ‘ceremony’? How does he feel about the people in town after that night? Why are his dying days ‘gloom’?

He is a hypocrite of the worst sort. He shuns all in town for the own hypocrisy of pretending to be pious by day but giving themselves to sin and the devil willingly. However, he had gone there that night for the same purpose. He is willing to fault others but never faults himself.

Questions: Do you agree with Hawthorne’s grim vision of humanity in this story? Can people attain goodness? What would it take? What could Brown have done to live a happier life (one needs to admit their sins and forgive themselves before they may pray for forgiveness). 


The Birthmark:

-->

1.      Discuss the elements of the story: Describe the character of Georgiana. Describe the character of Aylmer. What does Georgiana’s birthmark symbolize? (pink = innocence, the perfection of nature is found in the slight imperfections) How does Aylmer respond to her birthmark after their marriage?  How does this affect Georgiana? What does that say about her character? After reading his journals, how does she characterize his form of love? Why does he want the birthmark gone so badly? What is the effect of its removal? Why?

2.      How are the characters of Aylmer and Aminidab comparable? Students should be able to see that they represent one human. Aminidab is referred to as an “earthly creature,” a “lump of clay,” whereas Aylmer is referred to as “spiritual.” As the story progresses, Aylmer makes the segregation wider, calling himself God-like. Aminidab is also the only one that understands the beauty of the birthmark. This can be seen as an attack on transcendentalism – Aylmer has ‘transcended’ above his bestial humanity (as the transcendentalists advocated) and in doing so he rejected the world on its own terms. Human perfection is impossible – something in us will not allow it (as Aylmer rejects the inner perfection of Georgiana).  

3.   Science can unlock many mysteries, but should we draw a line? Should we try to know everything? Because we are essentially flawed, the more we know the more dangerous we become. What dangers exist and should we put constraints on scientific advancement?

HMWK:  Read "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" by Edgar Allan Poe