In the short story “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Goodman Brown’s journey to the mysterious forest was a dream. According to Bloom’s Literature, Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts. He was from a puritan stock, and he changed his last name, so that he cannot be associated with his past generation. Hawthorne uses his story to escape reality.
Goodman Brown was a God-fearing man in a puritan society and his faith was tested on a one-night journey in a dream state. He believes in God and he trusted everyone around him. Hawthorne creates a scene on the street of Salem village, where Goodman Brown was saying goodbye to his wife Faith. The purpose of this scene is that Hawthorne reveal how the aspect of dream was acknowledge from the beginning of the story. “What a wretch am I to leave her on such an errand! She talks of dreams, too” (Hawthorne line 20). Goodman Brown regrets leaving his wife and her facial expression was not encouraging to him because she fears that her dream about his journey might come through. On his way, Brown faith was first tested when he came across an older traveler with a staff that wriggles like a snake , and the older traveler offers to give him the staff, but Brown could not touch it because he believes that snakes are symbols of the devil. In “The Vision of Goodman Brown” Robinson writes about the “subconsciously, the devil’s speech is his own also, for the sin recounted are more in keeping with Brown’s naivete than with his image of Satanic Sophistication. The first traveler reveals himself as the devil when he talks of helping Goodman’s grandfather and other relatives who was all puritans. In the Journal Article, “Young Goodman Brown’s ‘Heart of Darkness’”, Paul Hurley writes that “[Goodman Brown’s] ‘visions’ are the product of his suspicion and distrust, not the Devil’s wiles”. Brown’s dream was a way of revealing his true nature whether he was a righteous man, or he was just putting on an act.
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Goodman Brown perceptions were revealed. Just as his feeling for lonely footsteps passing through an imaginary dimension. Hawthorne description of the forest was illusory as stated in the original story because of the “dreary road’, gloomiest trees’, innumerable trunks” (Hawthorne line 27-30). Hawthorne describes all these things to set a mental image of what was going through Goodman’s Brown mind. In the “The Forest of Goodman Brown’s Night”, Reginald Cook quotes that “[Goodman] passes from a conscious world to a subconscious one”. Brown was not fully aware of his surrounding and his vision was unclear. One cannot tell whether this dream started before his journey or after he begins his journey. Hawthorne also describes the road of the forest as an unseen multitude. Brown saw a lot of different pathway along the road. Brown heard voices in his subconscious state and one of these voices was his wife Faith. “’Then came a stronger swell of those familiar tones, heard daily in the sunshine at Salem village, but never until now from a cloud of night There was one voice of a young woman, uttering lamentation, yet with an uncertain sorrow, and entreating for some favor, which, perhaps, it would grieve her to obtain; and all the unseen multitude, both saints and sinners, seemed to encourage her onward.’ ‘Faith shouted Goodman Brown’” (Hawthorne line 191-192). Initially Hawthorne, interpretation of the voices in the forest was that the church was the forest and the voices was the congregation.
Hawthorne creates mental images in Goodman Brown’s mind to trouble him. Along the way of Goodman Brown journey, he started to feel alone in his mind, and he gathered supernatural thoughts that scared him more. The first mental picture that Brown’s perceived was that “There may be a devilish Indian behind every tree” (Hawthorne line 32). While experiencing these feelings he encounters an older male traveler that seems to be waiting for him. Another imagery in this story that relates to dream was when Goodman Brown started to see a mirror image of an older version of himself who seems to be waiting for him under a tree in the forest. The older man bears more resemblance in “expression than features” (Hawthorne line 43) as he was described in the story, but still you could’ve taken them to be father and son. The resemblance between these two men was symbolic. Both the older man and Goodman basically had the same rank and manners.
Goodman Brown unconscious self could not possibly find a way out of the forest. Hawthorne shows subconsciousness once again in Brown’s travel suggesting an unreal mindset in which Goodman started to doubt the goodness, he had in him. When Goodman met the second traveler with that staff, and he offers to give it to Brown, but he refuses to accept it, because he thought that it was a symbol of the devil. “He is, indeed the devil” (Cook). Goodman was a different person in his past life who did not worship God, but people who knew him Goodman worshipped and fear him. He was respected by everyone who were in the forest. When they were having a conversation deeper into the forest Goodman Brown notice that he had gone far from his home, and he wanted to return, but there was no way out of the forest. After he stops for some time, he begins to walk without realizing his physical action. “Too far! too far,’ exclaimed the goodman, unconsciously resuming his walk” (Hawthorne line 61). As they continue to embark on this road Goodman Brown came to a point where he refuses to continue walking along with the other traveler.
