Fiction Essay
ENGL 102: Composition and Literature
Spring C term 2018
John Smith
MLA Format
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John Smith
Professor Lee
ENGL 102
12 March 2018
Characterization and Theme
The Bible states that all people are sinners: “There is none righteous, no, not one…For all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:10-23, NKJV). The truth of this
passage can be found in two short stories that seek to reveal the corruptibility of man. First,
“Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne shows the protagonist’s attraction to
darkness and his disillusionment when he discovers the seemingly “godly people” around him to
be devil worshipers. When he sees these supposedly righteous people as “sinners,” the result is
his loss of faith. In “The Lottery,” a small town calmly stones the “winner” of the lottery to death
out of a blind adherence to tradition. A woman is murdered in cold blood as a result of the
townspeople’s sin. While “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Lottery” have different
characterizations, both present similar themes regarding the corruptibility and sinfulness of
human nature.
The characterization of Young Goodman Brown (YGB) is mostly allegorical. The name
“Young” represents his belief in Christ to be immature and untried, and “Goodman” simply rep-
resents that he is a good Christian. Finally, the name Brown, a common name much like Smith,
signifies that he could be anyone. Faith, the name of YGB’s wife, is also an allegorical name.
The name Faith represents YGB’s literal faith, more specifically, his faith in God’s saving grace
and forgiveness. The two are “but three months married,” further emphasizing and symbolizing
“Young” Goodman Brown’s immature religious faith (Hawthorne par. 3).
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The theme of “Young Goodman Brown” can be derived from YGB’s disillusionment with
those around him. His discovery that his father and grandfather were not as virtuous as he
thought (pars. 18-21), that Goody Cloyse who was his “moral and spiritual advisor” is a witch
(pars 32-36), and that even Deacon Gookin is headed toward the meeting (pars. 42-43) evoke
disbelief and shock from YGB. This struggle and refusal to accept the hypocrisy of those around
him reflects his own struggle with the desire to go to the meeting himself. After his revelation, he
hears the voice of a woman in grief to which he responds “Faith!...My Faith is Gone!” (pars. 48-
50). This immediate transition from YGB’s disillusionment to his loss of “Faith” signifies that
the loss of his faith in God results from his disillusionment. YGB’s focus on those around him in-
stead of on God results in a “dying hour of gloom” with “no hopeful verse upon his tombstone”
(par. 72). The theme of “Young Goodman Brown” serves as a warning against the loss of faith: if
one cannot keep their faith in the face of a disappointing and sinful world, then there is no hope
in the hereafter.
The characterization in “The Lottery” is not allegorical, and is overall quite different.
Unlike in “Young Goodman Brown,” there is no clear protagonist in this story before the grue-
some end is revealed. There is a slight focus on Mrs. Hutchinson when she arrives on the scene
in a fluster, genially conversing with her “friend,” Mrs. Delacroix; however, all the characters
seem to be equally benign in nature until the black box is used for the fateful drawing. Society
and its traditions could be said to be both the protagonist and antagonist up until the story’s cli-
max, where Mrs. Hutchinson becomes the protagonist and Mr. Summers becomes a possible pro-
tagonist, since he was in charge of carrying out the “lottery.” The idea of such a lottery is despi-
cable and appalling, thus making “tradition” itself the antagonist. The irony of “winning” one’s
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own death and Mrs. Hutchinson’s ultimate reversal of opinion confirms the role of blindly fol-
lowing tradition as the greatest enemy in this story.
