Symbolism and Morality in "The Lottery" and "Young Goodman Brown"
This paper compares Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" and Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown," focusing on how each author employs symbolism, third-person narration, and moral framing. The analysis examines the symbolic use of names—such as Faith and Mr. Graves—and how each author builds tension differently: Jackson through subtle dread and withheld explanation, Hawthorne through explicit inner conflict. The paper also contrasts their moral stances, noting that Hawthorne asserts a clear moral position while Jackson leaves the reader to wrestle with questions of fairness, tradition, and social complicity.
- Introduction: Symbolism in Both Stories: Overview of symbolic approaches in both stories
- Symbolic Names and Their Significance: How character names function as symbols
- Third-Person Narration and the Building of Tension: Narrative technique and reader suspense compared
- Moral Questions and Inner Conflict: Contrasting moral frameworks in each story
- Conclusion: Divergent Moral Stances: Hawthorne's certainty versus Jackson's ambiguity
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper draws clear, consistent parallel comparisons between both texts rather than discussing one story at a time, keeping the analysis genuinely comparative throughout.
- It moves logically from symbols to narrative technique to moral themes, building a layered argument that covers multiple literary dimensions.
- Specific textual references—such as Tessie's scream about fairness and Goodman Brown's walk through the woods—ground abstract claims in concrete story moments.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates comparative literary analysis, systematically identifying points of similarity (both use symbolic names; both employ third-person narration) before pivoting to meaningful differences (Jackson withholds moral judgment while Hawthorne states it explicitly). This structure helps the reader understand not just what each text does but why the contrast matters thematically.
Structure breakdown
The essay opens with an overview of each author's symbolic approach, then narrows to specific symbolic names. It transitions into a discussion of narrative technique and how each author creates tension differently. The final sections address morality head-on, contrasting Hawthorne's direct moral declarations with Jackson's ambiguous, reader-challenging stance. The conclusion synthesizes these differences to argue that Jackson's postmodern approach deliberately resists definitive answers.
Introduction: Symbolism in Both Stories
Nathaniel Hawthorne and Shirley Jackson both use symbols extensively to express their ideas in fiction. "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Lottery" each employ symbols to emphasize their central themes. While Hawthorne uses objects and names to strengthen his theme, Jackson predominantly relies on names to consolidate hers. Jackson is not limited to a single symbolic object; she may draw on multiple symbols simultaneously. Both stories present symbols that portray evil. Hawthorne's symbols predominantly engage with religion, exploring both good and evil, while Jackson's symbols more broadly portray the evil inherent in society. Although the two short narratives share certain symbolic strategies, those symbols ultimately aim to capture different ideas in the reader's mind.
Symbolic Names and Their Significance
Both "The Lottery" and "Young Goodman Brown" make meaningful use of symbolic names. Hawthorne uses the names Young Goodman Brown and Faith to evoke decent, virtuous people. The name Faith carries a clear Christian connotation of faithfulness, and the story reinforces this symbolism when it states that Faith was aptly named as such (p. 211). In Jackson's story, the name Mr. Graves functions as a powerful symbol throughout the narrative. He coordinates the lottery, and his name requires no further explanation to carry its dark meaning.
There are many other names used symbolically in each story; however, those noted above are the most significant with respect to each work's central theme. In both stories, names, acts, and objects all serve as important symbols that enrich the narrative's meaning.
Third-Person Narration and the Building of Tension
In "The Lottery," Shirley Jackson uses third-person narration to illustrate how accepted customs can become a precedent for barbaric events when people stop questioning what they do. Nathaniel Hawthorne likewise uses third-person narration in "Young Goodman Brown," though he approaches the matter differently. Where Jackson aims to provoke a reaction in the reader, Hawthorne works to address inner conflict by exploring the thoughts of his character. Both authors use their narratives to encourage readers to reflect on their own beliefs, question their actions, and examine the world around them — they differ only in technique.
Jackson never explicitly states that the townspeople are anxious about the approaching lottery. Instead, she creates a mounting sense of apprehension through subtle clues and hints. The third paragraph of "The Lottery" offers a telling impression of the men as they gather in the town square: rather than discussing ordinary topics such as rain, tractors, and taxes, the men keep away from the stones, exchange quiet jokes, and smile but never laugh. It is evident from this description that this is not a normal day. Yet Jackson refrains from explaining why the people display anxiety or anticipation. She sustains this technique, heightening the reader's curiosity as the lottery draws nearer. When Hutchinson is chosen, Tessie cries out that it is not fair (para. 80) — a clouded hint that only becomes fully clear at the story's end, when the townspeople prepare to kill her.
Hawthorne, by contrast, explains Goodman Brown's nervousness far more explicitly. Brown slips into deep thought as he walks through the woods and imagines the devil at his elbow (para. 9). This expression of fear is direct and unmistakable. Brown voices his inner struggles openly, and as he and his companion walk and talk, he discloses his apprehension about the forthcoming initiation. His companion attempts to calm him by pointing out that the finest people in his town have already undergone the same rite.
Conclusion: Divergent Moral Stances
"The Lottery" stirs a struggle in the reader through shock questions at the end on matters of fairness. "Young Goodman Brown," on the other hand, presents a more direct engagement with moral questions through descriptions of Goodman Brown's internal struggle. The outcome produces a meaningful difference between the two works. Hawthorne is clear about his convictions concerning morality and shares them openly with the reader. Jackson, by contrast, challenges the reader to examine their own moral perceptions. Hawthorne presumes that a moral line exists and makes that presumption evident. Jackson does not offer an overt moral lesson; instead, her story prompts the reader to question their beliefs, moral positions, and the workings of the world — without providing answers.
This stance ultimately offers a clearer, if more unsettling, view of how the world operates. Although Jackson sets her story in a town removed in space and time from the modern reader, it succeeds in addressing its subject from a postmodern perspective — one that is deliberately devoid of definitive answers.
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