In summary, the story of Goodman Brown seems to be more dreamlike than realistic because from the beginning to the end of the story Hawthorne gives enough evidences that support the thesis of Goodman being in a dream. The fact that before he could leave for his journey, his wife started telling him how sacred she was about the dream she’s been having, and as you read along the story there are lot of characters and images that shows he was in a dream. Important examples like the meeting the older version of himself along the road, he could not leave the forest because the entrance he came through was no longer there, and the staff that the older man had turning into a snake. All these things are evidence proving that this was a dream. In the end his dream haunted him for the rest of his life, and he isolated himself from his from town people. Goodman could not distinguish between what was real or what was unreal because it was all blur. Brown dream was subconscious, and it made him believe that everyone around him was sinful.
Human And Child Trafficking
Trafficking questions around the topic and hence helped in the efficient and accurate data collection through primary research .
Ø Due to illegal nature of child trafficking, data on the subject is not readily available for primary research. In order to analyse and discuss child trafficking at a national or a global level, secondary research becomes necessary.
Challenges / Difficulties :
- Validation of information from various source and their correctness is the biggest challenge faced in secondary research . I had to be sure of picking up data and information from credible sources to ensure sanctity of the research
- Collection of data and research material from various sources posed another challenges. Since child trafficking has become an area of critical concern globally, the amount of information available on the topic , from various information source belonging to various countries is immense . It therefore important that there is inclusion of inferences from the most credible source and inclusion of only the most relevant point for this study.
Human trafficking has existed as long back as evidence of human civilization is available. Slavery was the most common from- be it for work or for sexual slavery. Slavery itself in its various manifestation dates back to the time in human civilization when written records were not available. However, the presence of slavery it found in various engravings- on wall and graves. Slavery, however, remained limited in hunter –gathering population. Since the nature of work in such a population is quite similar and the work may not itself be clubbed in classes.
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Slavery proliferated and spread with the advent of agriculture. The mention of slavery as an institution is found in text of various civilization and nearly all of them discuss the treatment of slaves. The earliest of codes of law include the rules for slavery as well.
In the modern world, the advent of slavery became organised and widespread with the start of the European slaves trading in Africa in the 1400s. As most of the countries and terrorist at that time were under the control of European nation, forced labour and sexual exploitation of the native people became common place. However 1400s saw the portuguese transporting people from Africa to Portugal and then employing them as a slaves for various labour work. This slowly saw other European nations join in and then become much more wide spread and organised. Slaves [mem, children and women] were sold and purchased by the wealthy.
Systematic use of child trafficking become commonplace in the colonies of European powers between 1650 to 1950. The administrators appointed by these countries in Africa encouraged traditional kin-ordered modes of production that is hiring a household for work not just the adult. Millions of children were trafficked to work in colonial agricultural plantation, mines and domestics service industries. Sophisticated schemes were promulgated where children in these colonies between the age of 5-15 were hired as an apprentice without pay in exchange for learning a crafts .
Child trafficking was brought into predominance with the advent of the industrial revolution. The use of children, sometimes of age as low as 4 years, in production factories, mines and in agriculture amongst other menial jobs become common. Often the use of children in such place was brought about by economic hardships. Children belonging to poor households were expected to contribute to the family’s budget. Parents from improvised households would often sell [intending to sell their services] their children for money. They often worked long hours, even night shifts in dangerous works for lower pays – often just 10-15% of adult men wages.
Many times if the family was in debt and the breadwinner died, the onus would come on the children to be employed as per the wishes of debtor and pay-off the family’s debts. Poor households also saw abandonment of children which obliged them to work for whatever hours stipulated in lieu of dismal pay levels.
It is estimated that 1.7 million children of age 15 and below were employed in American factories by 1900 out of which major chunk were trafficked children forced to work against their wishes.
Home-based manufacturing operations were active year round. Families willingly deployed their children in these income generating home-based manufacturing units.
In 1910 many photographer as well as activist powerfully evoked and displayed the plight of children working in industries. From the advent of the agreement of suppression of “ white slavery “ , slowly any laws and regulation were brought in place to remove slavery including active focus on child labour. After WWI, the league of nations sought to actively pursue solutions for human trafficking. There was active research and data collection to measure the extent of human trafficking and trafficking of all races and all genders was to be treated with the same amount of seriousness. However many of these efforts could not bear fruit. Prisoners of wars were subject to forced labour and sexual trafficking increased, many times with concealed help from the government to manage soldiers fighting long wars and reduced rapes. Post WW II, the formation of United Nation tried to initiate a set of new action in pursuit of abolishing trafficking as well as child labour. While many developed Nations in the following year made child labour illegal and ensured enforcement, many developing and underdeveloped nation either did not completely make child trafficking illegal or in case where laws were passed to make child trafficking illegal. The enforcement remained dismal .
