January 2019

Numerous authors have opined Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “Young Goodman Brown“, each with a new perspective or an improvement of their former. While it is not a much explored topic, avid readers of Hawthorne can attest to the author’s regular use of humor and satire to address human follies.

Now, combining this kind of humor and an ironic attack on (Puritanism) religious practices gives us humor as a standalone linguistic device that is both symbolic and thematic in this story.

Short stories

On Soaking in the Small Joys of Life- “The Knowers” by Helen Phillips

January 8, 2019April 21, 2023 the Literary Girl

Given a chance, would you want to know the exact date of your death, minus its circumstances? How do you think such information would affect you and your loved ones? Typically, curiosity is likely to drive many people to inquire about their death date, but the mere fear and thought of death at its mention would tame this same curiosity.

Human beings are subject to death. This bitter realization of our inability to achieve immortality in the near future has resorted to scientific innovations like anti-ageing technology. In Helen Phillips’ world, technology can tell people their date of death.

Month: January 2019

A Thin Veil of Satire- “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne

On Soaking in the Small Joys of Life- “The Knowers” by Helen Phillips