The theme of “The Lottery” also focuses on the immoral and hypocritical nature of man,
just like “Young Goodman Brown,” but in a more ambiguous and open-ended manner. The tradi-
tion of the lottery has been followed for a long time, as Old Man Warner takes part in his sev-
enty-seventh lottery and parts of the ritual are evidently forgotten and obscure (pars. 7, 40). The
prelude to Mrs. Hutchinson’s terrible fate is so calm and casual that it gives an air of normalcy to
the tradition. “Pack of crazy fools…Next thing you know, they’ll be wanting to go back to living
in caves…” Old Man Warner comments when he hears of a neighboring village that has given up
the lottery (par. 32). To the townspeople, getting rid of the lottery would be backward and uncivi-
lized, just as going to live in caves is backward and uncivilized. In one of the most gut-wrench-
ing moments of the story, the reader discovers that “someone [had given] little Davy Hutchinson
a few pebbles” to throw at his own mother (par. 76). This horrific scene makes the townspeople’s
belief in their own civilization all the more ironic. Years of tradition and ritual have blinded the
townspeople from seeing the injustice of the lottery. One can conclude that the theme of “The
Lottery” is that sinful and corrupt nature can blind a society from recognizing their own immoral
deeds.
“Young Goodman Brown” and “The Lottery” use different characterizations to help sup-
port their similar themes that deal with mankind’s sin nature. Of the two stories, “Young Good-
man Brown” delivers a more specific and poignant message on God’s grace and having forgive-
ness towards others. On the other hand, “The Lottery” not only employs a more ambiguous pro-
tagonist, but also conveys a universal theme that can be applied to a variety of current situations
regarding society’s blindness to immoral deeds (abortion, for example). Together, they recognize
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one essential truth: mankind is sinful, and capable of doing great evil. Furthermore, faith and for-
giveness are essential components to any healthy society. This is ultimately why God sent his
only Son into the world—to bring healing and forgiveness to all.
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Works Cited
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “Young Goodman Brown.” 1835. Perrine’s Literature: Liberty University
English 102 Custom E-book, edited by Greg Johnson and Thomas R. Arp, Cengage,
2018, pp. 391-403. Cengage Learning Mindlinks. Accessed 12 March. 2018.
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” 1948. Perrine’s Literature: Liberty University English 102 Cus-
tom E-book, edited by Greg Johnson and Thomas R. Arp, Cengage, 2018, pp. 264-71.
Cengage Learning Mindlinks. Accessed 12 March. 2018.
The Bible. King James Version, Biblegateway.com, 2018. Accessed 12 March. 2018.
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Fiction Essay: Thesis & Outline
I. Introduction
a. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, NKJV)
b. Introduce “Young Goodman Brown” and the sinful nature of man
c. Introduce “The Lottery” and corrupt human traditions
d. THESIS: While “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Lottery” have different
characterizations, both present similar themes regarding the corruptibility and
sinfulness of human nature.
II. Young Goodman Brown
a. Characterization
i. YGB is the protagonist.
ii. YGB’s name is allegorical. Young means immature and untried. Good-
man means that he is a Christian. Brown is a common name that signi-
fies that YGB could be anyone.
b. Theme
i. The protagonist realizes the hypocrisy and sinfulness of those around
him, and ultimately loses his own “Faith” in God’s saving grace and
forgiveness.
ii. The theme of Young Goodman Brown serves as a warning against the
loss of faith: if one cannot keep their faith in the face of a disappoint-
ing and sinful world, then there is no hope in the hereafter. The Lottery
III. The Lottery
a. Characterization
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i. Although there is a focus on Mrs. Hutchinson, there is no central pro-
tagonist. Society could be said to be the protagonist, and its tradition of
the lottery the antagonist.
ii. Society has traditions that are appalling morally to most common peo-
ple today. Yet, in this world these traditions are deemed normal.
iii. The irony and Mrs. Hutchinson’s ultimate reversal of opinion confirms
the immorality of the tradition.
b. Theme
i. People have maintained the lottery for a long time
ii. The lottery seems normal at first
iii. Getting rid of the lottery would be unthinkable to the townspeople
iv. Getting rid of the lottery would be backwards and uncivilized to the
townspeople
v. Their blind belief in tradition prevents the townspeople from recogniz-
ing the injustice and horribleness of the lottery
IV. Conclusion
